Will anything bad happen with a loose ignition cylinder?

[dbreid]

All,
I was at my uncle's the other day and he had a carpenter over doing some work. The guy has an 80's suburban (late 80's, kinda like mine, actually, but his is red with red interior and with the Barn doors... anyway..) and because I was driving my Suburban, we became fast friends. Anyway, he asked me about an issue with ignition cylinders I didn't know the answer to, so I logged in here.

His truck ignition essentially works without the key. It works fine WITH the key as well (mine doesn't do this, so I came on here and looked and it is a common issue apparently), but he is wondering if anything bad will happen if he doesn't fix it.

The cylinder isn't very expensive, but the truck is a work truck, and isn't worth putting tons of money into it. Will the cylinder eventually fail completely? I have no experience with this one.

Thanks in advance!

-Dan

 

[bodacious]

A buddy of mine has a truck(in the For Sale section), who's ignition was doing the same thing. It worked fine for a few years, but it finally stuck, in the engaged position, which cause his starter to "burn up". So, he went ahead and replaced the switch when he replaced the starter. It took several years before it stuck, so I don't know if it was just a coencidence, or not. It was kinda cool not to have a key to start it.

 

[dremu]

All,
I was at my uncle's the other day and he had a carpenter over doing some work. The guy has an 80's suburban (late 80's, kinda like mine, actually, but his is red with red interior and with the Barn doors... anyway..) and because I was driving my Suburban, we became fast friends. Anyway, he asked me about an issue with ignition cylinders I didn't know the answer to, so I logged in here.

His truck ignition essentially works without the key. It works fine WITH the key as well (mine doesn't do this, so I came on here and looked and it is a common issue apparently), but he is wondering if anything bad will happen if he doesn't fix it.

The cylinder isn't very expensive, but the truck is a work truck, and isn't worth putting tons of money into it. Will the cylinder eventually fail completely? I have no experience with this one.

Thanks in advance!

-Dan

The cylinder is like $18, and yeah, as a moving part they are a wear item. I've replaced a couple over the years. The failures I've seen have just NOT turned, but sure, they could stick in any position.

I've had one where, once started, you could take the key out while it was running. You'd then turn it off normally, but to turn it on again you had to put the key back in

If it were *me*, I'd replace it sooner rather than later, as when it does wear out it could prevent the truck from starting, and hot-wiring it would be a pain when you're wanting to get somewhere. (And since the door keys are different from the ignition keys anyway, it's not like you have to re-key anything else to match.)

But these days $20 is getting hard to come by, and if ain't broke...

-- A

 

[toomany]

The ignition cylinder in my K5 is so worn out that you can turn it on/off/acc without the key. Been that way for 4 years. I've got the new one for it (actually have had it for 3 years), and the tools...just never got around to replacing it. I guess the main reason I haven't replaced it is, it's nice being able to hop in the truck and fire it right up. I usually don't even lock the doors either. On the other hand, the cylinder in my 88 Camaro started getting sloppy...that one was replaced that day. I guess I value my Camaros more then the K5.

 

[4X4HIGH]

If it's his work truck replacing the cylinder is a WHOLE LOT cheaper than trying to replace a stolen vehicle because someone stole it since it didn't require a key to start.