I have searched through the various posts regarding replacement of the ignition lock tumblers on 123/126 cars.
I have bought a new tumbler for mine. I have the piece of 1-2mm diameter wire to press the detent and I have attempted to depress the locking detent and unscrew the collar. However I have been unable to get the collar to budge. I am unsure if I am actually depressing the detent. There is quite a bit of slop in my tumbler and there is no clear indicator that I am in switch position #1, save for the mark on the collar.
If I turn the key slowly from OFF toward position #1 and probe in the hole with the wire, it does not contact anything. When the key is roughly aligned with the #1 mark on the collar, the wire contacts something a short distance into the hole. Past that point the hole is bottomless again.
Is the thing that my wire contacts just inside the hole the detent or is the detent located some distance down inside the hole?
Should the wire be flat on the end or ground to the 70 deg. angle point as mentioned on the 123 cylinder lock removal web page?
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~jjs5772/W123/
I tried it both ways without success.
My understanding is that the detent is spring-loaded and I should feel it give a bit, ie. the "resilient resistance" mentioned in the FSM. The thing I feel at position #1 is essentially rigid, with no perceptible give.
I have pressed pretty hard on the wire and I can't get the collar to release. I hesitate to push too hard and raise a burr that might complicate tumbler removal.
Any help from those who have done this on a W126 car will be appreciated. If someone can manage a fast reponse you may actually save me from having to work on my wife's Subaru.
RayG