Do I need a new ignition lock cylinder ?

[XLT Lou]

My wifes 98 4-dr XLT 4.0 ohv started acting wierd. She told me that when she would try to start it she would turn the key it would do NOTHING,No crank,click,nothing. After repeated trys it finally started.I tried it when she got home and it worked fine. This morning I tried it again after it sat all night and the key would not even turn( like you were trying to start it without putting the key in ). I took the collum (sp) cover off and lubed all the visable parts, cleaned the lock with contact cleaner and the lubed it with a small amount of powderd grahite. After trying for 15 minutes it finally started.
Any ideas, Can I replace this myself or is this a dealer type repair ?
She's going out of town tommorrow and taking my truck so I need to get this fixed so I don't get stuck.

Thanks in advance

 

[Papa]

I’d call Napa Auto Parts if you have one close by and see if they sell just the cylinder. Since you already have the column covers off can you locate the electrical connector the ignition switch wiring harness plugs into? Surly you won’t have to go to the dealer if you can unplug that section and if you have to get a whole new switch it should just plug in. Unless you can get one at a parts yard.