Jim, it is a 240D!
And besides: few crooks, if they did have a lust for a 240D, would be
bright enough to figure out there is a second hole and what it
means! They are much more likely to try to break things to steal it than
finesse anything. Think about it. If I am going to select a 240D for the
Mercedes I will steal, how bright can I be?
Brian, there are few materials hard enough to drill a hole in that
stuff. There is a guy who sells drill bits that "drill through anything"
at fairs and threshing shows. I have been carrying around one of those key
faces to challenge him with if I ever get to an event he is at again. I
don't doubt his drills are good. I am just not sure it will drill through
that stuff. MB puts some high tech metallurgy into certain
components. THe key face is one of them. I call it kryptonite because it
is out of this world hard. I have a Rockwell tester. I should try
it. Bet it won't even make a noticeable dent.
You are much better to dump the guts out of the lock and put it back
in. You may have a steering lock that is out of alignment. pull the panel
out from under the dash and loosen the clamp holding the steering lock in
place. Check to see that the pin is there that holds it in alignment. It
is possible it was drilled or ground off, and its absence allows the lock
to move into a position that causes binding. (This is assuming that taking
the tension off the bolt by turning the wheel does NOT work!!!)
Alternate Plan B: Someone on the list took the steering lock out and
removed the bolt. That way there is less wear on the key and lock. The
alternate I posted earlier is to always leave the wheel turned when you
pull the key out, so that the bolt never seats in the steering column, and
therefore never binds on retraction. (this only works as long as NOBODY
turns the wheel with the key out of the switch.)
As to why the "new" lock won't fit: there are 2 or 3 styles of lock. I
think the dealers only have the newest style available. Someone else on
the list can help out here.... Anyway, the new lock must be used with a
new collar. The new collar is black. My guess is that your car has an
older collar. The steering lock will work with either. The newest collar
is also made of kryptonite, or whatever it is. I did manage to grind 2
slots through it to remove the lock from a car I bought without a key,
after I had drilled out the pin and removed the assembly. (a royal
pain) The steering lock is pretty much trash because the pin was ground
off, but I wanted to see if i could get it apart.
Loren Faeth
81 240D (pup with only about 250k showing on the odo.)
At 04:49 PM 2/28/2006, you wrote:
> which one could insert a pin (while in the zero position)? Thus
> allowing
> removal of tumbler while in zero?
Thus allowing anybody with a paper clip and a screwdriver
to steal your car!
-- Jim
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