HOW TO Replace 1989 jeep ignition switch?

Answer 1

The ignition and column on the 89 Jeep Cherokee (similar to wrangler) is actually a GM design.

There is a difference between the ignition switch and the ignition keylock.

Most people think the tumbler and lock are actually a switch, but there are no switch contacts on the end of the tumbler, like say in an older Ford ignition

switch.

Having said that, I will interpret the question to be for remove and replace of the keylock.

Before starting: Aquire these tools:

Small philips and slotted screwdrivers (cheapy jewelers set)

Regular philips and slotted screwdrivers

SAE socket set with torx inserts

Steering wheel puller - rent at the parts store or buy a cheap one ($12-$15)

Lock ring compressor

1) remove the Negative battery clamp from the terminal

2) remove the horn cover plate on the steering wheel. The most common form this takes is 3 small self tapping screws accessible from the backside (ie closest to the instrument panel).

3) once the horn cover plate is out, you should be able to disconnect the horn by wiggling the spade terminals. One of the horn wires will "feed" thru the steering column and the other will be a disconnect to ground near the steering wheel nut. Once performed, you should have just the horn wire going in to the steering column

4) Using what will likely be a 13/16 socket (thin sparkplug socket) remove the nut on the steering shaft Mark a line on the hub and the shaft so you can be sure you're replacing it to the original position later.

5) Notice that you can't just pull the steering wheel right off, too much friction from the splined shaft holding the wheel

6) Looking straight down the steering wheel the wheel is attached with a hub. The steering shaft (a splnied shaft) is coming thru the center of the hub, and on the wheel hub itself, you will have two threaded holes on either side of the splined shaft. You will use these to leverage the wheel off the spline

7) the steering wheel puller will look like a bar or a "y". Both will use three holes to lever the wheel hub off of the shaft

8) The center hole on the puller will thread a center post, usualy one end is machine for use with a wrench or a socket, the other end will have a "cone" shape to it. This cone fits over (into) the end of the threaded shaft that you unscrewed the nut from in step 4

9) The idea in using the puller is to let the center post do the work of extracting the steering wheel off of the splined shaft

10) to do this, you must thread the center post into the center hole on the puller, then attach the properly sized bolts into the steering wheel hub. when doing this ensure the "cone" seats properly onto the end of the steering shaft

11) If you have done this correctly it will have two bolts threaded into the steering wheel hub and the center post is seated on the steering shaft

12) using smooth continuous force, rotate the center post so it pushes downward on the steering shaft, and in so doing the steering wheel will pull the wheel up the splined shaft. Repeat until the St.wheel comes of the steering shaft

13) put the steering wheel aside

14) you are now looking at the lock ring, a metal ring with "U" shaped cut outs around the outer diameter of the ring and the horn wire coming thru a plastic sleeve which is in an "L" shaped cut out on the ring

15) Now you need a lock ring compressor. The lock ring needs to be pushed down along the shaft, against the strong center spring which is behind the ring

16) by pushing the lock ring downward you are compressing the shaft spring. This will expose a retaining clip that is around the shaft, this clip holds the lock ring and the shaft spring.

17) Using the jewelers screwdrivers, gingerly coax the circular clip that is seated in a groove around the diameter of the steering shaft, out of the groove and upward toward the lock ring compressor.

18) The lock ring and the clip will come free and be careful not to lose the clip, or the spring located behind the lock ring

19) now you can see the turn signal switch (usually a white molded plastic ).

remove the following screws, and retain which screw came from which hole:

a) the retainer clip for the turn signal handle

b) 3 screws holding the turn signal switch in place

20) slide the turn signal switch straight up the shaft and let it hang out of the steering column. You may need to use the jewlers screwdrivers to aid the removal once the screws are removed

21) looking at the area near the ignition tumbler you will see a torx head screw. This holds the ignition key lock in place. Remove the screw and you can remove the ignition tumbler.

22) Replacement is the reverse of the teardown, and the trickiest part is the

replacement of the lock ring clip. Use the jewelers screwdrivers to help negotiate it back into its groove