What size nut?
 

On the left that holds the steering wheel lock assembly in place.

84" 911

It's slightly under the knee pad and wiring all over the place.

I'm dont do well in cramped spaces so trial and erroring sockets is not working for me.

We looking at a 17MM?

Thanks

https://cdn4.pelicanparts.com/techar...small/Pic2.JPG

I'm gonna GUESS that it's closer to 15mm.

My recollection of changing out my ignition switch on my '78 SC is foggy at best but I don't think I used anything close to 17mm when doing it.

Yeah it feels like 15 but cant get a socket on it, not even a 12 pointer.

Kinda why I want to know the size for sure.

You'd probably get a better, faster answer on the 911 tech board than OT.

Actually I posted there first.

More eyeballs here on it already than there.

:confused::confused::confused:

Maybe they think I'm a newb because I haven't posted there in 15 years or so.

OK, so its a 13mm

Got it off but still can't slide the assembly out.

Steering column lock is not engaged so what's holding it in there on that end?

Does that bolt have an allen key slot in it and the bolt is just the lock nut?

It's an M8 nut so it takes a 13mm wrench

yes. and yes.

I am pretty sure you need to remove the knee pad. 8mm socket, there are 3 of them. Universal joint helps with the one closest to the door.

You need to loosen the allen head grub screw. An allen wrench with ball end woks a charm

Then, you need to take the lock assembly, put it in a vice, and cut 80% off of it.
The steering wheel lock assembly will eventually fail and bind, so why keep it? Lop it off, be free. Being able to turn the steering wheel without the key is in SO LIBERATING. Kinda like being able to turn the engine over without having to press the clutch.

This guy speaks the truth. I cut mine off years ago after a couple of very scary moments.

Can you take the guts out, so that it “looks” correct?

That’s actually where i’m at.

The cam that disengages / allows the locking bar to engage is not functioning correctly.

I have not pulled the guts yet but it feels like a circlip or retaining mechanism is bad allowing the cam to float and bind. I can see it happening with the cylinder out, just can't see under the cam yet to see what failed or if it's just worn out.

The cam follower attached to the lock cylinder then loses contact with the lobe allowing you to turn the key back to full off but the ignition switch attached to the cam stays in run position.

Probably what I will do.

Have a line on a replacement part that's actually a reasonable price.

The ****ing thing is $1,000-1,200 new. And then you need to rekey which sucks.

I can find used ones but people are asking really stupid money for them and you have no idea of the condition and you worry am I just buying more broken.

They do give an indication that they are failing but I drove mine for years with it in a prefail state and you kind of get used to it so who knows what a sellers impression of "works fine" may be?

Don't know. I did this back in the '90s when these cars were cheap and I was simply looking for the easy solution. Five minutes with a hacksaw and I re-installed it. It's been fine ever since.

Same thing just happened to me. My old locksmith stopped working on 911 ignitions, so now i have two keys for the car :(
Hadn't thought of cutting the thing apart... that is tempting, but i do like the security of the wheel lock for situations where i'm parked on a hill and have the wheel turned toward the curb. I trust the wheel lock a lot more than my e-brake.

Since the unit is pretty much fubar at this point I'm going to pull the guts to get a closer look at the cam and see if the floating issue can be resolved.

The annoying part about the whole unit is it seems the lock cylinder and associated levers / cams all rely on being sandwiched together so removing the lock bar portion may not help address anything but rather make things worse.

I have an idea on how to make some retrofit pieces to address it but don't have a desktop mill handy at the moment.