I have a 93 steering column. I lost the key. I want to put the column in my 88. Could i take the key cylinder from the 88 and put it in the 1993 column, and put it in my 88?

 

not sure since the 88 was amc and the 93 was chrysler. i'm sure the harness and connectors were changed.

plus just getting to the cylinder is a pain in itself without the right tools.

 

well all the wire harnesses were the same so it all hooked up perfectly. But since the 93 column i put in is on lock position with no key, can i take the 88 ign. cylinder and put in the 93 column and have it work fine right?

 

It looks like 85 - 91 used the same cylinder, then changed to another one after that, so it might not fit.
Question though, why not just buy a new one? Pretty inexpensive and if you are going to go through all the hassle of switching it out, it might be worth it

 

thank you so much. finnally someone who has change up dates! thats what i was worried about is doing all that work and it not working. How much is a new cylinder?

 

Looks like 91-94 they run about $60. Which really sucks because the 85-91 runs $13 in my area.
If you have a steering wheel puller, a good pair of external snap ring pliers and a torx set you can do them in about 20 min. Last time I did one (no key/no title parts XJ that I towed home) it took me almost an hour without snap ring pliers - what a pain that was.

 

is there any way around the ignition? my 91 doesnt require a key and just turns any idea how to do that?

 

AMC used the standard GM steering column, and from the posts above, it looks like the Chrysler column came into use in 92+. I have a 91 and 90 XJ, both with the GM column, and had a 95 XJ with the Chrysler mechanical airbag column. Nothing between the 2 interchanges, I wouldnt even try, even the mounting footprint on the firewall is different.

and yes...I found all this out the hard way

 

well i put the 93 column in there and all the wire harnesses hooked up and its all hooked up correctly. So even if i got the cylinder to work with or without a key it would not work?

 

If the 93 column bolted up in an 88XJ, it must ahve been a GM column. They all use the same type of key cylinder, slight variations in the way they are retained in the column, but they all fit. I had to dremel a slot in one cylinder to make it work, no big deal. Before that, I could pull the entire cylinder out, instead of jsut the key.

 

oh okay. So since it is all connected and the wiring harnesses all fit and it is all bolted down. I should be able to take the key cylinder out and put in a new one correct? or i could just leave out the cylinder and start it with just pliers?

 

you should be able to get down to the key cylinder with the column installed, just have to pull the steering wheel, blinker cam swith, etc.

 

^x2

the cylinder is designed to come out very easily IF you have the key to unlock it.

otherwise, it's a bit of a pita to get to the lock clips. at least on most if not all other cars anyways.

 

i do not have the key to unlock it. I am buying a steering wheel puller so that i can pull it apart and get to it. How might i get it unlocked, any advice?

 

i haven't done one on a jeep, but it should be the same with most cars.
if you had the key, you could've just pushed a button inside the column and slide the cylinder out.
but since you don't, you will have to remove more of the column to get to the clips/screws that hold that mechanism in.

i had to do it with a corola, it was a pita. would've been easy with the key.
but with an intrepid, had the key, push a button and out it came.

once you're in there, you should be able to figure it out.