all depends on the state of the relationship.!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Hehe...yes

Checked my old manual from the '60s but it doesn't show the exploded shifter, so take the following with a grain of salt...

Rebuilt a column shifter on a pickup a 'few' years ago - didn't even have cameras then. The best way I can describe the column is as a pipe: the steering wheel rotates a rod inside the pipe and the shift handle rotates a slotted sleeve on the outside of the pipe. There should be a tab either welded onto the pipe or notched and bent up from the pipe itself. Over the years both the tab and the slots on the sleeve had worn to the point where the shifter would be sticky and I had to wiggle the handle to get it unstuck. Had to take the column all apart and rebuild so that the tab and the corners of the sleeve slots were square again. This stuff was regular steel so welding and grinding wasn't a problem. If your sleeve is galvanized then you have a job ahead of you.

I'd rather have a column shifter: once a car's lifetime worth of repairs are well worth the extra floor space.

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daBenz - 1970 220D

I think it is perhaps because I have not yet driven a column shifter vehical that I was wondering about floor-shift modifications. If I ever get this column problem worked out and get the vehical moving again and I can feel the difference, perhaps I'll change my mind. It just seems awkward to me, even just sitting there in the seat and imagining myself on the road. It's probably just years of ingrained floor-shifting though.

Right now I've moved on to trying to take out the whole steering column and linkage assembly, along with the portion that forms part of the firewall (called a "cover" in the MB manual). I've got a fully working column and spare shift-linkage that I can replace it all with if need be. Right now the hold-up however is that I can't figure out how the strap like metal peice right under the dash is bolted in. The bolt nuts are "of course" buried under the dash in a realy difficult place to reach and immpossible to see. Someone in the vintage section of this site has told me I'll need to pull out the speedo cluster unit to get in at them. Yippie!

By the way, this '65 doesn't have a bench front seat, so various jokes about dates and such don't quite apply, although funny.

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- Theo
- Fins make 'em fast! (looking..)
- '65 190-Dc
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I always liked the column shift on the old Mercedes. They had a very delicate precision feel, like throwing a switch as opposed to rowing the floor shift on a dump truck. My present 300SD has the floor shift and it definitely has truck like overtones.

Drive like a sensible burgher and don't try to hurry the shifts and it is a very easy pleasant way to drive.

I have a 67 fintail diesel automatic on the tree...with the original parts book that came with the car,if interested I can make a copy of the page where it shows the linkage components,each ha a diff part #,to see what you are missing.

I don't think you have to worry about going anywhere fast...time between shifts is spent enjoying the sound of the engine changing RPM's more than 10RPM per min as you are accelerating
The old 190D very sluggish?

Do you have a "mirror on a stick"? Kind of like what the dentist uses, except with a swivel between the mirror and the stick. Some have extendable handles. Sears, K-Mart, etc., or any parts store.

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daBenz - 1970 220D

The dental mirror is not a bad idea, but I would have to get some light in there, and it's pretty dense with wiring and such it seems. Because it is dense and tight in there also, I don't think I would be able to get a small crescent wrench to even have any radial play. I could see the logic in pulling the speedo cluster so that one could get a socket wrench over the nut and have room to turn it.

I think I'm going to tackle it more today. Since it's the only thing I'll be applying my energy to, perhaps I'll get it. Last time I was working on it, we spent a lot of energy on all sorts of little things and were were getting tired. I tend to get impatient when I'm tired, then I start to do stupid hasty things, so I'm glad we nocked off.

Has anybody come up with good substitute tools for pulling the speedo cluster? I know that you need a kind of thin blade like tool with a hook on the end so that you can insert it between the "lip" so to speak, then grab it from behind and pull. I'm almost thinking of taking a cheap and very thin knife or two and cutting notches at the ends in them so that they kind of form hooks or edges to catch on.

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- Theo
- Fins make 'em fast! (looking..)
- '65 190-Dc
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

its been a while but the newer benzes all come out with a push from behind after the below panel is removed. i would bet this will work on the fintail too.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I just think having a "four on the tree" is kinda cool.

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1982 300SD

Hey,
I was up there looking at it and there may or may not be enough space to get hands up in there and push it out. It has a mechanical temp sender, oil pressure, and speedo...
Thats a lot of stuff!
I should have brought my dash removal tool up with me when I went to look at the car with Theo!

Great guy though, and a great car too!
(His 1965 Volvo rocks!)

Hey Brandon,

Didn't manage to work on it today, but I'm pretty sure I will tomorrow. I'm going to try to devise an improvised tool to try to take it out from the front. I may also see if I can snake my hand up there directly behind it and give it a strong but gentle push -- that sounds like it could work also. This is one heck of a big kid's puzzle to get apart! (all this for getting the column out...)

I see that you tipped my hand that I have a non-german car also... is Sweden close enough... ;-)

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- Theo
- Fins make 'em fast! (looking..)
- '65 190-Dc
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Its too cool to not mention...

Yah, I'm a sucker or fine classic design and rocket-age fins I guess. I have even been thinking that if I couldn't get the ol' 190D body rolling in the end, I could even try transplanting the MB power-plant into a Volvo 122. The cute little 4-piston 1.9L mercedes engine looks like it just might fit....!! They both had about the same horsepower even.

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+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
- Theo
- Fins make 'em fast! (looking..)
- '65 190-Dc
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +