How to Rebuild Ignition Lock Cylinder 2000-05 Chevy Monte Carlo
Created on: 2014-07-19
How to repair, install, fix, change or replace a failed, stuck, or damaged lock cylinder on 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 Chevy Monte Carlo.
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step 1 :Removing the Lower Panel
- Disconnect the negative battery cable with an 8mm socket
- Push the tabs on the panel beneath the steering wheel
- Remove the panel
- Twist the socket and remove the bulb from the panel
- Remove the two 7mm screws from the lower panel
- Pull out the fuse panel door
- Remove the lower panel by pulling on both sides
- Remove the wiring harness from the lower panel with a flat blade screwdriver
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step 2 :Removing the Steering Wheel Panels
- Remove the T25 screw from beneath the steering wheel
- Pry out on the tilt lever on the lower steering wheel panel
- Remove the lower steering wheel panel
- Remove the two E5 External Torx bolts from each side of the upper panel
- Remove the upper steering wheel panel
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step 3 :Removing the Dash Panel
- Remove the fuse panel door
- Remove the 7mm bolts from the fuse panel
- Remove the 7mm bolt from the glove box
- Pry off the key ignition bezel with a flat blade screwdriver
- Pull out on either side of the dash panel
- Pull the dash panel forward
- Remove the hazard switch wiring harness with a flat blade screwdriver
- Put the keys in the ignition
- Turn it to the on position
- Pull the shifter back all the way
- Lift the dash panel up and out
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step 4 :Removing the Ignition from the Lock Body
- Remove the four 7mm bolts from the steel panel
- Remove the four 10mm bolts from the steel panel
- Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the ignition switch
- Pull the ignition switch down through the steel panel's area
- Put the key in the ignition, turn it on
- Remove the ignition switch wiring harness with a flat blade screwdriver
- Push in on the tab and pull the lock cylinder free
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step 5 :Removing the Ignition Lock Cylinder
- Align the ignitions switch tab with the slot in the lock housing
- Push in the tab with a flat blade screwdriver
- Place a finger on the tumbler and remove the lock cylinder
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step 6 :Removing the Tumblers
- Pry up the rectangular tumbler panel from the lock cylinder
- Remove the springs
- Tape all of the tumblers except the first slot
- Tap the cylinder upside down to raise the tumbler
- Pry out the tumbler with a pick
- Place the tumbler on the first slot on the paper provided
- Repeat the process for the next slots
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step 7 :Installing the New Tumblers
- Mark the number in each square that corresponds with the tumbler
- Slide the new cylinder out of the lock housing
- Remove the rectangular tumbler panel with a flat blade screwdriver
- Remove the springs
- Remove the tumblers
- Install the tumblers in the order that pertain to each number
- Repeat the process until the tumblers are replaced
- Place one spring into each slot
- Replace the tumbler panel evenly without bending it
- Put the key in and make sure the lock tab goes down
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step 8 :Installing the Ignition into the Lock Body
- Insert the key into the cylinder, make sure the tab on top is heading down in
- Apply grease to the end of the cylinder
- Place the end of the lock cylinder into place
- Push the lock cylinder into the lock housing with the key in the lock cylinder
- Push in the piston on the inside of the lock body with your finger
- Match the piston with the ignition harness and connect the wiring harness
- Insert the key into the ignition
- Turn the key to align the ignition with the lock body
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step 9 :Installing the Ignition
- Connect the ignition switch wiring harness
- Turn the key to the off position
- Remove the key
- Reconnect the two wiring harnesses to the ignition
- Connect the negative battery cable with an 8mm socket
- Place the key in the ignition and turn the vehicle on
- If the vehicle turns on, skip to step 11
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step 10 :Replacing the Security
- Leave the car in the on position until the security light goes off
- Turn the key off and wait six seconds
- Turn the key on
- Attempt to start the car once
- Turn the car off
- Repeat the process for two more times
- You may need to jump start the car after three tries
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step 11 :Replacing the Ignition
- Feed the ignition switch into its slot
- Insert the two 10mm bolts holding the ignition
- Replace the steel panel
- Insert and tighten the four 7mm bolts
