FYI: Keys for 80's 123s are easy - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#16 07-04-2006, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miner

I still dont understand. A brass key on brass leaves doesn't leave shavings unless it is nickel plated. Right? Steel is much harder than brass. Why would you want to rub hard steel on little brass leaves? Plus, $25 per key? I know we all want to avoid having to drill out a steering lock, but again, how do metal shavings get in the tumbler from a brass key if all it is rubbing up against are brass leaves?

not sure how it works. i just know from years of dealing with brass keys what happens. maybe it is the way the leaves rub the key, they may scrape it just the right way whis causes brass to be lost from the key. i have seen some so bad that there was a little "pile" of prass shavings setting on the little outer ledge below the key hole. thake our advice, or you will see how inconvenient and expensive it is to deal with this issue when it happens.

all prices are aproximate and may vary in either direction also factor in towing the car to your hose or a shop, if you have to have someone else do the install, plus the labor to remove the old one. by the time all said and done could be over $500.00, so i would say $25 per key is a small price to pay for the benefits you get from using the proper key.
also factory coded tumbler will be the way to go and will come with a key indexed to your car.

please see pictures below

tumbler coded from mercedes
$56.00
cover for the tumbler
$30.00
steering lock assy
$220.00

DCM · #17 07-04-2006, 02:59 PM

Recently, the rubber part of my 300sd key broke. I fixed it with some Rhino glue and it held up for a while but after a few months, was starting tto break again.

Thought I would have to throw away the key but my mechanic had a repair kit for it.

Small plastic envelope from MB with a clever repair kit inside. Works well.

dieseldiehard · #18 07-04-2006, 03:34 PM

I wonder what they charged you for that key head? (called Key Master, see below)
Last time I had a quote the dealer was charging waaaay a lot for it, $13 or something! A few years back they were $3

The problem with the rubber head on early MB keys is that when you turn the key using the rubber part it tears. I have to remind myself constantly to apply torque to the inner part of the key, you know the way you position your thumb and forefinger when twisting it so it won't bend.
The thing is pretty bad from a design standpoint. I suppose its a safety item, in case you hit it in an accident, but its recessed enough that shouldn't happen. Later keys have a molded rubber that is hard and won't bend and break off eventually.

DCM said:
"Thought I would have to throw away the key but my mechanic had a repair kit for it.
Small plastic envelope from MB with a clever repair kit inside. Works well."

dieseldiehard · #19 07-04-2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carson356

i agree, i think it is funny when i advise customers to trash their brass keys and get OE steel keys, but they continue to use them the a month later the car is towed in with a key that won't turn. amounts to pay me a little now, or pay me even more later.

My brother is a locksmith. He gives the same advise, and says he can code cut a key after he removes the driver side door panel to get the code # but he only has brass blanks and they are not guaranteed to work or for very long. The labor to do that is as much or more than paying for a dealer ordered key. And, unless you are a real cheapskate - forget copying a key if its worn at all because the duplicate will not be correct and it won't hold up for long.

The best advise (hopefully not too late!) is to order a key from the dealer as soon as your existing key starts to get flaky because if you finally can't turn the ignition its possible the tumbler is also worn and you'll have to drill out the tumbler and this is huge amount of work compared to simply replacing the tumbler.

FWIW, the last two ignition tumblers I ordered from the dealer were $103 and each came with a code cut key. That's not a bad price really since they should last another 23 years!

DCM · #20 07-04-2006, 05:13 PM

dieseldiehard

The mechanic just gave it to me. He had it in a box of parts and found it after a long search.

The small photo you attached is the one he gave me.

dieseldiehard · #21 07-04-2006, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCM

dieseldiehard

The mechanic just gave it to me. He had it in a box of parts and found it after a long search.

The small photo you attached is the one he gave me.

Lucky Guy! hey, I wonder if he has more?

Hatterasguy · #22 07-04-2006, 07:52 PM

W126 ignition's can be a pita as I found out with the SD. So I take no chances and cough up the $20 for the official dealer cut steel keys. I really can't complain, the keys for a lot of my friends newer MB's cost between $150-$250 each!

Price out a key for an 05 CLK, or an S430!!

I have never had a problem with the heads. I have used the currant one on the SDL for close to three years now and the head is only showing slight wear. The key for the SD is only a year old and still looks new. Actualy I have a bigger problem with rust. Since this things are steel the rust like crazy in or around salt water, so I tend to keep a super light coat of oil on it. Don't want to attract dirt.

Rudolphrocks · #23 07-04-2006, 08:53 PM

Would that be the same blank as the 240D?

#24 07-04-2006, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudolphrocks

Would that be the same blank as the 240D?

AFAIK, all the W123 key blanks are the same. My 300D and 240D blanks are the same.

PanzerSD · #25 07-04-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodnek

Yes, I got a couple too.
Try getting a key for a 116 though...

