1992 XJ, manual, 4.0l
I am having issues with my steering wheel locking mechanism, and don't know the appropriate fix. Years ago my brother forced the steering wheel lock and broke it, since then I've had problems on and off but it has gotten severe enough that I need to fix it.
Generally I park, turn the ignition off and pull the key out, like any automatic would, since the key lock doesn't work. Well yesterday I did that like normal, only to find out the accessories were running all day and was greeted with a dead battery. Messing with it more, I find that I can pull the key out while the Jeep is still running... I figured it was just the ignition tumbler that needed to be replaced, so I went down to Autozone and snagged one up ($55! I wasn't thrilled..)
Just got done putting the new one in, and figured I should test it before reassembling the steering wheel.. Nope. It does the same thing. Poking around inside the steering wheel assembly I can't figure out at all how you would fix/replace the key lock mechanism.
So I'm kind of at a loss. The only other thing I could think would be the ignition switch at the base of the column. I've never had to replace one of those so didn't know.
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I was trying to avoid replacing the column all together..
Thanks for any input.
As a side note, I came across this post that is frequently referenced;
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=939364&highlight=wheel+lock
But also came across this one, which was helpful for additional views,
http://www.jeepxj.com/JeepXJ/Steering Wheel Removel/steeringwheelremovel4.htm
for anyone that happens across this thread.
I am having issues with my steering wheel locking mechanism, and don't know the appropriate fix. Years ago my brother forced the steering wheel lock and broke it, since then I've had problems on and off but it has gotten severe enough that I need to fix it.
Generally I park, turn the ignition off and pull the key out, like any automatic would, since the key lock doesn't work. Well yesterday I did that like normal, only to find out the accessories were running all day and was greeted with a dead battery. Messing with it more, I find that I can pull the key out while the Jeep is still running... I figured it was just the ignition tumbler that needed to be replaced, so I went down to Autozone and snagged one up ($55! I wasn't thrilled..)
Just got done putting the new one in, and figured I should test it before reassembling the steering wheel.. Nope. It does the same thing. Poking around inside the steering wheel assembly I can't figure out at all how you would fix/replace the key lock mechanism.
So I'm kind of at a loss. The only other thing I could think would be the ignition switch at the base of the column. I've never had to replace one of those so didn't know.
If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I was trying to avoid replacing the column all together..
Thanks for any input.
As a side note, I came across this post that is frequently referenced;
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=939364&highlight=wheel+lock
But also came across this one, which was helpful for additional views,
http://www.jeepxj.com/JeepXJ/Steering Wheel Removel/steeringwheelremovel4.htm
for anyone that happens across this thread.
