My e34 M5 has been plagued with an ignition/steering lock. I cannot turn the key thus the car will not start and the steering is locked. It is definitely an interior fault. It started intermittently but now it simply will not turn and I am convinced that it is the $175-$200 cast aluminum steering lock assembly. I've read EVERY posting, spent HOURS wiggling and jiggling, watched EVERY YouTube about drilling the housing and removing the spring. I have removed the airbag and steering wheel hub nut - but here is the deal: Since I cannot turn the key (and thus the wheels) I cannot pull the steering wheel. It is as if the same piece of hardened metal preventing the wheel from turning IS ALSO preventing me from pulling the wheel off the stem.
Several YouTube postings on steering wheel removal clearly state that, if I cannot turn the key-steering wheel AFTER removing the airbag and nut - then I will not be able to remove the steering wheel.
So, my only option now is to have the entire mess flatbedded to a dealership and (past experience) I have no confidence that my nearest BMW dealership with have the tribal knowledge to repair an e34 M5. This is a low-mile beautifully cared-for car and it seems like a sub-$300 fix if I do it myself but I'm guessing it'll be a $2000 fix if I call a flatbed.
Also, there are several threads about drilling the steering lock assembly and removing the spring. But this particular casting is different than the ones on e36 and similar. I am not about to head in there with a 3/8" drill bit.
All I need to do is figure out how to pull the steering wheel while the ignition and wheels are locked. It moves but won't pull free of the steering shaft.
Post has been moved to the model specific discussion area.
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I had to do this on my e39 last year (drill the hole to remove the spring). Why don't you try to drill it? You really can't hurt anything, right?
I had to do it on my old e39 too. Felt odd doing it but it worked well.
I would happily drill it BUT this particular lock is different than the ones I've seen drilled online. The bottom is similar but does not have the obvious flat area like the ones on the later models. This makes me think I might be drilling into something entirely different. I get that when this locking mechanism breaks it won't release the steering unless you can turn the key. It must be the same thing that's not letting me pull the steering wheel off the stem. If I send it off to a dealer, I can't imagine how they'll solve this.
(Side note: I once took another e34 M5 to a dealership to fix what I thought was a throwout bearing. This particular dealership had been recommended for vintage M5s. Well they locked up my tranny, removed it, dismantled it....and could not get it back together. I ended up trailering the whole mess three hours to home, buying a brand new Getrag tranny from BMW, and finding a speed shop to install it. They were clear: the dealerships have generally lost all tribal knowledge of vintage car idiosyncrasies. That worries me about this steering lock problem.)
You have to drill it. On earlier cars the steering lock also holds the steering wheel in place, I've figured that out from pulling steering wheels on several early junkyard cars. The spot to drill is the same, even if it looks a little different from the later style columns. Since your steering lock is broken you'll have to replace that whole part anyways, so drill away! I just did a steering lock replacement on an E34 not too long ago at my shop— it was time consuming but fairly easy overall.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Not to thread jack, but is this the same issue that would make it very difficult to turn the ignition over to turn the car on
They were clear: the dealerships have generally lost all tribal knowledge of vintage car idiosyncrasies. That worries me about this steering lock problem.)[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that is crazy, but I guess most people with old cars aren't bringing them to the dealer. I'll bet the local bmw shop has more expertise on the old cars
That is the early style lock housing. I didn't think they were prone to this failure but there is always a first time.
I have one on hand, pictured below, that I could send you.
PM sent
You want to drill where I've indicated in black. Turn the key 30* or so and his will allow you to depress the locking tab through the drilled hole. If you are unable to turn the key just cut a slot all the way to the edge and there will be no need to depress the tab.
This view is the rear, dashboard facing side of the assembly.
With the key cylinder removed you may be able to turn the lock. If not more destructive means will be needed to defeat the steering wheel lock. The slim cast channel visible in your photo contains part of the locking mechanism.
It is a given that the old housing is to be destroyed so no need for finesse here. Cutting tools are your friend. All you are interested in preserving is the key cylinder, assuming that is still good.
SOME FOOLISH types have removed a spring or the linking piece between the lock and switch and called it fixed. This is dangerous there is a very real potential for the steering column to unexpectedly lock up. Especially with this design as gravity wants the steering wheel locking pin to fall into the lock position.
Last edited by ross1; 06-04-2020 at 09:15 AM.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
"Yeah, that is crazy, but I guess most people with old cars aren't bringing them to the dealer. I'll bet the local bmw shop has more expertise on the old cars[/QUOTE]
E34s are as old as half the "techs" in a dealer's shop. If they call themselves a "tech", run. You need a mechanic not some twit just out of trade school that will dismantle and ruin your transmission for $150/hr. And how did that end?
