Need Steering Lock Help

[vping]

So my daughter has been using the BMW but ran into a problem. She called me up in the middle of the night that the key would not turn. It happened before and I taught her about the steering wheel left to right lock. Well this time it did not do the trick. I took a drive over to where she was stranded and she's right. The key only moves to position one to unlock the wheel but the key will not turn any further. I've read that it may be the entire steering lock assembly.

Three things

Has anyone taken this out before?0
Where in the Bentley is it?
Where is a good source for a new one?

I guess I can assume the ignition cylinder is still OK.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Vince

[Tiger]

Pick it up at the dealer... not much discount online for the lock housing... like only $20 saving... AutohausAZ.

[John in CT]

you will need the two theft-proof bolts that hold the locking mechanism together, you may need a special tool to remove them but I don't think so, they are another dealer-only item but no big money. I havn't tackled the job myself but there is some data online, I'll look for it. Since it will probably involve removing the steering wheel/airbag it is a good idea to discannect the battery as a first step,

John

[John in CT]

Did some more looking, the "special tool" you need is a sharp chisel, lol, but here is a diagram which may help. The problem is that a cheap cast part worth about a nickle is inside the lock housing, when you turn the key, it turns the cheap 5 cent piece whch then turns both the lock release and the actual ignition stuff mounted on the far side. You have broken the 5 cent piece, whch is only found in the 150 dollar housing... The housing is kind of expensive for what it is but that's what you need. It's a fairly complex job, you are afterall trying to work with all the stuff BMW put in your (once) expensive car so a thief would have a hard time stealing it....

RealOEM.com * BMW E36 M3 STEERING LOCK/IGNITION SWITCH

Good luck,

John

Note; This is the E36 switch so disregard part numbers, but my 1995 525 sure looked similar. The two fracture bolts are a steal at less than two bucks each....

[vping]

What a project. After removing dash facias, unbolting SRS, Taking off the steering wheel, un-clipping all harnesses I got to the steering lock. I could see where the problem lay. The special bolts are shear bolts which in my case there was one of and it was put in from front to back. Impossible to get to with a chisel. Covering the top of the bolt was part of the aluminum casting of the steeringlock. In order to get to the bolt head, I had to cut away the top portion to strike the chisel perpendicular to the bolt. Once I got this off, the next difficult project was getting the spring compressed and the split ring off that holds the ign. lock to the steering column. Taking it off was a challenge but putting back on was a real pain as the steering shaft floats in and out.

Well suffice to say, I got it all apart, look out the steering lock, put it all back and I can drive the car. Now I have to sort out the other problems I've been posting about.

Thanks and
Vince

[Victor]

Mine is showing similar problems with difficulty turning past position one sometimes. It occurs when the key removal doesn't go as it should and the car produces a "Key in Ignition" message although the key has been removed. The next time I go to turn the key it's difficulty. I've already replaced the lock cylinder, which was apparently not the problem.<br>
<br>
I've come to learn that there's a "ka-chunk" sound that should occur when the key is removed. If it doesn't, I'll get the error message and have a hard time turning it past position one. But bringing it back from pos 1 seems to produce the ka-chunk, after which the key turns OK. For now, I have this work-around. But I'm not sure how long to rely on it...<br>
<br>
From the below explanation and video I learned of the moving parts within the steering lock. I'm going to try and lubricate them.

Steering lock assembly removal and replacement

'95 525i buck stock<br>
'86 Benz, 420 SEL<br>
(Guess which one I think is made better)