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Anybody replaced a lock cylinder on a circa '85 Brat?


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I need to remove my lock cylinder and I'd really rather not unbolt the whole ignition lock. I'm guessing there's a magic trick to do this, but I haven't been able to find anything online. Has anybody actually done this who will tell me the super secret trick? I have the key, so that's not an issue. I did find a little plugged up hole on the dash/under side of the lock that I drilled out, but poking something into the hole didn't release the cylinder at any key position.

Pic attached: it's the underside of the replacement lock cylinder. The hole in the cylinder is approximately in the location where I drilled out the plug. Am I just not pushing hard enough through the little hole I drilled?

post-65907-0-92977100-1501023518_thumb.jpg

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I've done a bunch of them if you drill the pin out perfect it will come out with a magnet after about 1/8". After that the switch will pull out with a 90 degree pick.

I like that answer a lot better, thanks! Although I don't think my drilling was anything like perfect, so that may be a problem.  Just so we are on the same page, is the little pin that I drilled out (well, more like drilled near) actually holding the cylinder in? Or is drilling out the pin just giving me access to something else inside there? And if it's the latter,  am I using the magnet to pull out the cylinder, or am I using to pull out the thing that I'm accessing via the hole that I drilled? And do I need to be worried about the key? 

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The little pin is the only thing holding the lock cylinder in assuming you already took out all the warning chime parts. If drilled out perfectly with a drill bit slightly larger than the pin the rest of the pin will come out with a magnet. If you have the pin drilled out enough it should just pull out with a right angle pick. The only thing it's hanging up on is the burrs from drilling out the pin.

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It's really not that hard to take the whole thing off. The trick is to really tighten the two clamp screws that have phillips heads, then that takes pressure off the blank security screws and they will come out easy with needle-nose pliers. I did it not too long ago on vacation, on an island in the middle of nowhere when I lost my keys  :rolleyes:

Edited by Subaru Scott
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Closing out this thread. I did not take the whole lock off because it would have required pulling the steering column. Incidentally this is on an ' 85 brat with tilt column. So I ended up drilling out what looks like a tiny little plug on the back (dash) side of the lock. It looks like it's really not a plug but a pin that is pressed through the hole. The pin is all that is holding the cylinder in. My cylinder came out with another couple of pieces (the steering column lock actuator)  that were a pain to reinstall, but essentially reassembly just involves shoving all that stuff back in there. Instead of the pin, I used a self tapping screw to hold the cylinder in. 

 

On to the next project.

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It's really not that hard to take the whole thing off. The trick is to really tighten the two clamp screws that have phillips heads, then that takes pressure off the blank security screws and they will come out easy with needle-nose pliers. I did it not too long ago on vacation, on an island in the middle of nowhere when I lost my keys  :rolleyes:

So much for the vacation  :rolleyes: LOL...

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  • 1 year later...

I attempted to buy that same item and it had ended, suggested; https://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-ignition-lock-cylinder-X6-long/302432735361?fits=Year%3A1984|Make%3ASubaru&hash=item466a655081:g:6KoAAMXQoiJRhgtN:rk:17:pf:0 and I encountered a message saying; "The seller can't accept payments right now".   Looking some more tomorrow.

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