Last week I got the dreaded ignition unit sunset fate. After about an hour of
fiddling, the tumbler unlocked and the car roared into life, and when I reached home I parked in the street to keep the drive way free. I turned
the engine off and remembered to leave the key in the Acc. position. Next
morning I could not start the car to bring it into the garage to work on.
So I continued to remove the tumbler in the blistering sun. That was easy
after I had read the ample advice on this forum. I did not hit any snags until then.


Armed with a suitable prepared paper clip lodged in the hole of the tumbler
the woodruff key underneath the cap dropped down and the cap spun out easily. With the tumbler in my hand the key turned effortlessly in all positions. So I realized that the problem must be in the steering lock.


With the tumbler removed, the steering lock is retracted, and from the
tips on this forum I was able to depress a pea sized button on the side of barrel of the lock to withdraw the lock assembly from the vehicle. (Before that I had to disconnect the large electrical plug from the rear and the two shut off vacuum hoses on the side of the lock).


With the assembly out, I reassembled the tumbler after cleaning and
adding graphite powder to all moving parts. The unit worked fine.


Now comes the fun part. I worked the woodruff key on the tumbler several times before assembly and it was fine. So I assembled the lock with the cap
one final time. Before I could finally align the cap marks, the famous paper clip fell off and the woodruff key snapped in and locked the cover.
After that the steering lock would not retract with the key. I had to
depress the part sticking out of the barrel a little bit to turn the
tumbler. I thought, not a problem. I shall reopen the cap.
So, I proceeded to uncap the tumbler using the paper clip, but the
woodruff key would not release.
To use the unit as is, I have kept the pea sized button on the side of the barrel depressed with tape, with the steering wheel lock in the retracted position. Now I can
use the unit without the steering wheel locked. I dread the day the tumbler
malfunctions. Does anyone know if the woodruff key operates only when
the cap is in its home position. I have tried several size paper clips,
but to no avail. Any other ideas to spin the cap off? Did I do some thing wrong?


Hopping for some good news.


Mariano


1984 300tdt