hi guys, i just replaced the horribly cracked dash in my 1987 300se a few weeks ago and took some pics along the way. for you guys who have the steering wheel on the wrong side, just swap it over!
my unacceptable dash
first off remove the ashtray, pretty easy, slide out the silver inside bit and undo the two phillips screws. remove the electrical plug on the way out on the back of the ashtray
remove your radio. most units just have two flat metal keys you slide down the side to detach the latches. radio then pulls forward and hopefully they gave you a simple harness to disconnect
remove the aircon control. at the bottom of the wood trim piece are two phillips screws. once undone, gently pull the whole piece down. it comes out with wood and all switches which need to be disconnected.
this is what the back of that whole unit looks like. the aircon control unit is screwed into the wood if you want to get it off!
where the wood trim aircon control piece was, there are two phillips screws at the top of the centre console which attach to the dash. this area is often cracked on the dashes so take care
remove your glovebox interior. there are the 5-6 plastic tabs. lift out the male piece, then lift up the female piece. also need to remove the electric light with a flathead screwdriver at the front and gently lever it down before disconnecting. you don't need to remove the latch for the glovebox lid to get this out.
remove the lower carpet pieces, there are several phillips screws at the top which attach to the bottom of the dash. there are then several plastic screws at the lower end of the carpet trim
in this pic you see below the steering wheel on drivers (right) side (opposite in the US). you must disconnect the handbrake and pull it through. there are only two screws for this. you can also see the gold bracket which attaches the side of the dash to the side of the car (below A pillar area). this is a 10mm bolt from memory.
this is the 10mm bolt holding on the bracket on the passenger (left) side
remove the speaker covers with the two fine phillips. if you have a 90 degrees screwdriver that would help or at least a short phillips. under this you will see the allen bolt which need to be undone as this holds the dash to the chassis. there is another two of these, one on each speaker and one in the middle under a plastic clip
passenger side
the centre bolt
now back to the glovebox. there is a single bracket on the medial/middle side to undo
outcomes the instrument cluster. not so hard, push it out form under the dash! then disconnect all the bits and pieces. 126s are nice as they labelled most light bulbs and none of the connectors will fit into the wrong spot!
remove the light switch piece. simply pull the light knob out (if you have girly fingers, use pliers over a piece of cloth - don't ask why i know this). then pull out the light levelling switch and disconnect the two vacuum lines
dropping the steering wheel helps. so pull off the cover
and undo the index 10mm? mark the bolt and wheel first so it lines up when it goes back together. leave your wheel in the centre if that helps. a two man job as one bloke holds the wheel and the other cranks it (you could just lock the wheel i suppose!)
drop the steering wheel by undoing the two 10mm bolts inside the instrument cluster bit of the dash
approach the vent lever. the vents come out. there are clips on the outside which you lever 'in' on each side. once both are done, rotate the vent down and pull it out. do the other one. detach the rubber bit around the vents so you can see through
there is then a central attachment which you need to detach. I'm not sure how to do this as mine snapped off when i tried to squeeze it out of the hole at the back? you might want a spare (luckily my new dash had one). the screw in picture doesnt help you, this is an adjuster fro memory. you detach the bit at the back
then you need to detach the cable off the vent. this pic is looking through the glove box and its on the medial/middle side of glovebox. very gently lever this down! i don't want to know what happens if you snap this!
when the central vents are out, you can undo the two phillips screws at the bottom of the metal frame to detach this (removal only when dash out in my case). the picture here shows the whole unit out. this is too highlight you have another one of those bloody cables on the drivers/right side which can only be removed from the drivers/right footwell
this is what the attached cable looked like
disappointingly you need to remove the roof and a pillar. the roof comes off by removing the two sun visors (two screws) and their clips (one phillips hidden under the tab). then pull off the rear view mirror (just pull it forward from the stalk). then 3 screws hold the base of the rear view mirror in.
the roof piece then slides towards the rear of the car. detach the roof light switch bit. my clips on this roof piece had melted off and it wasn't sagging so don't worry if yours are on. i glued them back for what it is worth
i have to break this into two posts the forum just advised, so see next feed!
