W123 ignition and steering column lock saga, Afraid to reinstall lock assembly now.

[gregp1962]

1982 w123, US

After much tribulation, I was able to get the tumbler to turn to the first position to get the tumbler out. Then with the tumbler out, I was able to get the lock assembly out of the car and on the bench now. I'm relieved that I don't have to drill this out of the car. But, I'm afraid to reinstall it and have the same problem. With the lock assembly on the bench and the tumbler out of it, shouldn't I easily be able to turn the lock with a screw driver to any position? It still won't turn with a screw driver. To me, this means that the tumbler isn't the problem. What is likely the problem now? BTW, this lock assembly is only a few years old.

[mike280]

its a rusty memory now but on my last W123 I had lock issues and I just didn't reinstall the lock ring and ran it that way forever.

[jsb357]

Originally Posted by gregp1962

1982 w123, US

BTW, this lock assembly is only a few years old.

OEM or will fit?

there is a cam assembly that retracts the steering lock when you turn the key.

This part is considered a non serviceable component.

Generally replacement is the only option.

Proceed at your own risk. If OEM operation is desired please ignore the link...

This is not a step by step instruction but a review of how I solved the problem.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/408467-w123-key-switch-sticking-stuck.html#post4098722

[vwnate1]

There are threads about how to disable the locking part, I'd do this as I've had the misery of the steering remaining locked when I was away from home .

[ykobayashi]

No do not put it back together!

I had this problem on my 240d. I got it to turn once and was able to get it disassembled. The lock tumbler was fine. But somehow the mechanism (column lock mechanicals) had worn out and was jamming up. I got a newer replacement and compared the innards. My old one was worn and was seizing up.

Don’t just put it back together without knowing exactly why it isn’t turning. If I recall right, there maybe some extra buttons or levers that have to be slid around down there with your screwdriver while you turn it. I remember driving with a screwdriver for a few days. Like you jab the screwdriver down the hole in the bottom, slide it sideways a bit and turn…something like that my memory is fading.

I’m pretty good at fixing things (had a full machine shop at the time) and I recall opting for complete replacement. Some internal part in the column lock mechanism was either inaccessible or un fixable. It was like a little ramp shaped button? Maybe The ramp gets pushed to the side when the key jabs up against it…and the ramp was worn to the point where my key fell short of the mark. The ramp/button got a big divot in it from years and years of daily starting. I remember wanting to pull it out, welding some filler on it and grinding it back into shape but I stopped. Probably because I couldn’t get the contraption apart.

[ykobayashi]

Here it is. Post#9.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/161943-replacing-steering-lock.html

Another example of the mountain of wisdom on this forum.

[gregp1962]

[QUOTE=ykobayashi;4176904]Here it is. Post#9.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/161943-replacing-steering-lock.html

I'm not going to put it back together until I have more confidence in this lock assembly. The post #9 doesn't seem to be addressing my problem though. Do I need to get into the innards of the assembly to see why it won't turn even without the tumbler in? With the assembly out of the car, it is a LITTLE BIT easier to turn the lock with a screw driver. But, I'm not even able to slide the tumbler into the assembly. There is a less than 1 1mm gap before it will slide in all the way. (1st pic red arrow.)
I'm thinking that I need to get into the inside of the assembly and remove the locking pin at the end of the assembly. (2nd pic red arrow)

[BillGrissom]

I had a similar problem in my 1984 300D. With tumbler out, the rotation was still jamming. The culprit was inside, behind the flat steel plate which is crimped to the aluminum housing, opposite the steering lock rod. You must pry that plate off to find it. There is a small spring detent inside. The die-cast spring tower had broken off and was rattling around to sometimes jam. That tower is thin so I expect it may break off in many cars.

I just shook the parts out, so no longer have that detent, but never had an issue with the key rotating while driving since there is enough friction in the electrical switch (maybe even detents), plus the vacuum switch opposes rotation enough that the key shouldn't rotate enough to turn the engine off while driving. I epoxied and crimped the steel plate back on.

