jlostlen

I just bought a 1993 300ce from my aunt. The car has been parked for a year now due to an apparent ceased ignition tumbler. The key will go in and out of the ignition but will not go into the start or on position. I would like to fix this issue. How do I go about replacing the tumbler on this specific car.

Thank you in advance to any replies. Nice forum you guys have here. Looking forward to spending some time on it and learning about the cars.

Cheers,

James


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www.precisioncasewerk.com

ATL_S124

I had this same thing happen on my old 126... was a pain in the butt cause i got stuck out in the boonies and had to have it towed... this was back when i was 16 and mechanically inept so i had Hans, my Indie do it... sorry I am of absolutely no help (just curious how many others this has happened to) Good luck!

rivcal4life

this has been discussed.

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w124/248554-key-won-t-turn.html

let us know if it works out for you.

appatula

To lazy to click Pham's link however I'm sure it suggests the following:

1.) Put key in ignition and carefully wack inwards with a hammer to
free seized tumbler pins. If no-go proceed to step 2.
2.) Put key in ignition and use plyers to basically "Force" the key to
turn the ignition, just be careful not to use to much force and snap
the key.... that would be bad.

Rest assured, this worked for me while I was at school so I have first hand experience using these exact steps.

rivcal4life

PHAM!?!?! Whatha!

hahahaha.

Anyways. I would spray some wd40 or slick 50 lubricant in the ignition before anything. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before you go hitting with the hammer, just to loosen up the pins as much as possible.

jlostlen

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I just received the car last night. I have sprayed the ignition with slick 50, the key goes in all the way, and I feel no resistance there, but will not turn to start or on position. I have tapped it with a hammer and not had any luck, I twisted the key with vise grips and pliers and it feels that If i go any harder it will snap. I also tried wiggling the steering wheel while turning the key, no luck there either. I jacked up the front end since the wheels are turned to the left about 3/4 of fully turned... tried everything again no luck with the wheels up.
One thing I did notice is that when the steering wheel is turn all the way to the right I feel movement on the tumbler. Turned to the left I feel nothing... A clue?
Any more suggestions? thanks again for all the posts.

James

appatula

Ahaha.....that night before took a toll on me excuse my absent mind!! No hard feelings I hope

Just to make you feel better, and justify myself, your sig pic reminds me of Phams black beauty

jlostlen

Also Thought I would add to this that I cannot get the car to move out of park as well. I am starting to suspect the steering wheel lock as the problem as I feel alot of movement on the tumbler when i turn the steering wheel all the way to the right.... Suggestions? I'm going to go tinker on it some more in the meantime. Im very anxious to get this baby up and running and show her a good time!

Thanks again everyone,

James

jlostlen

And just to clarify, the steering wheel is locked...

rivcal4life

My guess would be that the steering lock is engaged, but once you feel that resistance let up when you have the wheel turned right I would think the steering lock has nothing more to do with it. It is probably all ignition tumbler related. When you hit it with a hammer, what was your exact method?

What I did was put the key just a little into the ignition, then tap it in the rest of the way with one swift bump. It only took 2 of those to completely free up all of my pins. Im sorry to hear youre not having the same luck...

jlostlen

Riv, thanks for the reply.

I am placing the key in the ignition all the way, hammer tapping it and with one hand and jiggling the key via a pair of vice grips with the other. After this I tried vibrating it with a orbital sander which ended up breaking the key. My rescue operation is on hold until I get another key from the dealer.... Bad mistake. Anyways I have ordered a new tumbler from Autohauz Arizona for 28 dollars shipped. I know this way I'll have a different set of keys for door and ignition but Its not worth the extra time and 50 dollars to get from MB dealer. Anyways I'll keep everyone posted, in the meantime if anyone has a suggestion Id be happy to try it. Thanks,

James

ohlord

very rarely will hitting the ignition tumbler lead to anything but a broken ignition tumbler.Someone got lucky
lots of key and tumbler tech for the w124 on
http://mercedesshop.com/shopforum/sh...=200554&page=3
dig around,read up,make or buy the proper picks.Avoid hammers and orbital buffers in the future when working on the ignition tumbler.Last member we had force the unit it cost him 700 bucks to get it fixed

jlostlen

I appreciate the words of caution. Your link recommended forcing the tumbler over with a screwdriver.... I have been told by several people that this will not work on my 93 300 ce. This sounds scary to me....

jlostlen

WRONG!

After a couple days of tinkering, wiggling, sanding, jiggling, hammering, picking inside with small tooling, etc. I finally got it to turn over. By vibrating on the key, and later under the lock housing, a few minutes while turning the key I was able to get it to move about 1/4" further, although still in the 0 position. This was still pretty stuck after this so from there I repeated everything again 5 times. It remained the same for quite a while in terms of movement, until I used the vice grips at the base of the key head, squeezed on LIGHTLY, and pressed the key in with my thumb while wiggling left to right, with my free hand I wiggled the steering wheel left to right, not neccasarilly in sync with my other hand. Both hands were just wiggling freely. After about 20 seconds of this, I felt it turn over to the right!!! From ther eit went over alittle more with no force into the 1 position and I was able to retrieve the tumbler out with a homemade pick. More details and pictures to follow. DO NOT GIVE UP! I did not think I'd be able to get it, but with patience it will go.

More pics and info to follow.

james