Kind of stuck, my son has a 1994 Cherokee SE, 242k miles, and the key was very hard to turn when cold out. long story short, I took the steering column apart and the rack and pinion in the steering column are worn to the point that they just skip now, at least when it's cold.

No-tilt, floor shift automatic, non-pulse wipers. None in junk yards within 100 miles. Looking at the design I would think this has to be a common problem in high mileage Cherokees, no wonder they changed it in 95! I see my options as:

1 - Adjusting the rack somehow to get more engagement with the pinion, though I didn't see any easy way to do that when I had it apart
2 - Going to a toggle switch keyswitch and momentary start, making sure the column is unlocked

Anybody else try this before? My preference would be #1 but going to #2 soon, tired of having 1 less car than drivers.

Thanks!