- Insert and tighten the four 10mm bolts
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step 12 :Reinstalling the Dash Panel
- Open the glove box
- Turn the key to the on position
- Turn the shifter all the way back
- Pull the steering wheel down
- Tuck the dash panel behind the steering wheel
- Connect the hazard switch wiring harness
- Slide the shifter forward
- Remove the key
- Push in the clips on the dash panel
- Replace the two 7mm bolts on the dash panel
- Insert the ignition bezel
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step 13 :Installing the Steering Wheel Panels
- Tilt the steering wheel down
- Insert the upper steering wheel panel
- Replace the E5 inverted Torx bolts
- Insert the lower steering wheel panel
- Insert the T25 screw from beneath the steering wheel
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step 14 :Installing the Lower Panel
- Connect the wiring harness
- Push in the lower panel
- Insert the two 7mm screws from the lower panel
- Push the bulb into the socket
- Push in the tabs on the panel beneath the steering wheel
- Push the tilt lever back into place
- Push in the fuse panel door
Tools needed
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Electrical Tape
Hammer
Socket Extensions
Flat Blade Screwdriver
E5 Socket
8mm Socket
7mm Socket
White Grease
10mm Socket
Ratchet
T25 Torx Driver
Pick
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to rebuild a new ignition lock cylinder so that you can use your old key in a new cylinder. We're going to show you that on this 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo. You'll need an ignition lock cylinder rebuild kit from 1AAuto.com and we do sell these kits, they actually come with new keys and if you don't want to do the whole process. You can obviously just use your existing key for the doors and the new key for the lock cylinder, but in this video we show you how to rekey the lock cylinder so you can use your old key for both. For this you'll need a 7mm socket, 8mm socket, 10mm socket, ratchet, socket extensions, T25 Torx bit, flat blade screwdriver, E5 external Torx bit, grease, tape, pick, and a hammer.
Start off by disconnecting your negative battery cable. Just use the 8mm socket and ratchet to remove it. Underneath your steering wheel, you'll see this panel. You just want to push in these two tabs, pull it down, and then twist this socket free and pull the bulb out. Then you want to remove these two 7mm screws. Pull out your fuse panel door, especially make sure that the lower clip comes out, and then pull straight back on the lower panel on both sides. Use a small flat blade screwdriver to help you release the clip on the harness and remove the harness.
Inside here, there's a T25 screw. Just go ahead and remove that. Then pry out on this lever and it pulls free. Then you can pull the panel straight down, unhook it, and pull it forward. Next, you want to remove these two E5 External Torx bolts. There's one right here and one right here on the other side. We'll just fast-forward as Mike removes those. Once those are removed, you can pull this upper panel up and off.
Now, pull this panel off the rest of the way and remove this 7mm bolt right here. Pull down your glove box and remove this 7mm bolt right up here. Pry off this bezel. Then pull out on either side of the dash panel. You just want to feel for the clips back behind it and pull out. Once you get it free, just pull it forward, use a flat blade screwdriver to disconnect the hazard switch, and be careful while doing this cause you can break the bezel fairly easily. Now put your keys in the ignition, turn it to the on position, pull your shifter back all the way, and then lift your dash panel up and out. Next, you want to remove a series of bolts that hold on this panel. You can see there's three 7mm on this side and one 7mm bolt over here.
Then, back behind this plate, you can see there are 10mm bolts up there. They're slightly gold color, and you're going to want to remove those and the ones behind them as well. To get these ones, you can go up through here and to get the one back behind it. You can just go on the other side of the plate, reach up from underneath, and get them that way. We'll fast-forward as Mike removes those.
Next, remove these two 10mm bolts that hold in your ignition switch. Now, pull your ignition switch down through the hole where the plate was. Then put your key in the ignition and turn it to the on position. Then push in on this tab and pull that free. Then push in on this tab and pull your lock cylinder free. You want to remove the switch so this tab is lined up with that slot. Then press in here and push and it comes out. And then, be careful. You want to put a finger on this tumbler here just in case it's worn out, and make sure that the tumblers don't pop out. Now pry this rectangular top part off. You can see the springs are going to come out but that's not a big deal. The kit comes with new springs.
