Ignition Lock Cylinder - 74 Fury

[jason99]

Parked my 74 Fury a few weeks ago. Went to go fire it up today, key goes in, buzzer goes on, ignition cylinder won't turn. I jiggled the wheel to no avail. Should I spray some penetrating oil in the key hole to see if something is just bound up? What am I missing here or do I have a spontaneous lock cylinder failure?

 

[ImpJay]

There´s metallic plates inside the lock. Make sure that they are correctly aligned to allow the key to work properly and you may try penetrator. Any way, it still sounds like the time for changing the lock cylinder, IMO.

 

[jct]

Could also be a worn out key, try another key‽

 

[jason99]

Could also be a worn out key, try another key‽

This car is new to me and I only have one key.

 

[jason99]

I was rolling it around on dollies in between the last time it started and now. Could that have torqued up something in the steering column and it's jammed now?

 

[ImpJay]

This car is new to me and I only have one key.

How about going at a local shop to order a new key?

 

[jason99]

How about going at a local shop to order a new key?

I can do that, I'm just not sure if the key was worn out if a copy of that key would be any better.

 

[CBODY67]

An experienced locksmith, who knows the cut depths AND how to read them, can cut you a new key to your existing "code". It could be that the wear had made the key just out of spec for the tumblers in the cylinder itself. Putting your key in a duplicator for a duplicate will only give you a WORN key on a new key blank. You want a hand-cut key with the correct cut depths in the correct sequence.

In the mean time, insert the key into the cylinder and see if you move in slightly in or out, just a hair's width, and see if it will turn at THAT position.

Keep us posted,
CBODY67

 

[jason99]

Well, after a quick lunch and air break, turns out it works better if I use the actual ignition key and not some mystery pentastar key. More than a little embarrassing.

As it seems I'm lacking mental capacity today, I'm just going to go ahead and scrub operation 'patch the transmission cooling line' and get back after it another day.

 

[65sporty]

Now that you have the correct key and it's working good, make a couple of copies of it.

 

[ChrisLyon]

Yes, make a couple of copies of the key to make it useful during emergencies and any locksmith can make it cheap.