ignition switch problem

my daughter was given a 79 cj5. The key will NOT come out of the switch. It won't turn back to the lock position...
any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

 

I had the same issue with my CJ7, it was always a bit sticky / troublesome. One day it just plain wouldn't give me the key back so I replaced the ignition lock. Involves removing the steering wheel and taking a few pieces of the column out, not a difficult job but you'll need a steering wheel puller and a lock plate compressor to remove the small snap ring on the column shaft.

 

tilt wheel or fixed column? the tilt part of a gm tilt column can wear and make the ignition sticky...

 

it's a tilt.
thanks for the replies

 

The '82 manual here http://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html has a good step-by-step about taking the column apart. You'll need a special tool to take the little lock ring out, but otherwise you just follow the instructions. I would tear into it and see if I could free it.

Supposedly this article is helpful - http://street2mud.com/webfiles/Tilt Column Fix.pdf