I kick myself for not also removing the steering lock rod while "in there". It serves little purpose for theft prevention these days, and only adds a risk of locking your steering wheel while driving, plus the common problem of "key won't turn" when the steering is jamming it, so a dumb teen might just force the key and break it off in the lock.

[gregp1962]

Thanks Bill!! I'm going to do exactly what you said. Plus I'm going to either remove the lock rod or maybe drill a pin through it.

Any suggestions on how to pry off the plate?
Also what's the best way to pin the lock rod in the retracted position.

[vwnate1]

If you have access to a grinder, maybe just cut the tip of the extended locking pin off ? .

You'd still want to remove the steel plate to ensure any broken bits up there .

[ykobayashi]

[QUOTE=gregp1962;4177059]

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

. Do I need to get into the innards of the assembly to see why it won't turn even without the tumbler in? With the assembly out of the car, it is a LITTLE BIT easier to turn the lock with a screw driver. But, I'm not even able to slide the tumbler into the assembly. There is a less than 1 1mm gap before it will slide in all the way. (1st pic red arrow.)
I'm thinking that I need to get into the inside of the assembly and remove the locking pin at the end of the assembly. (2nd pic red arrow)

Ok, I’m starting to remember this thing. Your tumbler is out. Where you jam your screwdriver in to turn the mechanism I believe there is a little wedge that has to be pushed to the side before the lock can rotate. As I recall it wasn’t as easy as turning with a screwdriver…you needed to slide this bar to the side while turning. Mentioned in the post#9 I suggested. Assuming you have done this and it still won’t turn with a screwdriver, there is probably an internal part that is worn or broken.

In that case you need to replace the steering lock mechanism or disassemble it as you suggested by pulling the little rectangular door on the side. There may be broken stuff in there like Bill mentioned.

At this point I just quit and ordered a used replacement lock and saved my old tumbler.

It would be fun to rip into the thing and see why it failed. More so get it working again by modifying it.

From the suggested post #9

After key is removed and wheel centered a lever under the cylinder pops up and bolt goes into steering column. This lever must be depressed for key to turn. When it is working right, the tip of the key depresses this lever and lock can be turned. When it sticks and it is not due to the cylinder, I think it's due to this lever not being depressed enough to allow steering lock to be turned.

I may be wrong on this but my feeling is the lock won’t turn if this little lever isn’t pushed aside even if you grind of the steering pin. It effectively locks the rotation of the mechanism.

From an old post by diesel911

[gregp1962]

Any advice on removing the steel cover plate to get into the innards?

Also, any advice on the best way to keep the steering lock pin retracted? I was going to drill a hole in where the little locking pin is (Yellow arrow) and drill all the way through the locking rod (red arrow) WHILE IN RETRACTED position. Then, put some kind of pin through the newly drilled hole to keep in place while completely retracted. The reason I want to do it this way is that I read that the key will have a weird feeling when the rod is completely removed. They say there is no tactile feeling of the different positions when rotating the key if the lock rod is removed. I'm hoping that keeping the lock rod in the lock but in retracted position will solve this problem.

[gregp1962]

OK, the solution I performed was to cut off the little locking pin with a hacksaw and permanently retract the steering column lock rod, disabling the steering lock.

This is where I cut off the little lock pin so that I don't get stuck in the future if the key won't turn. I drilled a hole all the way through so that I could put that little screw in to hold the steering lock rod in the RETRACTED position. It is important to drill the hole while holding the steering lock rod in the retracted position. This disables the steering lock permanently.



I inserted the little screw into the hole I had previously drilled. Making sure that the hole was in a place the head of the screw was not protruding so as to impede the assembly from sliding in correctly. I made sure there was no epoxy protruding either. Now, the steering lock rod is permanently retracted and the little locking pin is no longer there.


With the steering lock in place but retracted, the key still has a good feel. I can feel each key position. I have heard that if you remove the steering lock rod completely, you can't feel the different key positions. Also, with the little locking pin removed, I'll never have to worry about not being able to remove anything if the key is ever not able to turn.