96 E320 Steering wheel locked! Please Help!
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1996 E320
96 E320 Steering wheel locked! Please Help!
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the site. I purchased a 1996 E320 with 150K to restore and give to my wife. I've been working on restoring the interior- IE: SEM the seats, carpet, panels, dash etc. I took the whole interior out the car to refurbish including the dash. Maybe this wasn't the smartest move on my part but I did. When putting the car back together and putting the dash back in and mounting the steering column back up, the ignition switch popped off the locking mechnism and the steering will NOT unlock now. My ignition switch won't turn to release the wheel or power the car. When I slide the ignition switch off the locking mechinism about an inch I can start the car but, have no power to the instrument cluster or seats. The car is stuck in my garage and I need the car back since my wife and I only have 2 vehicles and both work. She has been out of the car for 4 days now and is patiently waiting on me to fix this while sharing our other car. Can anybody PLEASE help me with this? I'm stuck.. literally.
I'm new to the site. I purchased a 1996 E320 with 150K to restore and give to my wife. I've been working on restoring the interior- IE: SEM the seats, carpet, panels, dash etc. I took the whole interior out the car to refurbish including the dash. Maybe this wasn't the smartest move on my part but I did. When putting the car back together and putting the dash back in and mounting the steering column back up, the ignition switch popped off the locking mechnism and the steering will NOT unlock now. My ignition switch won't turn to release the wheel or power the car. When I slide the ignition switch off the locking mechinism about an inch I can start the car but, have no power to the instrument cluster or seats. The car is stuck in my garage and I need the car back since my wife and I only have 2 vehicles and both work. She has been out of the car for 4 days now and is patiently waiting on me to fix this while sharing our other car. Can anybody PLEASE help me with this? I'm stuck.. literally.
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Joined: Mar 2012
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chev suburban
@@@ 96 E320 UNLOCK YOUR STEERING WHEEL IN 10 MINUTES WITHOUT DESTROYING STEERING WHEEL LOCK @@@ I have the fix for unlocking your steering wheel in 10 minutes without removing the steering column.
Drill two 13/64" holes in the lower part of your steering lock (as in Figure 1), Drill 1 as close to the aluminum column housing as possible, drill the 2nd hole about 1/2" to the right of the first hole, insert a long flatblade screwdriver through the keyhole in the dash into the steering lock (as in Figure 2), take 2 pointed picks and install each pick into the holes that you drilled (as in Figure 3),walk the internal locking mechanism away from the steering column until it stops, hold the internal mechanism with 1 pick, while holding internal mechanism with pick push in on your screwdriver all the way back ( about 3/8" ) then let up about 1/8" and turn screwdriver clockwise until you feel the tension turning the lock (then you can release your pick), you will have to turn the screwdriver until the center slotted piece that your screwdriver is in will stay in position by it self, then remove your screwdriver and check the position of the center slot, it should be lined up with the 2 push-in release pins that hold the ignition switch in (as in Figure 4), check your steering wheel, it should be unlocked at this time, now you are ready to install your ingnition switch. If you need any help you can e-mail me at jcreacy@a1transmissionskerrville.com
Drill two 13/64" holes in the lower part of your steering lock (as in Figure 1), Drill 1 as close to the aluminum column housing as possible, drill the 2nd hole about 1/2" to the right of the first hole, insert a long flatblade screwdriver through the keyhole in the dash into the steering lock (as in Figure 2), take 2 pointed picks and install each pick into the holes that you drilled (as in Figure 3),walk the internal locking mechanism away from the steering column until it stops, hold the internal mechanism with 1 pick, while holding internal mechanism with pick push in on your screwdriver all the way back ( about 3/8" ) then let up about 1/8" and turn screwdriver clockwise until you feel the tension turning the lock (then you can release your pick), you will have to turn the screwdriver until the center slotted piece that your screwdriver is in will stay in position by it self, then remove your screwdriver and check the position of the center slot, it should be lined up with the 2 push-in release pins that hold the ignition switch in (as in Figure 4), check your steering wheel, it should be unlocked at this time, now you are ready to install your ingnition switch. If you need any help you can e-mail me at jcreacy@a1transmissionskerrville.com
Last edited by Thefixitdude; Mar 30, 2012 at 07:01 PM. Reason: misspelled words & wrong info
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 18
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W210 E280
@@@ 96 E320 UNLOCK YOUR STEERING WHEEL IN 10 MINUTES WITHOUT DESTROYING STEERING WHEEL LOCK @@@ I have the fix for unlocking your steering wheel in 10 minutes without removing the steering column.
