mercedes w124 ignition barrel

[smoothcoupe]

my 1995 w124 ignition barrel has just seemed to have seized up. the front part just keeps spinning,the steering lock is on and i cant move the car any iseas please.

 

[Smiley]

does the key not turn at all? You really need the key to turn to position 1 - when in that position the barrel can be removed quite easily with a piece of shaped wire - but with the key not in that position the whole barrel needs to be drilled out - and it is a pita job - even for someone who has done it before.
So you should really try to get that key in and to posiiton 1 + get the diagram of the removal tool - I cut and filed mine from a metal coat hanger - just the right thickness.

 

[Triple Star]

dont do anything else. break the key and your in deep sh1t. I had this happen and a replacement barrel job was about £150.00

 

[Vlad]

Had this happen to me and it was a complete pain in the A**. The problem I think you will have is that the steering is locked. However, if you remove the trim around the lock and expose the front face of the lock, you will see two holes. Using two lengths of stout wire, ie welding rod or possibly a metal coat hanger, push the rods into the hole and in theory depress the plungers inside and then withdraw the lock mechanism.

A new lock mechanism + key is not expensive from MB.....THE PROBLEM IS REMOVING THE OLD ONE!!

If you cant withdraw the lock mechanism the whole lot needs to be ground off and its a pig of a job and not a cheap job to have done.

If you dont feel happy doing this yourself, get the car relayed down to a Merc specialist and get them to do it, but also accept the fact that they may not be able to withdraw the lock mechanism and that they may have to resort to grinding it off.

 

[Sp!ke]

You can get the old lock off pretty easy with a dremel or equivalent.

As long as you can see the two holes to put the removal tool in, you can remove the barrel. Use the dremel to expose the holes.