Funny this thread would make it back, as I just got done doing this treatment to my “new” ’87 300SDL this weekend. Should have taken a few pic’s. It’s not really any harder than the W123, except access is very tight when packing the noodles in.

My Steps: Not by the book, just through experience and observation. Your mileage may vary…………

1.Take out the lower bench on the back seat. This will give you lots of room to work without having to totally remove the front seats from the car.

2.Move seat all the way forward and up to access and remove rear bolts.

3.Remove the black bar attached to the rear hump that secures the seat belt thing and slide out to set aside. The plastic covers over the bolts are a bit*h to get off. They are clipped on with a plastic thing that fits under the washer that you can’t see. Move cover toward rear of car while prying gently from the back of the cover, at least that worked for me.

4.Move seats all the way to the rear and tilt up front to access the front bolts.

5.Remove the plastic covers over the bolts, just pull straight forward and then up.

6.Loosen the front bolts just enough so you can reach under and pull that carpet ramp thing off of the bar so you can see the wiring hookups. The carpet is just held to the bar with a “C” shaped plastic thing. You may have to remove the front seat bolts all the way and tilt the seat back to get it off.

7.Now you can see the electrical connections, there are three “blocks” and one wire for the seat belt warning sign. Remove each block carefully while trying to hold the carpet out of the way, prying gently and swearing. If you still have the front seat bolts attached this may be easier. There is also a removable wire tie to open up.

8.Once the seat is free, just let it tilt into the back and ‘rassle it around to get it up on the shelf where the back seat was and you can see the bottom. Use pads underneath so you do not break any of the plastic trim.
8b.Pick up loose change, vac and clean.

9.Look at all those motors and gears! I love my 123’s simplicity more every day!

10.Figure out what you want to noodle and how to shove them in. All parts are sharp and will cut you!!!!!!

11.I cut two pieces of a fat noodle (4” diameter) that I found to 120mm long for the front corner springs. I cut diagonal lines to match the coil of the springs and shoved them in there like post supports. The rest, I just shoved regular noodles into the Z shaped springs. I did use a few wire ties here and there to make sure nothing shifted during flight.

12.Reverse order to re-install and repeat on passenger side. Keeping the seats in the car worked well and I did not have to worry about breaking anything taking them all the way out. They are heavy!

The process was much slower than on the 123 and took me the better part of the day. I did the back seat bench as well. Despite my training on the 123 and wearing gloves where I could, my hands still look like I was trying to put a cat in a bag. However the results were excellent!

Good luck,

Clay

__________________
2002 E320 Sedan 93K Designo Mocha Black Metallic!
1995 E320 Wagon 205K Black Wagon
1982 240D 183K SloPoke

I believe each of these cars are the final production year for that model.