Thanks to this forum I have a) ordered a new ignition barrel for my W124 while the key still just turned, before it was too late, and b) managed to fit it myself without too much bother. I couldn't have done it without information gleaned from this forum and therefore I would like to share an important point that I learned in the process.

The wire that is inserted into the holes in MUST have a 60 to 70 degree angle filed on the ends, as per diagram below. (There is some debate on the forum, I have discovered, over wether it should be 60 or 70 degrees, but it's not too important as a piece of bent coathanger is not a precision tool in any case!

Pointy ends, square ends, or any other shape just won't work.

If you file the ends of the wire correctly, the barel will fall out. If you do not file the ends of the wire correctly, you can forget ever getting it out. It should require only a light pull on the key to remove it.

Diagram of tool:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1101&d=1013338568

Originally posted by member 'per eriksson' in this thread:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=31363&highlight=tumbler+repair

Thank you all.