Reminds me of some child that dismantles the family lawn mower then shrugs it off.
The cost of a regular "service II" maintenance at a dealership can exceed the value of many of our cars.
Last edited by ross1; 06-04-2020 at 09:23 AM.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Thank you soooo much. I ordered one off eBay (from Egypt) so I can see what’s inside. You’ve convinced me that some metal must fly and I agree that saving the lock and key is the critical piece lest I have to change ALL the other locks. I may be needing your part in the end. I’m wondering if, with this version, the weakness is entirely different than the follow-on models? In this case the failure seems much closer to the key itself.
Egypt? What decade do you expect that to arrive?
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Here are the quick snapshots of my (frightening) project to hack the locked-up steering-ignition assembly that was rendering my dear ol' e34 M5 useless. You can't turn the key; you can't budge the wheel; you can't even REMOVE the steering wheel with the locking pin stuck in place. BMW must have realized the fault in their first-year design because they changed the design quickly. The suggested fixes on the various BMW groups are all for later model locks (also faulty) and they involve drilling smack up through the middle with a 3/8" drill bit and pulling out the spring. That's a bad idea (because it leaves the locking pin in place and your steering could potentially lock up while driving..) Also, that solution won't work at all with this hard-to-find model locking mechanism. Drilling in the wrong place or with the wrong bit will only ensure that the entire mechanism needs to be replaced. Thus, the solutions on the web, those suggested by the newsgroups, those suggested by the nearest BMW dealership, those suggested by my regular mechanic: all wrong. Here are the raw pics of my fix. I found and purchased an OEM replacement part off of eBay from a pleasant fellow in Egypt. It cost me about $300 with DHL shipping but it was the ONLY way to figure out how the device worked inside (the information was nowhere to be found online..) Once I could see how the part worked INSIDE, I figured out how to release the pin so that I could pull the steering wheel. (The Catch-22 is that, even though you have the steering wheel nut off, you cannot remove the steering wheel if the locking pin is still stuck. By removing the red switch-cap opposite the key-end of the device, I was able to pull-and-turn the tab enough to release the spring-loaded locking pin...) Once the steering wheel is off, it is easy to surgically remove the locking bar by punching out the spring-loaded drift pin and making two small cuts with a Fein Multitool or similar. By this approach, I did not have to chisel out and replace the entire (poorly conceived) mechanism with a new one (from Egypt.) (The original is installed using security screws with snap-off heads so the only way to replace it is to remove all the wires and connectors and chisel out the screws...) This "hack" simply removes the locking pin but leaves everything else in place. Oddly enough, it's sort of pleasant no longer having that lock on the steering column - my M5 drives the same but now seems more like a "car" and less like a "security appliance!" And now I have a pristine replacement part if I ever need one! I posted the raw pics to a page on FLICKR. Is there a preferred way to post a marked-up set here?
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmNLnfwe
So, what was the issue? Was the key cylinder bound up? The link rod failed??
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
It was not the key per se, it was somehow binding in a way that locked the steering wheel AND prevented the key from turning. Maybe there is still something loose inside the core that would prevent the spring-loaded locking bar from retracting once it was engaged by turning the key off. By removing the complex red wiring connector and switching “cap” from the end opposing the key I was able to both pull and twist the little tab (on the end opposite the key) to get the jammed spring-loaded locking bar to release - which allowed me to both turn (and remove) the steering wheel. The fear I had was that whatever was causing it to bind would happen again and require starting all over again: remove battery, dismantle dash, pull airbag, pull red end-cap, jiggle with needlenose pliars.. all because that locking pin was wedged again. It’s really a wildly complicated design that accomplishes nothing except drop a spring-loaded hardened-steel bar into a set of cast cogs on the back of the steering wheel itself. While the bar is sprung so that it is naturally retracted, it would immediately lock the steering wheel at whatever position it was in if it somehow fell into place while driving. This “hack” simply removes the locking-bar (forever) but leaves everything else intact. Replacing the entire (wildly complicated) casting is hugely more complicated (requires chisels and drills) and attempting the “drilling fix” used on other models would accomplish nothing but destroy a bunch of other stuff and make a huge mess. I consider this fix the best surgical solution.
Glad you got it done.
Your car might be different, but on my '97 540, drilling the hole took less than 30 minutes, including tossing the newspaper that the drill debris landed on. The only drawback was the steering wheel would never lock. Not really a drawback, the way I see it.
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