Diseasel300 i think you are right. it seems unnecessary and would have take more disassembly to replace, so i left it out.

the adjustment problem came down to the fact that the little wing on the transfer rod wasn't captive under the welded square tongue. my pull at the left wasn't being transmitted to the right side of the seat. having fixed that, and put an M8 bolt through the seat frame to improve the leverage of the pull lever, everything works well again.

thanks folks!

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.