I've never had a problem with the steering lock. Both the key and the copy still work...but sometimes it's iffy. I've found "key dust" by the ignition.

I was completely expecting it to be an hour job, maximum. I can wait. If they say something unreasonable, I'm gonna take my part and leave.

When I talked to the service adviser (?), he had to put me in the system. Ok, I say. What kind of car? 240D? Oh, hmm, that's not an option?!?

He had to put the car down as a C240. The gentleman that I talk to tomorrow is going to have to fix that manually. What is the world coming to? :rolleyes:



Thanks for the responses, guys. I really don't want to be taken to the cleaners...over a quick job. :cool:

Some adviser!
 

:eek: Extreme caution is advised. :eek:

Lol :D

Check this to see what the project intails:
http://www.pauldrayton.com/uploadfiles/merc/Service/W123/w123CD2/Program/Chassis/46-640.pdf

Well, the service advisor I talked to today was a bit more...experienced. He changed the 2001 C240 to a 1982 240D. Much better :P :D

Once I explained the problem, he knew I just wanted the lock cylinder swapped. He asked if it still turned. I said yes, 95% of the time (the other 5% I have to wiggle it).

He explained that most of the customers that had ignition key trouble have waited until it's too late and it won't turn, which equates to a couple hours (3+ hours of labor) to get everything apart.

For my case, it'd most likely be one hour of labor charged @ $115 (eek). Oh well...This will probably be the *one* time I go to a dealer. :rolleyes:

For $115, I would go find a paper clip and do it myself in 5 minutes. Worst case, you go bck to the dealer if you have a problem.

I'd do it myself, oh wait I just did a few months ago.:D

Its very simple...

I did one about three months ago too.

I had mine replaced recently at an indy mechanic. The tumbler was $110-$120 something. I got it done and out the door for under $150.

This reminds me of a newbie question I've always had... When my car rolled off the boat from Germany, besides the valet key, was there only one key? I currently have a normal looking key for the ignition and a flat edge key - I assume the original - for the doors and trunk. When the car was new, was this flat edge key supposed to work in the ignition, too?

Well...I said what have I got to lose.

So, I found a paperclip and Macgyver'd that lock out. :D

I then proceeded to call the service guy at the dealer and told him I wouldn't need the service tomorrow. :D I made sure to let him know that the only tool I needed was a paperclip. He laughed.

It took me a little while to figure out how to get everything back together. I guess I just had to figure out that the threaded black cap didn't need to go in all the way.


New cylinder and key + taxes: $143
Paperclip: free
Graphite dust: $1.47
Not having to pay the dealer: Priceless :D

Congratulations!! Good for you!

Everytime you do something yourself the involved stress increase your self confidence to no end. Thats exactly how we learn. Enough things tackled and you become self confident even. Little or no actual stress up to a certain point is experienced. I guess this means you are in control. Most people never do get started yet it can start with something as straightforward as changing an ignition tumbler out.

If a job is too involved most members will mention it based on your experience. With this site your car should be able to miss most mechanical labour bills if you wish. The retained money usually always finds another place so it is not really a problem. :)
'
Also it does make you miss the times when you are ripped off bad on occasion. They leave a real sour taste when you are aware of them. Most people are neither aware or try to justify what happened or bought the B.S. There is enough out there to go around. Thats how it all thrives it seems.

There are so many ways you can justify doing it yourself. My personal favorite is you almost always save enough to pay for any of the new tools you aquired. You pay for them the first time you do a job with the labour and parts savings. After that they are basically free. For the rest of your life.

Also your incidental knowledge has to expand. This type of car is probably as good as it gets to get started with. For most owners the garage option is not a good choice with a vehicle this old anyways.

Next thing to become familiar with is how to source parts economically to meet your needs. Learning how to equate quality at the same time.

Worthwhile in my opinion and you can refine it up to any stage you want. It in many ways is an art form. The other part is you will eventually influence others to be more self sufficient as well. Absolutly best of all these aquired skills are transferable to other areas of your life. They all tend to become cumulative.
Anyways glad the change out went well. I thought it should. I felt as I always do. If you got enough encouragement to do it yourself you would reap the rewards in some fashion. In my opinion you did. Congratulations and remember most people out there do not have the backup this site presents. That is also priceless in my opinion.

I've done the full monty replacement job on my girlfriends '77 240D. Car came with one original key and multiple brass keys. AARRGGGHHH. Keys started sticking and had to replace tumbler. Steering lock was also sticking so I had to replace the lock mechanism as well. Since the car was a '77, I had to upgrade all parts to the upgraded replacements as some had been phased out. The longest part of the job was transplanting the pre-glow microswitch from the ol assembly to the new one (had to make a tool so that I could remove it without destroying it). Two weeks later Worldpac started stocking new microswitches for about $12.

Now lock, tumbler and column are very tight and reliable again.

Good job, MacGyver!