dmcole

This is a DIY for anyone who wants to replace their crappy ~’99-’03 ignition switch with the upgraded switch/steering lock combo Porsche came out with in about ’04. I’ve seen this problem in both 996 and Boxster posts, so I suspect owners of both models may undergo this repair. I was able to do 90% of this from the driver’s seat rather than having to work under the dash. It may be possible from underneath, but I was glad not to have to do it. I’m sorry I don’t have pictures. Cameras just aren’t my thing. However, I will try to create very accurate descriptions in lieu. As far as DIYs go, it’s not so much difficult as time-consuming. The workspace is very tight; I’ve got small hands and forearms, but I still found it tough to reach certain bolts from time to time. Also, you need either very compact tools or the ability to improvise. For example, I put a Torx bit into a set of needle-nose Vise-Grips to get one screw out. Aside from these relatively minor issues, it’s not so bad. With that said, here we go… First things first: 1) Completely disconnect the battery. I can’t prove that total disconnection was necessary, but I also didn’t have the alarm go off suddenly. Better safe than deaf or shot by the neighbors. 2) Remove the rubber gasket around the ignition key. I could pull mine off just using my fingers. 3) Remove the left hand vent. There’s a nice writeup on this already; so I won’t repeat all of that here. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?a...ost&id=6617 4) Once the vent is removed, remove the screw straight in the back back that holds the vent tube in place. 5) Now reach or crawl under the dash and remove the center horizontal vent tube under the steering column and the vertical one you just freed up in the step above. 6) Put on a long sleeve shirt. After working through the vent hole for a couple of hours, my forearm is pretty beat up today. I’ll save you the same realization… You’re now ready to start working on the issue at hand. 1) Reach to the back and disconnect the wiring harness from the ignition switch. It just goes straight off the back; no special clips there and don’t twist it. 2) Remove the immobilizer. It’s the black box on top of the steering lock housing. Unclip the little wiring harness on the front right. This one has a little catch on it so don’t just pull it out. There is a little plastic Phillips head near the key that you give a quarter-turn. Mine had ‘wings’ on the Phillips head that I could turn by hand. Once you’ve turned this, slide the immobilizer straight toward you along the top of the steering lock housing. That will free it up to remove. 3) Remove the key cylinder. Around the key hole is a silver beauty ring. Around the edge of that ring is a small hole. Make sure the hole is near the 7 o’clock position instead of near 1 o’clock. Mine had turned 180 degrees at some point and made this cylinder removal impossible until I figured that out. Insert your valet key (it’s just easier, but your regular remote key will work) and turn to position 1. Now stick a straightened paper clip (I used one of the larger, sturdier clips instead of a standard one) in as far as it will go. The cylinder should virtually fall out if you’ve done this right. If you’re having to tug on the key to pull it, try again. Carefully disconnect the electrical clip from the key cylinder. Leave both the key and clip in the cylinder and set the thing aside. 4) Disconnect the steering lock housing mounting screw near the key. This requires the same Torx bit you used to remove the side vent cover. I didn’t have a stubby Tork driver; so I clamped the bit into a pair of needle-nose Vise-Grips to get it loose. Once loosened, I could unscrew it by hand. Once the screw is out, swing the vertical mounting strut up and out of the way. 5) Disconnect the mounting bolt next to the steering column. A small 10mm ratchet worked for me. I didn’t have to put a wrench on the nut, but I had to use a bit of hand work to finally get the nut off and the bolt out. 6) Remove the steering lock housing. The trick here is that there is a spring-button that locks the housing into the steering column. You can see what you’re up against by looking at your replacement part. You depress the spring through a small hole on the steering column. I used a 2mm allen wrench to depress the button so that I could wiggle the housing out. Now you need to prep the new part. 1) Remove all of the clips from the old housing and attach them to the new one. There is a metal clip that secures the mounting screw near the key hole and two plastic wiring guide clips. I removed the plastic clips by punching out the center pins from the bottom (they are small and actually come completely out; don’t lose them) and then carefully squeezing the prongs until the clip came off. Attach them to the new part. 2) Put a little lubricant (just a light surface wiping, nothing more) on the housing surfaces that insert into the steering column. Install the new steering lock housing: 1) If the shiny silver steering lock ‘spear’ is extended from the housing, use a large flat blade screwdriver in the center of where the key cylinder would go and simulate turning the car on. This will retract the spear. 2) Insert the end of the housing into the steering column. This was the hardest part for me. I don’t know if the new part was just thousandths of an inch bigger or what, but it was 20 minutes of wiggling and jiggling that thing to get it in. Don’t forget that you will have to depress the little spring pin once it gets to the flange. I wasn’t sure I heard the spring pin pop into place in that hole; so I crawled under the dash to inspect it to be sure I seated the thing completely. 3) Replace the mounting screw near the key hole. By the way, I never replaced the 10mm bolt at the steering column. I couldn’t figure out how to restart the nut on the bolt, plus with that spring pin engaged, I can’t see how the housing could ever come out under normal use. 4) Reconnect the wiring harness to the ignition switch in the back. 5) Reconnect the immobilizer and its wiring clip. 6) Push the key cylinder in firmly (aligning it in the little guide on the top left of the steering lock housing) and pull the paper clip. It should be secured. Remove the key. Reconnect the tiny wiring clip to the key cylinder. 7) Reconnect the battery. 8) Start the car at this point to ensure that you’ve done everything right. If the car won’t start, something didn’t get reconnected properly or you have a different issue. Note: it is not necessary to have the headlight switch reassembled to start the car. If the car starts at this point, start replacing the rest of the stuff you pulled out. Start with the vent tubing. It was helpful to loosely attach the vertical tube with its screw before reconnecting the horizontal tube underneath. Once done underneath, tighten the vertical tube and replace everything else. Be very careful with the headlight switch reattachment as that lighted ring looks pretty fragile and the little bulbs have to fit exactly right into the plastic ring that covers it. Start ‘er up and hope that the new part is a thousand times more reliable than the one you replaced.