my unacceptable dash
first off remove the ashtray, pretty easy, slide out the silver inside bit and undo the two phillips screws. remove the electrical plug on the way out on the back of the ashtray
remove your radio. most units just have two flat metal keys you slide down the side to detach the latches. radio then pulls forward and hopefully they gave you a simple harness to disconnect
remove the aircon control. at the bottom of the wood trim piece are two phillips screws. once undone, gently pull the whole piece down. it comes out with wood and all switches which need to be disconnected.
this is what the back of that whole unit looks like. the aircon control unit is screwed into the wood if you want to get it off!
where the wood trim aircon control piece was, there are two phillips screws at the top of the centre console which attach to the dash. this area is often cracked on the dashes so take care
remove your glovebox interior. there are the 5-6 plastic tabs. lift out the male piece, then lift up the female piece. also need to remove the electric light with a flathead screwdriver at the front and gently lever it down before disconnecting. you don't need to remove the latch for the glovebox lid to get this out.
remove the lower carpet pieces, there are several phillips screws at the top which attach to the bottom of the dash. there are then several plastic screws at the lower end of the carpet trim
in this pic you see below the steering wheel on drivers (right) side (opposite in the US). you must disconnect the handbrake and pull it through. there are only two screws for this. you can also see the gold bracket which attaches the side of the dash to the side of the car (below A pillar area). this is a 10mm bolt from memory.
this is the 10mm bolt holding on the bracket on the passenger (left) side
remove the speaker covers with the two fine phillips. if you have a 90 degrees screwdriver that would help or at least a short phillips. under this you will see the allen bolt which need to be undone as this holds the dash to the chassis. there is another two of these, one on each speaker and one in the middle under a plastic clip
passenger side
the centre bolt
now back to the glovebox. there is a single bracket on the medial/middle side to undo
outcomes the instrument cluster. not so hard, push it out form under the dash! then disconnect all the bits and pieces. 126s are nice as they labelled most light bulbs and none of the connectors will fit into the wrong spot!
remove the light switch piece. simply pull the light knob out (if you have girly fingers, use pliers over a piece of cloth - don't ask why i know this). then pull out the light levelling switch and disconnect the two vacuum lines
dropping the steering wheel helps. so pull off the cover
and undo the index 10mm? mark the bolt and wheel first so it lines up when it goes back together. leave your wheel in the centre if that helps. a two man job as one bloke holds the wheel and the other cranks it (you could just lock the wheel i suppose!)
drop the steering wheel by undoing the two 10mm bolts inside the instrument cluster bit of the dash
approach the vent lever. the vents come out. there are clips on the outside which you lever 'in' on each side. once both are done, rotate the vent down and pull it out. do the other one. detach the rubber bit around the vents so you can see through
there is then a central attachment which you need to detach. I'm not sure how to do this as mine snapped off when i tried to squeeze it out of the hole at the back? you might want a spare (luckily my new dash had one). the screw in picture doesnt help you, this is an adjuster fro memory. you detach the bit at the back
then you need to detach the cable off the vent. this pic is looking through the glove box and its on the medial/middle side of glovebox. very gently lever this down! i don't want to know what happens if you snap this!
when the central vents are out, you can undo the two phillips screws at the bottom of the metal frame to detach this (removal only when dash out in my case). the picture here shows the whole unit out. this is too highlight you have another one of those bloody cables on the drivers/right side which can only be removed from the drivers/right footwell
this is what the attached cable looked like
disappointingly you need to remove the roof and a pillar. the roof comes off by removing the two sun visors (two screws) and their clips (one phillips hidden under the tab). then pull off the rear view mirror (just pull it forward from the stalk). then 3 screws hold the base of the rear view mirror in.
the roof piece then slides towards the rear of the car. detach the roof light switch bit. my clips on this roof piece had melted off and it wasn't sagging so don't worry if yours are on. i glued them back for what it is worth
i have to break this into two posts the forum just advised, so see next feed!
... Actually, the dash can be changed without taking out the steering wheel.
