Anyone know if it's possible to remove the trunk lock cylinder without the key?

Parked a night in SF and come out the next morning to what looked like a jammed screwdriver in my lock.

I guess I can either buy a new cylinder with a key, and then I have two keys, or if I can find a way to remove the tumbler from my assembly, possibly swap it with one from the JY. I guess from there, I'd have to figure a way to "re-key" it to my ignition key.

Any experience?


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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Sorry to learn about your troubles in SF....truly a shame what that city has become (at this point, my opinions about that subject will now be self censored, and end).
Cant speak to the difficulties or skills needed to remove the trunk lock cylinder. What I wanted to add concerns the "2 keys" scenario.
I had to replace the ignition cylinder on my '83 240D, shortly after purchase, a couple years ago.
To avoid the "2 keys" my choices were: Get a new ignition cylinder from MB and have them "key" it to my existing key (EXPENSIVE). Or, have my existing lock cylinders re-keyed to match my new ignition key (expensive, time consuming, and a lot of work).
Needless to say, I now have 2 keys. A brand new ignition key, used ONLY for the ignition. And, my "old" ignition key which operates the doors and trunk.
If your vacuum door lock system is operating properly the trunk unlocks with the driver's door anyway. If, occasionally, you need to get into the trunk only, you have a key for that (or, if you need to use your "new" key, no biggie).
Used to drive a lot of GM vehicles. In the old days (prior to remote locks, etc) they always had 2 keys. One for ignition and one for the door/trunk locks. Made a lot of sense, to me anyway. Your ignition key avoided a ton of wear and tear. Ignition key was rectangular, door lock key was oval. Never bothered me in the least. Still doesn't, but that's only me.
Although your situation is a little different, IMHO 2 keys "ain't no big deal".
Just my 2 cents.....

Thanks and it’s a fair point you make… it’s just, the inelegance would really bug me.
I’m often just opening the trunk and to be robbed of that simplicity… ooff.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Is this a question of how to enter the trunk sans key when it's locked or can you open it ? .

If you can open it it's dead easy to remove the lock button and cylinder, only requires a 10MM ATF socket and 3" extension, I use the 1/4' drive set .

Beware I almost always drop at least _one_ of the thin 6MM wave typ lock washers so have spares on hand before you begin .

As of yet I've not taken apart the trunk lock cylinder but in general German made Neimann and Hief lock cylinders have a tiny, hidden slotted screw that's easy to remove allowing the lock cylinder proper to slide out and be disassembled and serviced .

There's the Dealer/locksmith way to fix this and there's the other way that will fix it and make our current keys work again .

FWIW, I always procure and keep a spare original key so when I do lock cylinder service I don't wind up with a lock that works fine on my old copy but not with the correct key .

I have a local locksmith in Torrance who's affordable, honest and very good, plus he stocks the rubber headed master and valet key blanks that don't fall apart like the cheap & nasty Mercedes replacements do .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Thanks Nate -so it is possible to remove the tumbler without the key?

Obviously I can’t use my own key anymore. Yesterday I removed the lock, but couldn’t figure out how to pull the tumbler. My plan, was to find a lock at the junkyard and have that re-keyed, of course this is contingent upon being able to remove the tumbler without a key

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Oof… just noticed it was done to the passenger side as well…

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

I don't honestly know .

There's bound to be a your tube on it or take it to my local locksmith, he's been able to repair or re key anything I can't so far .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

There are some threads of alternatives none of them really good ones.

Some have drilled through I can't remember if it is the lock tumbler or drilled a hole on each side of the housing. You would have to find the thread for the details.

A Member has said you can put say the square end of a 4x4 about 12 inches or so long on what would be the right side of the Truck Tumbler Hosing and have someone stand on the left side and apply a slight upwards life on the trunk lid. You give the end of the 4x4 a smack with say a 2-pound hammer and supposably it will unhook, and the trunk will open because the other person is applying the upwards pressure.
Will that damage the body? I don't know. Better to find the thread on that.

The other method people have used (on a W123) is depending on a lot of things and luck. You remove the first aid kit and if trunk is not full of stuff the get some sort of pole and go through the hole the first aid kit came out of and they remove the plastic cover that covers up the rod mechanism that actuates the trunk lock and is part of the vacuum lock system. Somehow, they deflect the rod and that moves the hook and unlocks it. Again, someone has to be applying some has to apply a slight upwards pressure on the trunk lid.
There is a picture of the opening in post #2
w123 trunk lock stuck-- at my wits end
Post 37 has the direction the rod needs to go in to unlock it.
w123 300d trunk wont open

Another thread: Trunk lid wont open on '85 300D

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

More: PeachPartsWiki: Breaking into 123 trunk w/o breaking anything

Breaking into 123 trunk w/o breaking anything

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Thanks d911 - have access just need to rekey.

And on that note… this is surprisingly easy.

Went to the JY yesterday and harvested a passenger side and trunk tumbler.
It’s fairly easy to remove them from their housings. Once they’re out, you just need to find the correct combination of leaves to rekey the tumbler.

The leaves are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4. You test them by inserting your key and confirm your selection was correct by whether or not the leaf is flush with the barrel.

Between the two, I’m only short 3 leaves. Once I’ve removed the old busted tumblers who knows, there may be a few left that haven’t been destroyed.

Totally doable.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Well, someone else might see this thread and need the info.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Good to hear it Sherm .

I wish you'd taken some pictures of how to get the lock cylinder out....

Don't forget to lubricate it with GRAPHITE and nothing else .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Nate -here's the DIY for the door PeachPartsWiki: Door Lock Repair

And as for the trunk tumbler, as soon as I removed the E-clip, it just sort of tumbled out.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

I've rekeyed many cylinders. It's not all that hard, but you do have to pay attention. There are a bunch of wafers and for each wafer, a tiny little spring that will disappear in a heart beat. I like to work on a white towel, things don't bounce so far... And they are easier to see.

The sidewinder or laser keys used in early 80's W126 are more difficult, the bitting is recessed from the edges of the key which allows the use of split wafers. This makes it harder to rekey as there are way more combinations.

I tend to leave out a wafer or two if I don't have a correct one for a given cut. I figure picking the lock is the least likely way someone is going to try to get in the car. Around here, they just go up each driveway, testing to see if a car is unlocked before moving on to the next. All while looking into the security camera.

Michael

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Usta haves '69 250/8, '76 280C, 1971 250C 114.023, 1976 450SEL 116.033
Current have, 1983 300SD 126.120

Thanx, Sherm ! .

You answered my question (the trunk lock cylinder comes out with the E-Clip) and also the door lock cylinder ~ it's been a few years since I did the handles in....I don't remember which W123 so I saved that procedure to my files .

As mentioned : cleanliness is critical if you want long lasting repairs and easy to operate key locks .

Just adding lubricant is false economy .

Glad to hear you're sorted out now .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better