When I purchased my 300TE, I noticed two things that slightly concerned me. The first was that I only had one key for the car. The second was that the ignition barrel was slightly sticky. There are key blanks available for Mercedes of this era at locksmiths, but the only key I had for the car was a copy. I didn’t feel like a...
I’ve ben grappling with a stuck ignition key on my 280SE W116 for some time. In part 1 I finally managed to move the key to position 1, but could not unscrew the collar to remove the tumbler. In part 2, I tried a special tool, and then attempted to remove the whole steering lock. As the collar and tumbler was still on the...
Previously I had a stuck ignition barrel in my 280SE. After 5 hours of trying, I finally got it to move, allowing me to get the car out of the way. At the time, I was feeling pretty confident that the right tool would get the ignition tumbler out no problem. As it turns out, my optimism was misplaced. The first issue was...
I was quite keen to start using the 280SE more now I have sorted out the steering, exhaust and drivers seat. I don’t have a modern car, so I rotate the various historic registered cars I own to keep them inside their 60 day logbook. The 280SE obviously has a lot of entries available. I was also looking forward to driving it more...
When new, a W126 Mercedes would have come with four keys: Two square headed master keys. One round headed valet keys. A flat ‘wallet’ key. The master keys were designed for everyday use and opened all locks on the car: doors, ignition, glove box and boot. The valet key is similar, but does not open the glove box or boot if manually looked....
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