Just curious, is removing that part needed to work on ignition? or what? why did u need to remove yours?
And now, how do you remove the ignition tumbler for replacement, E320 1996. Having a sticking ignition problem and in the process of trouble shooting I did remove the panel below the steering wheel/column the one above the gas and brake pedals, to get to the ignition, and found where the ignition switch interlock ended on the ignition unit assembly, no kidding right? it had the silver turning end to it, I twisted it off while the key was in at the first turn position (the one after inserting the key pass the stuck ignition position) and the key turned like silk but it just wont come out of the ignition, I was tempted to leave a key in the ignition and keep it concealed to eliminate the sticking problem, but the thought of someone getting into the car and having easy access to starting and driving off with it, slapped sense back into me. But the point is that the key turned flawlessly like silk with the ignition switch interlock cable detached, which seems to tell me that the tumbler is working fine so it must be something with that cable that's causing the problem. Any ideas and does anyone know where the adjustment for that cable is and how to adjust it?
More news I finally dared to venture deeper into trying to adjust the ignition shift interlock, back into the center console removing it completely this time then removing the cold/heat air duct to get at the end of those two cables on the right of the gear lever covered with a plastic cover which you would just pry off with a flat blade screwdriver, but be carefull use the flat part of the scr driver to twist and seperate exactly at the studs where the plastic is attached to, two of them. One cable is for the ignition lock release and the other for the break pedal release, tried a few adjustments from the two small bolts that coincidently I could see without moving all the other stuff but it was worth it to actualy see what was happening when I made adjustments to the cables. The're were both hook latches on opposite sides of the gear shifter mechanism under where you just took the black plastic part off from. Well needless to say nothing with MB couls be moderatly easy and all the above procedure did not resolve the sticking ignition but I now know have more knowledge of how some of the parts move and work.so I'm back to square one. Oh I found the gear shift adjustment underneath the car just a little behind the tranny support, its a little hidden though, you would have to put the car in 3rd 2nd or L to get a good look at it or make any adjustments short of dropping the tranny and exhaust, yeah right! Anyway I didn't think I sohuld add to my problems by trying to make an adjustment there when my tranny worked fine, Don't wanna ever have tranny problems. So my next step is to replace the ignition tumbler I really tried everything I could before I got to this step, So does anyone know how to remove the tumbler from the 96 E320 I can get the ignition to turn over after a minute or two so I can get the key to the first or seconrd position if needed. HELP