v70 spinning ignition key fix

[alv70d1999]

hi... has anyone got or had the dreaded spinning key syndrome where the ignition key just spins and wont start the car?... well so did i until i fixed it.
story starts when i contacted volvo to see how much a new lock would be with a coded key and i needed to sell one of the kids to pay for it. so i decided to have a go down the diy route.
firstly, i had to buy a lock of fleebay that was 99% identical apart from the number and i got away with it. then i cut the barrel out with a dremmel drill to find out why the tumbler would not co me out and i found out why. the tumbler was actually set into the barrel with a cir-clip on the inside that isn't accessible from the outside at all. so i sat and pondered over it for a while and come up with a solution!..i thought... what if i drill holes where the cir clip is and try to push the clip in so the tumbler can then be pushed out.... good idea i thought.
so i did( see fotos)... then i come up with the idea of using ball bearings to push the clip in but found it hard to push all 5 bearings in at once....... then i thought of using a jubilee clip and hey presto!!!!!.... the jubilee clip pushed all the bearings in and that pushed the cir-clip in just enough for me to tap the tumbler out and it was free.....when you get the tumbler out, you`l find that its locked into the outer case with a cir-clip that has to be removed before you can get the insides out...then all i did was made a good tumbler using the insides out of the new and old tumbler and then put it all back together and its perfect!

iv saved myself in access of 200 quid and all because i took the initiative to have a go myself and not bow down to volvo and there vastly over rated prices!.

hope this helps and saves you money!