Sticky Ignition when cold.

[canadianbiz]

Goodmorning All,
Hey, anyone have any ideas on what to lubricate my ignition with. I just bought this 1986 Toyo pickup. It was fine until this morning as it was pretty cool out last night. This morning I put the key in, kinda hard to get it in and then quite hard to turn. In fact I had to back it off when the truck started knowing that it would keep the starter engaged. What can a person lubricate this with if anyone has had this problem. I can say I know not to use WD40 cause I did that once to another vehicle and it washed all the grease out of the tumbler making it impossible to turn the key at all.
Thanks in advance, Eric

[Billy_The_kid29]

the only thing I can suggest brother is a light oil,like bicycle chain oil

[reb]

I use graphite powder.

[body]

when you get it warmed up try some of that computer caned air (dry air no moisture)and blow it out then add some Oil as Billy said

[canadianbiz]

I will let you know the results. Thanks everyone! Eric

[200kT100]

After jumping through several hoops to fix an ignition lock problem on my T100, consider this:

The lock itself is a pretty simple mechanism; it may be that the stiffness is caused by the switch (behind the lock). If you can get to it without a lot of trouble, you might consider lubricating the moving parts inside the switch. Like Reb said, a graphite lubricant is the way to go; you can buy graphite lock lubricant in a propellant can. If that thing is that stiff on a cool day, the damn thing could freeze up on a cold day. Snapping a key off or burning up a starter will definitley bring rain to your parade.

If you don't already have one, buy a service manual for help. DON'T go to techinfo.toyota.com. Thier available manuals only go back to 1990 or so. While Chilton or Haynes manuals can be a little confusing (read'em carefully), they can be a big help - check e-bay or amazon.com - $10 or $15.... With an older model year, you'll have all kinds of little things crop up that you can take care of yourself.