Question key slides out of ignition tried spare key same issue. The Jeep is 1994 can I replace tumblers and have a new key made will this remedy issue?

 

I believe you can.... however, it might be cheaper and less of a hassle to just replace it. I'm old-school so I remember the days of having a separate door and ignition key so I just replaced mine last year with a new one and called it a day.

 

The new tumbler will come with a new ignition key. Bit of a job you need to borrow a steering wheel puller free at an Auto parts store. Searching you will find everything. This link is for the Chevy columns, not sure if they went to 94 though. Defiantly a good link to have for Pre 90 though! > https://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=27192

Common problem, they all do that.

It's not exactly, easy but when the new unit clicked in and worked it seemed worth it.

 

In my '00 I could remove the key when running. It didn't seem to affect anything but it still bugged me.
It looked like I could buy a new ignition with tumblers to be able to use the same key. Was not sure how it worked and did not want to bother.
I just opted for the new ignition with a new key.
The new key was a triangle and not round.
Like RocketMouse I kinda liked having separate door and ignition keys. It to reminded me of all the old GM's I used to own way back when.
As far replacing it in an '00 no removal of the steering wheel was necessarily.
You just put the key in, turn the key, push the tab underneath, and pull it out.
Problem was that just the key would come out, why I was replacing it in the first place, so I had to get under and kind of pry it out.
Was not really that big a deal though.

 

I had the key won't turn so hit hard until it turns problem in my 98. I ordered one of these: . Easy to get the old one out. Pretty simple to replace the tumblers to match the old lock cylinder too. I only put 3 of the 5 tumblers back in to minimize the possibility of the same thing in the future. The problem turned out to be one of the tumbler springs was broken so one of the tumbler pieces would not stay in place. There are youtube videos on doing the tumbler replacement.

 

So doing that is no big deal? That looks like the one at Napa that I decided to not mess with.
Again I kind of do like having 2 keys like in the old days so.......

 

It was a really simple procedure. This was on a 98 though. Turn the key a little, press in the tab on the bottom and pull the lock cylinder. If you are replacing, then just put the new one in. If you are rekeying it, then you have to pull each tab and read the # off of it. Then, pull the tabs in the new one and match the #'s. I used a jewelers screw driver to pull them out. Only took 10 minutes. Here's a video on switching the tbas for the keying.

 

Wish I thought to go look for a video when I did this about re-keying the cylinder. They make it look easy enough.
Problem is when you can pull the key out of the ignition when running you can't remove the cylinder per the instructions. Which was my problem. But like I said you just pry it out a little from underneath. Was not really an issue.

 

It really is that easy. Just make sure you do it where you won't lose the little springs if they come out. You only have to turn the key a little bit to press the tab in. Just don't take the key out of the cylinder and you should be good.

 

Going to the junkyard will pull a couple cylinder locks and report back. Another reason to replace tumblers is because my amp has been left on and the battery went dead on two ocassions.

 

I bought the Doorman cylinder replacement on Amazon and switched it out in 20 min. I got the manual version and set the tumblers to match existing cylinder. I use the same keys and have a brand new cylinder.

The only hard part is sitting down and matching up the tumblers. I wouldn't try to do it on the dirty garage floor in the dark. Instead you should go inside and lay everything out on a table.

 

Got two ignition cylinders from the junkyard today. How do I remove the outer housing to access the tumblers without the key? I want to remove the housing and get to the tumblers. Thank you.

 

My Chevy collumb, the new tumbler and key were like $12 shipped.