junkyard 300SD treasure and assorted questions

[dannyF]

Hello all:

I have a question for you. I went to the local junk yard and found a car almost identical to mine (even same color!). Its been fun messing with it.
It had 245 K when it died but some of its internals look pretty good - though getting some weather from being exposed - hood was removed early on, apparently.

Anyway, I pulled the injectors (the guy there knows his stuff and charged me $20 per injector) as well as the aux. vaccum pump (which works!! - $50 ), a window motor + regulator (3 more to go, if I have the energy - $50 for each), assorted hoses, switches, and a new fan clutch (in case mine gets botched when I try to repair it).

I wanted to ask 3 questions.

1) Should I have him pull the fuel pump for me ? I think he quoted me $200 (or was it $300?). Seems like good insurance, especially since I am running WVO.

2) My winshield has a speckled look which makes visibility less than optimal in some light conditions. I think this car's is better than mine for some reason (though I need to make certain). He quoted me $85 plus the cost of someone to remove it. What do you think? Way cheaper than a new one, but do I even want a new one -I have heard they are not so long lasting these days?

3) I am trying to pull the steering column on this junkyard beast to access the turn signal shaft - since mine will not click back. I couldn't get it and the guy told me I stripped the hex socket of the steering column (which is not very deep) to the point of not being able to remove it. He is going to try and pull it for me by chiseling it down or something - maybe just by tearing off the steering wheel. My question is - is it worth the effort? If I couldn't pull out the junk yard steering wheel without stripping it will I strip mine as well while trying to replace it? Plus, there's the question of whether this $40 old replacement turn shaft will work at all... Apparently, unlike the W123, you have to pull the steering wheel on the W126 to access the turn signal - I saw no other way. Has anyone ever pulled out the steering wheel and how can you do it - does it need a special hex tool?

Thank you and best wishes!

Dan