Remove the springs. Now, your tumblers are in these slots. Tape up all of them except the very first slot. Tap the cylinder upside down on the table a couple of times just to bring that tumbler higher up, and then pry it out with a pick and on this paper that's supplied. You just want to put into place on the first slot. Pull back the tape and repeat the same process with the next slot. We'll fast-forward as Mike completes this process.
All right, you may find sometimes that putting the key into the lock cylinder helps to push the tumblers out. It's just very important that you keep them in the correct order, so use that paper to help you do that. Take the first tumbler and just look at it. It's hard to see in that shoot, but there's actually a number on it. You just want to mark that number in the square to correspond with that tumbler. Just repeat the process with the next one.
Take your new cylinder and just slide it out. Pry off this rectangular panel that holds your tumblers and springs in. Then remove each of those springs and each of the tumblers. Now, take your bags of tumblers, and you can see that our first tumbler is going to be a number two, so we would take a new tumbler number two from the bag labeled two and just feed it into that first slot. Just use a flat blade screwdriver to push it down the rest of the way, and make sure it's in all the way.
Then our next one will be four, so you can see Mike takes a four and just slides that into the next slot. You just want to repeat this process all the way down. You can use some pliers to help just feed them in if you'd like. It's not required but it does help. Then put one spring into each slot. Now, we're going to install that locking panel, and that's important to do this correctly. I found on ours, one side went in fairly easily with finger pressure. You want to try and do it evenly. I did end up using a screwdriver to help push down, if you use the screwdriver make sure you're pressing right over the tab that goes down in so you don't risk bending that metal panel at all.
If you bend it, you can cause the lock cylinder not to work correctly. Here I'm using a hammer to tap it, and again, just right on the end making sure I don't bend it. Then put the key in and make sure that your lock tab goes down and it's keyed correctly. Then take this part that goes on the back here and just push it into place. Then slide it back into the housing. You will need the key to do this.
Now, you want to turn the inside, so you just push in the piston on the inside, turn it, and you want it to match up with your ignition switch. Now, push the harness into place and then insert your key into the ignition and just turn it until that moves. Then just push it back into place. Insert this harness. Now, you can turn your key off and remove it. Then reconnect these two harnesses. Now, reconnect your negative battery cable and just tighten it up. After connecting the battery, try your cylinder switch and you may find that the car starts right up. If your car does start right up, you can just skip to about 14 minutes and 14 seconds in the video.
If your car doesn't start, you'll need to reset the security, and over the next couple of minutes of the video that's what we show you to do. On a lot of these cars, when you replace the ignition lock cylinder, you will have to reset the security. When you try to start the car, and you realize it doesn't work, and on your message center you'll see a blinking security light right there. What you want to do is just wait until that light goes off, leave the car in the on position until that light goes off, and it can take about 10 minutes.
Then, when the light goes off, turn the key off, wait six seconds, and then turn the key on and attempt to start the car once. Let off, and the security light will come back on and start blinking again. You want to repeat the entire process, waiting until it goes off again and just keep doing this.
It does take about 30 minutes, so you may need to jump start your car, but after you've done it three times when you go to start your car it starts up. Now, just feed your ignition switch back up into place. Once you've got it in place, replace those two 10mm bolts. Replace this panel and the ten and 7mm bolts that hold it in place.
To reinstall the dash panel, open up your glove box, turn the key to the on position, and pull the shifter all the way back. Pull your steering wheel down and then tuck the dash panel back behind the steering wheel. Now reconnect your harness. Then you can slide your shifter forward and remove the key. Then push the dash panel back in the rest of the way. Then just push in the clips all the way around it. We'll fast-forward as Mike replaces those two 7mm bolts and tightens them up. Then just push this bezel back into place. Tilt the steering wheel back down, feed this upper panel back into place, and push it back down and replace those two E5 inverted Torx bolts.
Now, feed in the lower panel. You want to push the back back behind, and re-clip those two hooks. Then swing up the front, push it into place, and then just replace that T25 Torx screw. Reconnect the harness to your switch, line up the panel, and push it back into place. Then replace the two 7mm bolts at the bottom of the panel. Push the bulb back into the socket, and twist it back into this panel, and then feed the panel back. Then you just push it back up into place. Next, push your tilt lever back into place. Then take your fuse panel, line up those tabs, and just hit them back into place. You're all set.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
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