Need Help with my 02 chevy 2500 HD

[DGR959]

I have an 02 chevy 2500 HD with a 6.0 gas engine. Sunday night i went out for a few drinks with some friends and everything was fine, next morning trk wont start key wont evan turn ... no i had a new key made monday from the factory key and nothing. So i am pretty sure i need to replace the ignition cylinder but i have never done one before and have never had to work on a car with airbags. IS there anybody in here that has done one or has some tips. I really cant afford to A. get it towed to the dealer and B. pay the dealer for the labor. If anyone in here can help it would be a great help

[biddy]

did you lock the steering wheel? by that i mean turning it to the left or right til it locks(after the vehicle is off and key is out). try inserting your key and turning the steering wheel while trying to turn the truck on

[roland]

did you lock the steering wheel? by that i mean turning it to the left or right til it locks(after the vehicle is off and key is out). try inserting your key and turning the steering wheel while trying to turn the truck on

Ya beat me to it. That's what I would suggest.

[DGR959]

Yes, I have tryed that for about 1 hour..lol I cant seem to get that damn key to turn. Now i know that the trk dosent have a locking steering wheel so at this point I think im going to be changing that lock cylinder but im a bit worried about the horror stories i have heard with airbags

[roland]

I've never changed a cylander in car. Sorry, can't help you with that. But, does the old key still work? Or try not sticking the new key in all the way, kinda pinch it out a little. You could also "eye it up" with the key that was used to dup., you might need to file the shoulder a little so it can go in the cylander a little deeper. A few suggestions.

[LittleRedToyota]

complete wild-ass-guess, but something i would try if i where in your shoes...

maybe the issue is that one of the pins in the lock is stuck too far "up" (if it were stuck too far "down" you would not be able to get the key to go all the way in).

see here: http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-i...k-picking2.htm

(or google "lock picking" or "how to pick a lock" and you'll get all kinds of hits)

i would take a lock pick...or dental tool...or bent paperclip...or whatever...and try to work each pin individually. you should be able to feel if one is stuck and maybe free it.

probably not the problem, but i would still try it myself since it is free and relatively easy to try.

[DGR959]

I'll give that a try as far as lock picking.. I have the 2 old keys which are not that worn and the one the brand new one that was cut from a key code not the old key and nothing i cant turn the keys at all

[cigarmanpa]

give it a gentle rap with a soft hammer? could knock things free

[40twist]

To disable the airbag turn the steering wheel straight ahead. Remove the "AIR BAG" fuse (15 amp) from the instrument panel fuse block , lower left side of instrument panel. Remove the drivers side knee bolster and disconnect the drivers side air bag module , you have to pull a little lock out of the connector to unplug it , its a yellow two pin plug. Then open the glove box and release the clips on the sides of the door to allow it to open all the way and then unplug the passenegr air bag module. This disables the airbag and its recommended that both modules be disabled.
to enable them , plug the passenger module back in , then the drivers module and finally install the fuse again.

To get to the cylinder remove the clam shells around the steering column. Unfortunately if your cylinder won't turn you may have to do some drilling. The way it is removed is to turn the cylinder to the start position and there will be a little access hole on the bottom of the column that you can insert a small screw driver into to release a little spring loaded lock that holds the cylinder in. This little lock can only be depressed if the cylinder is in the "start" position. once it is depressed you rotate the cylinder back to "run" position and pull it out.



ETA This is the procedure for a 2002 2500HD Sliverado

[40twist]

Also forgot. if you wind up some how needing new keys and you have the PATS system it will need to be programmed for the new keys. Not sure if you have that or not or if thats the system on those trucks , I can't remeber for sure.