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i had this happen about two months ago. it's not a tough fix at all. first remove the driver's seat: i highly recommend doing this by removing the four nuts underneath the seat that hold the seat to the seat rails (trust me, I just removed both front seats over the weekend to replace leather, much easier this way).
Second, remove center panel: you will find bolts underneath the rear ashtray and under the gearshifter boot.
Third, on the outside of the lock cylinder housing part of the shifter you will see a small darkened circle at about 8 o'clock position. you will spot it immediately. it is very soft metal. take a drill and drill out the metal. get yourself a punch from your local true value hardware store that will fit in the hole. DON'T get the smallest punch. i don't recall the size, but it's not the really small one but the next one up. also get some anti-rust spray to spray inside the cylinder. put the punch in the hole and bang it hard several times. watch for a little pin to pop through the inside of the cylinder. don't stop banging until your punch goes all the way through. the cylinder should now slide right out.
when you go to install a new cylinder, you will notice a pin sticking out of the side. by turning the key you will notice that at a certain position you can press the pin in. set at this position and slide it in the hole. jiggle it around a little until the pin pops into its place. reassemble your center console and put the seat back in. you're done.
on a side note about using a used lock cylinder... the method i just described to you applies only if you are willing to DESTROY the cylinder that is in the car. you CANNOT use this method to remove one from your parts car. if you want to do that, you will have to pull up the entire shifter assembly. while i've never done this, it is a much more complicated job than i just described. among other things, it requires you to fabricate a special tool to loosen weirdo triangular bolts holding down the shifter assembly. i would suggest paying the $50 for a new cylinder for this reason and...
for another reason... through posts on this page and through conversations and experiments with my mechanic (who owns 30+ c900s) when these cylinders get old, the lock tabs wear out, eventually allowing any saab key to work in any saab keylock. if you are worried at all about your car being stolen, you may want to purchase a new cylinder set up (with 2 new keys). i replaced my cylinder with a new one and can verify that i no longer suffer skeleton key syndrome.
good luck.
posted by 24.252.6...
, Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:19:40
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