'93 325is Ignition Removal

[rainmanbk]

There is something wrong with the ignition assembly in my 1993 325is. The key goes in kind of hard, and then it turns way too easily where it should be starting the car. There is basically zero resistance. I'm not sure how all of this works, but it feels like there may have been a cable that snapped or was released. Also, the key slot seems like it's rotated back one position in the assembly, as I can't turn the key backwards after you first put it in, like you normally can. Also, when I take the key out, the dash and radio remain on. I disconnected the lead to save my battery. This happened randomly, and I had drove the car earlier that day and it was fine. Anyways, I think what I need to do is remove the ignition, and at least look at it and see if I can find anything wrong, and then worse case buy another for like $90 and put that in.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem, and if there are any tips to removing and troubleshooting this thing.

Thanks,
rainmanbk

[winfred]

on the earlt e36s it's usually the steering lock assy has trashed, theres a shaft that goes through the center of it that connects the lock cylinder to the electrical part of the ignition switch that snaps
32 32 1 161 551, Ignition Lock Assembly manual tranny
32 32 1 160 278, Ignition Lock Assembly auto tranny

[rainmanbk]

Alright, thanks. I'll try and take it all apart and see what I can find out.

[rainmanbk]

I'm looking at the assembly, and it appears that it is secured to the bracket with two strange bolts, with cone shaped heads.. There is no way to remove these it seems without just grinding them off, and then eventually replacing them with regular bolts. Is there another way to go about this, or should I simply grind them off?