Drill two 13/64" holes in the lower part of your steering lock (as in Figure 1), Drill 1 as close to the aluminum column housing as possible, drill the 2nd hole about 1/2" to the right of the first hole, insert a long flatblade screwdriver through the keyhole in the dash into the steering lock (as in Figure 2), take 2 pointed picks and install each pick into the holes that you drilled (as in Figure 3),walk the internal locking mechanism away from the steering column until it stops, hold the internal mechanism with 1 pick, while holding internal mechanism with pick push in on your screwdriver all the way back ( about 3/8" ) then let up about 1/8" and turn screwdriver clockwise until you feel the tension turning the lock (then you can release your pick), you will have to turn the screwdriver until the center slotted piece that your screwdriver is in will stay in position by it self, then remove your screwdriver and check the position of the center slot, it should be lined up with the 2 push-in release pins that hold the ignition switch in (as in Figure 4), check your steering wheel, it should be unlocked at this time, now you are ready to install your ingnition switch. If you need any help you can e-mail me at jcreacy@a1transmissionskerrville.com
Drill two 13/64" holes in the lower part of your steering lock (as in Figure 1), Drill 1 as close to the aluminum column housing as possible, drill the 2nd hole about 1/2" to the right of the first hole, insert a long flatblade screwdriver through the keyhole in the dash into the steering lock (as in Figure 2), take 2 pointed picks and install each pick into the holes that you drilled (as in Figure 3),walk the internal locking mechanism away from the steering column until it stops, hold the internal mechanism with 1 pick, while holding internal mechanism with pick push in on your screwdriver all the way back ( about 3/8" ) then let up about 1/8" and turn screwdriver clockwise until you feel the tension turning the lock (then you can release your pick), you will have to turn the screwdriver until the center slotted piece that your screwdriver is in will stay in position by it self, then remove your screwdriver and check the position of the center slot, it should be lined up with the 2 push-in release pins that hold the ignition switch in (as in Figure 4), check your steering wheel, it should be unlocked at this time, now you are ready to install your ingnition switch. If you need any help you can e-mail me at jcreacy@a1transmissionskerrville.com
because a) you only ever need two hands and b) if you need to be able to control the position of the reset - shoving it right across is too far and it'll still be latched.There's just no substitute for the original!
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 40
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1997 E320, 2006 E350
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Did I forget to say THANK YOU? lol... YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER (for my 97 e320). Even MB says you must destroy the housing in order to get this unlocked... I only have one question, how did you figure out to do this? Genius! Worked for me 1st try. Now I think you (or someone) should show exactly how to reinstall the steering lock housing AFTER it's been completely removed. The reason I say this is because even in position 1 the pin bolt that holds this in place will not go in unless housing tumbler is pulled out a little. Then and ONLY then will the pin bolt go through the housing for reinstallation. Then when you put the plastic ignition housing OVER (on) the steering lock housing it "pops" the lock housing tumbler down (seats it) into proper position...THANKS AGAIN for this phenomenal instruction guide..
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W210 E280 1996
Hi, I am having a similar steering lock issue more than 10 years since the original post of this thread. My car is a W210 1996 E280. My case is the key first failed to turn. After a few wiggles, the key turned and even started the car but the steering lock was still engaged. Called the AA (in the UK). He tried to free the steering lock with his hammer. It did not work but just damaged the ignition assemble's plastic casing.
So far I managed to remove the entire ignition assemble. With the steering lock in sight and some info provided by kind posters like "Thefixitdude" and his guide, I feel a bit more confident to have a go to free the lock. That said, I still want to have a better understanding of mechanism prior to drilling holes. My questions are:
1. Is the locking mechanism purely mechanical? Do I need to connect the battery when performing "Thefixitdude"'s procedure?
2. I noticed a thick cable (more like a bicycle brake cable) that comes out of the ignition assemble. Is that what we called a "steering lock cable"? What does it do?
3. Is the steering lock in a "dead lock" position? Some posters said it is in a "permanent lock" state. I ordered an "old new stock" steering lock on eBay. If I am not careful, will I lock it permanently as well?
4. How do I take the old steering lock off if require?
Any help would be much appreciated. BTW, I tried to email "Jonssen" regarding his PDF unlocking secret but received no reply. I wonder if anyone managed to get some information from him/her regarding this issue?
So far I managed to remove the entire ignition assemble. With the steering lock in sight and some info provided by kind posters like "Thefixitdude" and his guide, I feel a bit more confident to have a go to free the lock. That said, I still want to have a better understanding of mechanism prior to drilling holes. My questions are:
1. Is the locking mechanism purely mechanical? Do I need to connect the battery when performing "Thefixitdude"'s procedure?
2. I noticed a thick cable (more like a bicycle brake cable) that comes out of the ignition assemble. Is that what we called a "steering lock cable"? What does it do?
3. Is the steering lock in a "dead lock" position? Some posters said it is in a "permanent lock" state. I ordered an "old new stock" steering lock on eBay. If I am not careful, will I lock it permanently as well?
4. How do I take the old steering lock off if require?
Any help would be much appreciated. BTW, I tried to email "Jonssen" regarding his PDF unlocking secret but received no reply. I wonder if anyone managed to get some information from him/her regarding this issue?
