siezed ignition barrel

Well, thought i'd ask but think i already know the answer

Went out to the car this afternoon, tried to start the girl, ignition would not turn , wiggled giggled and swore a lot but did not budge :doh:, is this a new barrel ? and if so is it hard to replace, and will i be able to replace key blade in my remote fob so i dont have to have the new key encoded.

Any help would be great

regards
Ming

Try rocking your steering wheel from side to side. Sometimes the steering lock sticks. Also a bit of graphite rubbed onto the key or blown into the barrel can help. Some use WD-40 and others caution against it. Either way it's to lubricate the tiny spring-loaded brass key followers that have a tendency to stick.

Replacing it is doable but entails stripping the steering column plastic and removing the shear bolts that hold the the ignition assembly to the steering column. You can turn them with a punch or put a groove in them with a chisel and tap-turn them out with a flat blade screwdriver. Once off, you can get to the small screws that hold the barrel in place.

This happens to mine quite often, I use WD40 & it cures it for a month or so. Once I was stuck at a motorway service area for ages & the key wouldn't turn it at all no mater how much rocking of the steering wheel but eventually it turned. Since then I WD40 it every now & then & no probs.

West Slope Rover said:

Try rocking your steering wheel from side to side. Sometimes the steering lock sticks. Also a bit of graphite rubbed onto the key or blown into the barrel can help. Some use WD-40 and others caution against it. Either way it's to lubricate the tiny spring-loaded brass key followers that have a tendency to stick.

Replacing it is doable but entails stripping the steering column plastic and removing the shear bolts that hold the the ignition assembly to the steering column. You can turn them with a punch or put a groove in them with a chisel and tap-turn them out with a flat blade screwdriver. Once off, you can get to the small screws that hold the barrel in place.

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Well put !.

There are new lock sets on ebay for around £100.00, or I have heard of many people taking the lock off and letting a locksmith sort it out for as little as £14.00

Ultimately, constant lubing will not be the long term solutuion for this problem, as the brass followers become so worn that when the key is inserted, it does not pull the follower in enough, which is why you cant turn the barrel.

I took mine completely apart, straightened and re-filed the followers, but I have heard of people just taking out and binning the worn ones.

Del.

Thanks for the replies, i will give it a go today with the graphite first, her indoors wasn't happy yesterday, she had to get the bus to town, oh dear
Long term i will be replacing the locks and ignition,

found this ignition fix link on another forum, very good write up with clear photos.. And it helped me this weekend resolve the problem you have just encountered.

wylie_eyed said:

found this ignition fix link on another forum, very good write up with clear photos.. And it helped me this weekend resolve the problem you have just encountered.

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I'll give this a go now, tried the other and still solid, i will be back to let you know later.

Take your time, find a container for the screws and such, and don't pull your lights and rear wiper switches. Just unplug their connections. The worst part is finding a decent position to work in. Good luck!

Well, its now in the house, bit tricky with the connectors, yes the car runs now without it connected, now got to drill out the grub screw and then the rest to follow, looking good up to now though, more updates later.

No good without pics as i keep getting told on here, so here they are

wylie_eyed said:

found this ignition fix link on another forum, very good write up with clear photos.. And it helped me this weekend resolve the problem you have just encountered.

Click to expand...

Followed this fix, and yes it the barrel is turning now after removing 7 of the brass followers, just got to put it back in the car now, that should be easy.
Excellent ignition fix thanks to wylie_eyed for the link

All done and back together now, barrel turning and starting, good link to follow, but will still invest in new when i can.

Hi all, experienced the same problem as all the others on my 2003 Disco. The steering has been "difficult" off and on for a while. Came to a head on Friday afternoon when it would not turn for love or money. Tried everything suggested on here; WD40, Mr Sheen etc. Eventually, after breaking one key and bending another I had to get the car recovered to my local garage.

We are now attempting to come up with a permanent solution; I can't risk it happening again in the near future as we are due to tour France for a month. Landrover have stated that to replace the barrel is not straightforward, you have to replace the Ignition Lock Assembly, quoted cost for replacement is around the £220 mark. Searched the internet and can't find any cheaper, if anyone else knows where I can get one cheaper I'd be grateful.

have a look at local auto locksmiths. I had mine go and they took all the wafers out of the lock and it's been fine since

Just to let you know that since i followed the link i have had no problems with the barrel at all since i first posted this, follow the link you wont get any more problems and will be ok for your trip.

I presume this fix would work on my disco 1 ignition barrel?
Mine is starting to become a bit problematic when trying to turn her over it's slowly getting worse.
Sometimes have to get the wife to get it to turn as I tend to lose my patience a bit to quickly.

robbh said:

I presume this fix would work on my disco 1 ignition barrel?
Mine is starting to become a bit problematic when trying to turn her over it's slowly getting worse.
Sometimes have to get the wife to get it to turn as I tend to lose my patience a bit to quickly.

Click to expand...

Possibly, i carn't say for sure as mines a D2

here is the cheapest i ever saw Ignition Switch / Steering Lock Discovery 2 98-04 Island 4x4 - Specialists in Land Rover and Range Rover Parts and accessories for all models. UK and worldwide mail order.