antdoyle88
New Member
- Posts
- 2
Hi guys, this is my first post, I decided to join up after seeing a few people discussing the above issue.
I've recently suffered the distress of a snapped key in the ignition and it is the biggest pain in the a*se ever.
I managed to get back moving by tapping the shear bolts anti clockwise and removing the steering lock then using the switch behind the ignition to start the car but obviously this isn't very secure. However the way I look at it, if someones ignored your alarm, smashed your window and is sat in the drivers seat, your car is going anyway whether you need a key or not!
Anyway thats besides the point. I know alot of people can remedy a snapped key by using tweezers or needles to retrieve the broken piece. As you probably know this isn't possible with a Disco because of the ball bearing at the entry to the ignition.
In my situation, I managed to pick up a relatively cheap ignition and installed it nice and easy so I am back secure again, but it left me with a spare ignition sitting doing nothing. I saw another post where the guy said he was going to disassemble one and post the photos but he never did it (or at least if he did I can't find it with the search), so I decided i'd take up where he left off.
The thing with the ignition is that the entire set up is held together by the little brass pin which you can see. Some ignitions this pin is removable, but in the S1 Disco it is solid and not going anywhere. If you can find a way to remove this pin without damaging anything else, your in luck - but a damage free method was something which I did not have the equipment for. Maybe if someone could drill a hole small enough and thread the inside, you could use a bolt screwed in to prise the pin with a claw hammer.
Anyway, because the ignition was spare I didn't have to worry about that. I destroyed the pin by smashing a square around it using a hammer and a flat head screwdriver, and then focused the hammer on the entrance to the key hole. 4 or 5 smacks from the hammer and the pin was loose. It isn't threaded or welded, it has a small lip on it which must push through the hole kind of like a zip tie does.
Once the brass pin is out, the whole mechanism is free to be disassembled. You can slide the barrel out, and then use the hammer and screwdriver to pop the barrel out of its shell. Now providing that you are skillful enough to keep all the lock pins in their positions, you can use a pin or anything to push the broken key out from the back (Just remember to keep your eye on the ball bearing as once the barrel is free from its shell, the BB will fall out). Unsure of how the lock pins work but I made a wrong move and the whole thing fell to pieces.
The offending ignition, with pin and barrel removed!
The broken key poking through the back of the barrel.
The barrel apart with the crank that turns the switch.
The whole set up lined up so you can see how it comes apart.
The brass pin - notice it's not threaded, its just got a lip on it which must squeeze through the hole to secure the barrel.
The naughty key bit!
The whole mechanism roughly assembled - from left to right - the crank which slots into the switch and turns the ignition on, the steering lock which slots into a rectangular groove on the underside of the steering column (this is what goes CLICK when you turn your wheel slightly when the key isn't in), another crank which connects the rotating barrel to the steering lock to lift it out of its position, followed by the barrel and pins, followed by the barrel cover.
If you have a bit of know how and the right equipment, the hole from the brass pin could be threaded and have a grub screw put in its place once the broken key piece is removed.
It's quite far fetched just to salvage your ignition, especially if you live in the UK since you could probably dig one of these up in your back garden. Even here in Oz it only cost me 100 bucks (about 60gbp) for a second hander.
I know it's quite a pointless thread to post but I had to carry on from where the other guy left off, because there might be someone out there looking for these pictures. I hope somebody can use them to their advantage and if it saves someone a few squid then hey, why the hell not.
Peace!
I've recently suffered the distress of a snapped key in the ignition and it is the biggest pain in the a*se ever.
I managed to get back moving by tapping the shear bolts anti clockwise and removing the steering lock then using the switch behind the ignition to start the car but obviously this isn't very secure. However the way I look at it, if someones ignored your alarm, smashed your window and is sat in the drivers seat, your car is going anyway whether you need a key or not!
Anyway thats besides the point. I know alot of people can remedy a snapped key by using tweezers or needles to retrieve the broken piece. As you probably know this isn't possible with a Disco because of the ball bearing at the entry to the ignition.
In my situation, I managed to pick up a relatively cheap ignition and installed it nice and easy so I am back secure again, but it left me with a spare ignition sitting doing nothing. I saw another post where the guy said he was going to disassemble one and post the photos but he never did it (or at least if he did I can't find it with the search), so I decided i'd take up where he left off.
The thing with the ignition is that the entire set up is held together by the little brass pin which you can see. Some ignitions this pin is removable, but in the S1 Disco it is solid and not going anywhere. If you can find a way to remove this pin without damaging anything else, your in luck - but a damage free method was something which I did not have the equipment for. Maybe if someone could drill a hole small enough and thread the inside, you could use a bolt screwed in to prise the pin with a claw hammer.
Anyway, because the ignition was spare I didn't have to worry about that. I destroyed the pin by smashing a square around it using a hammer and a flat head screwdriver, and then focused the hammer on the entrance to the key hole. 4 or 5 smacks from the hammer and the pin was loose. It isn't threaded or welded, it has a small lip on it which must push through the hole kind of like a zip tie does.
Once the brass pin is out, the whole mechanism is free to be disassembled. You can slide the barrel out, and then use the hammer and screwdriver to pop the barrel out of its shell. Now providing that you are skillful enough to keep all the lock pins in their positions, you can use a pin or anything to push the broken key out from the back (Just remember to keep your eye on the ball bearing as once the barrel is free from its shell, the BB will fall out). Unsure of how the lock pins work but I made a wrong move and the whole thing fell to pieces.
The offending ignition, with pin and barrel removed!
The broken key poking through the back of the barrel.
The barrel apart with the crank that turns the switch.
The whole set up lined up so you can see how it comes apart.
The brass pin - notice it's not threaded, its just got a lip on it which must squeeze through the hole to secure the barrel.
The naughty key bit!
The whole mechanism roughly assembled - from left to right - the crank which slots into the switch and turns the ignition on, the steering lock which slots into a rectangular groove on the underside of the steering column (this is what goes CLICK when you turn your wheel slightly when the key isn't in), another crank which connects the rotating barrel to the steering lock to lift it out of its position, followed by the barrel and pins, followed by the barrel cover.
If you have a bit of know how and the right equipment, the hole from the brass pin could be threaded and have a grub screw put in its place once the broken key piece is removed.
It's quite far fetched just to salvage your ignition, especially if you live in the UK since you could probably dig one of these up in your back garden. Even here in Oz it only cost me 100 bucks (about 60gbp) for a second hander.
I know it's quite a pointless thread to post but I had to carry on from where the other guy left off, because there might be someone out there looking for these pictures. I hope somebody can use them to their advantage and if it saves someone a few squid then hey, why the hell not.
Peace!