I have a new key for my 116, it wasn't any trouble at all, but gotta go thru the dealership, and it's about $75CDN

#26 07-04-2006, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

W126 ignition's can be a pita as I found out with the SD. So I take no chances and cough up the $20 for the official dealer cut steel keys. I really can't complain, the keys for a lot of my friends newer MB's cost between $150-$250 each!

Price out a key for an 05 CLK, or an S430!!

I have never had a problem with the heads. I have used the currant one on the SDL for close to three years now and the head is only showing slight wear. The key for the SD is only a year old and still looks new. Actualy I have a bigger problem with rust. Since this things are steel the rust like crazy in or around salt water, so I tend to keep a super light coat of oil on it. Don't want to attract dirt.

the key heads for the 126 while they look the same are quite different than the 123, the 126 has the more robust plastic head because it is the high security key, so the 126 key don't have the same problem as the 123

Hatterasguy · #27 07-04-2006, 11:32 PM

Ahh the old "Red Dot" keys!

Supposidly related to the alarm somehow, never could see how.

miner · #28 07-06-2006, 12:31 AM

I guess, for me, if I was giving advice to people with a sticky lock I would tell them to just take it out and clean it rather than go and buy a high priced key. You can get the clyinder out in two minutes with a paperclip. Plus it is easy to clean as it is open on both ends unlike the door locks. And if spraying cleaner in there or soaking isn't enough you can take the thing apart by punching out one little pin. Then you have a cylinder free of any metal shavings whatsoever.

I guess I would go and get a steel key if I really thought it would help. But I don't. All anecdotal evidence aside, I am of the opinion that a steel key would be worse for the lock and its soft brass leaves. Or at least no better.

In any case, I took my old brass key (the only one I have) to the locksmith across the street today to get a copy. I took the cylinder too to have him take a look at it. The guy saw the cylinder from across the room and said "Mercedes?" He said he did a lot of work on Mercedes. Anyway, when I asked him about steel versus brass he shrugged and said brass keys aren't the problem but he would sell me a steel key if I really wanted. I just bought a brass key (X82, MB41).

He flushed out my cylinder with some special "water repelling fluid" and told me never to use graphite spray.

Anyway, my new key works great. My clyinder is clean. And it cost me $5. So I took the $20 I saved and bought a bottle of Old Grandad and a cigar.

By the way, if your key does eventually get stuck there is a much better way (potentially) to fix the steering lock problem than just cutting away the lock. Just drill a hole at the edge of the face of the key plate exactly 90 degrees clockwise from where the little notch is. This will give you access to the little pin hole that you use to depress the latch on top of the cylinder so you can unscrew the black cover and take out the cylinder. You should be able to fix everything from there. You wont have lost the functionallity of the steering lock and you wont have to buy any new parts (as long as you don't mind a locking cylinder with an extra hole in it).

Edit: scratch that last part about drilling a little hole in the lock. That wont work. Alas.

Hatterasguy · #29 07-06-2006, 11:35 PM

You can only pop the ignition out with a paperclip if it gets stuck in the right position.

If not, good luck without hacking the console to death. Once you get access to the lock you can probably remove it from the wheel itself.

phasmatisnox · #30 07-07-2006, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miner

I guess, for me, if I was giving advice to people with a sticky lock I would tell them to just take it out and clean it rather than go and buy a high priced key. You can get the clyinder out in two minutes with a paperclip. Plus it is easy to clean as it is open on both ends unlike the door locks. And if spraying cleaner in there or soaking isn't enough you can take the thing apart by punching out one little pin. Then you have a cylinder free of any metal shavings whatsoever.

I guess I would go and get a steel key if I really thought it would help. But I don't. All anecdotal evidence aside, I am of the opinion that a steel key would be worse for the lock and its soft brass leaves. Or at least no better.

In any case, I took my old brass key (the only one I have) to the locksmith across the street today to get a copy. I took the cylinder too to have him take a look at it. The guy saw the cylinder from across the room and said "Mercedes?" He said he did a lot of work on Mercedes. Anyway, when I asked him about steel versus brass he shrugged and said brass keys aren't the problem but he would sell me a steel key if I really wanted. I just bought a brass key (X82, MB41).

He flushed out my cylinder with some special "water repelling fluid" and told me never to use graphite spray.

Anyway, my new key works great. My clyinder is clean. And it cost me $5. So I took the $20 I saved and bought a bottle of Old Grandad and a cigar.

By the way, if your key does eventually get stuck there is a much better way (potentially) to fix the steering lock problem than just cutting away the lock. Just drill a hole at the edge of the face of the key plate exactly 90 degrees clockwise from where the little notch is. This will give you access to the little pin hole that you use to depress the latch on top of the cylinder so you can unscrew the black cover and take out the cylinder. You should be able to fix everything from there. You wont have lost the functionallity of the steering lock and you wont have to buy any new parts (as long as you don't mind a locking cylinder with an extra hole in it).

Edit: scratch that last part about drilling a little hole in the lock. That wont work. Alas.

Do you know where the best place to find out how to take the cylinder out is?