[bmw] re:<e32> ignition lock problem.

["Chris Pawlowicz" <cpawlowicz@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris asks
>Yesterday, after a few days of acting up, the ingnition lock on my wife's
>1990 735il refused to into the start postion.
>The Bently manual says the lock can be removed by turning it to the start
>postion and putting a wire in the small hole and pulling it out.  It seems
>simple enough but i can't get the key to turn that far into the position
the
>book calls for.

my '89 325i had the same problem.. I 'hotwired' the car in a mall parking
lot so I could drive home, wondering if the cops would suddenly appear :)

the problem was definitely the lock cylinder mechanism (ordered a new one
from BMW.. came from Germany.. coded to my existing key)

the bentley is vague and not very reliable as far as how far you have to
turn the key.. I tried using various wires and paper clips to no avail..
all my small allen keys were way too short (you need something fairly long
and very stiff)..

I ended up using a bicycle spoke (nice and stiff!) which I ground down to
fit down that tiny hole.. from what I remember, you have to push pretty hard
on the release at the bottom while the key is slightly turned (and it
doesn't need to be turned very far.. just enough so that when you pull on
the key, the whole cylinder pops out rather than just the key).

when you pull out the cylinder, there is a few small bits and a spring at
the very bottom of the cavity which operate the wheel lock.. they popped out
also, and I tried everything I could think of to get them back in (to no
avail). So I left them out (no more steering wheel lock).

New cylinder dropped in and worked great.

chris pawlowicz
'89 325i, '99 z3 2.8, '74 2002 (for sale!)
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