Broken Pod Replacement
 

Well it wasn't working anyway but I did break it trying to get it out. I'm talking about the pod that controls the fresh air into the car. It's the one up behind the glovebox kind of towards the firwall. Seems kind of difficult to get at. I will order a new one but how do I get that thing back in place? Help?

You have to pull the dash out. Which isn't as hard as it sounds. The shop manuals explain the dash removal pretty well I would check that out.

Here is the link to the online shop manuals if you don't have it---http://mb.braingears.com/

On the 123 it is possible to replace all the vacuum pods without removing the dash. The 124 is a different story. This was covered in an old thread where the proceedure was outlined in pretty good detail. Here's the link:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/49843-vacuum-element-center-nozzle.html?highlight=center+vent+actuator


edit: scroll down a bit to find the instructions

I think I will be able to get a new pod in without removing the dash. I'll post the results in a few days after I get the new pod.

spyguy,

in my 300SD I was able to pretty easily replace these particular pods by just removing the glove box. That's a pretty easy proposition. I don't know if it's the same on your car, however. I wish all pods that went bad were those!

- Ted

It was tight but I was able to get the pod in place without removing the dash. There is a metal bracket that the pod actually locks into by engaging the little retaining clips and then rotating into lock position. The metal bracket can be bent down to get access. Feels good to have that done.