So I read for an hour or so to try and discern which of these problems I am having. Lately, the key in my 300D will only turn the tumbler after a good bit of fiddling with it. I sometimes turn the steering wheel hard against the 'steering lock' (is this the correct terminology? I've seen several references but am not certain what it's actually called) and that sometimes works.

I'd *really* like to just get rid of the steering lock altogether, but am I also needing a new tumbler?!

(I did use 'search' and also read several different posts from several different forums/sites, so I promise I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here!)

Thank you!!!

and just replace the steering lock and tumbler now, while you still can get the tumbler out without having to grind it out. Mercedes uses a very hard steel in the tumbler body making it very difficult to drill out and remove once it freezes up. To complicate matters, the steering lock is not made very well, and at some point fails in the locked position - regardless of whether the tumbler is in good condition or not. My '84 300D steering lock (the L shaped body that contains the lock tumbler, switch, steering lock, etc) failed at about 174,000 miles and it was many days of blood, sweat, and tears before it was out. This issue, more than any other, made me have bad thoughts...

That's it! That's the info I was looking for. So the whole L shaped thing I've seen so many pictures of is the 'steering lock' then. I plan on 'modifying' mine to make it so it never locks. If someone *really* wants my old car, and they put forth the effort to steal it, perhaps they need it more than I do :-)