I have an 87 944s, and recently I've been having a problem getting the key to turn in the ignition. It goes in fine but it just won't turn. So far this has only happened in the morning when the car was cold. Also, the key seems to be working fine in the doors. I've been told that the ignition just needs lubrication and that if I spray some WD40 in it everything should be fine. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

The steering wheel isnt in the locked position is it?

Christian

 

Nope. That would be pretty funny though.

 

Your ignition lock cylinder is broken. At least this was the diagnosis on my 83 several years ago. You can replace it with a new one, but ideally you should take it to a locksmith beforehand to have it adapted to your current keys, or you'll end up with a separate ignition key like I did.

 

What condition is the key itself in ? If it's badly worn it may not be displacing all the pins in the cylinder. If you have another key, give it a try. Also, don't use WD-40 in your ignition cylinder. The ignition switch on our cars is at the bottom of the cylinder assembly, and is made of plastic. Any liquid you put into the lock cylinder will run down onto the switch, and WD-40 and plastic DO NOT get along well. It will deteriorate the plastic and cause the switch to fail. Dry graphite would be better.

 

Luis,

how much does that repair run?

 

You might try DGF - dry graphite film, anyone know any reason this wouldn't work?

 

Yep your lock cylinder is broken. If it ends up working out without fixing it, trust me it will lock you out of the ignition when you least expect it. I had a friend who had the same issue happen one day, and he thought the problem went away. We end being 50 miles away from home, and it ends up not working.

 

Did you trying turning the wheel a little? That can take pressure off the mechanism.

 

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. No rhyme or reason to it. Anyone know how much a new lock cylinder would run

 

i have this same problem on my 83, i just thought it was just my pos key. Where can you get a new lock cylinder?

 

Although I haven't experienced this on the 944, it has happened on my mom's caravan. I replaced the $15 lock cylinder in about 10 minutes and it now works as good as new.

 

The ignition lock cylinder itself is obtainable from the Porsche dealer and cost me $38.09 plus shipping back in 1997. That was Brumos, in Jacksonville FL. Part number for the 1983 was: 477-905-855-C

I was even less mechanically inclined than I am now, but FWIW, my mechanic at the time spent 2 1/2 hours on this repair and charged me $110 at $44/h.

NOTE: in the early cars, the ignition switch is attached to the steering column by means of a heavy brass 8 mm socket head bolt. If this bolt has come loose, it would possibly cause the key to bind inside the cylinder and not unlock. Not sure if the late cars are the same, but check your footwell for a lost bolt!

 

Thanks a lot everyone.

 

I had the same problem in cold weather, but lube did the trick. I wiped a little machine oil onto my key and put it in the ignition about three times, the problem was solved and hasn't come back.