Thanks for answering a question I had not even asked yet. I'm thinking mine may need to come out soon for a bulb replacement. Now, I know how. Thanks.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I took the kick panel off, and went in from the rear. It pushed out real easy, and I had enough slack to where I didn't have to undo any cables. Bulbs changed, done in about 5 minutes. Very easy and now I can see how fast I am going.

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85 300CD Turbo "Das Polluter" 230K sold for $3,000

98 BMW 323is

I removed the kick panel and pushed it out. I did not want to make or buy hooks and I also was worried what else might get hooked if I tried it without knowing what is back there. I also worried that squeezing the hook between the dash might damage the old dash and the old plastic on the panel itself. So, I took the safest way out.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I made my dash pullig tool from a 8" x 1/2" piece of steel shipping strap, very thin. Heat the end and bend a little past 90 deg. only a 1/8" hook. Easy to slip in on top of the dash then move to the side to hook into the proper slots. Give a tug and out she comes. Repeat on other side.

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1984 300SD turbo 126
"My true love"

God made me an atheist and who am I to question His wisdom

I made the little hooks to remove it from the front, and thats way easier than undoing all the screws that hold the kick panel on. Why bother with all that when the hooks will have it out in seconds?

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Exactly- it works on the W123 too. Much faster.

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Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

OK, so I just grabbed the two adjusting knobs on the cluster, odometer and clock. I wiggled them ever so gently and ...wwwooooosh! The cluster just slid out. I had to remove it to send out the speedo for recalibration. Problem is now the glow plug light works intermittently. Put a new bulb in it, checked all the connections, nothing. I was also EXTREMELY careful when I had the cluster out as not to pull on anything too hard..........no clue!

Back from the dead topic.................

On my 1986 300SDL there was no way to go pushing from behind because of the a/c baffling running thru there. I made the tool(s) from a thinner gauge clothes hanger and inserted them about 3:00 and 9:00 and slowly pulled. She came out no problems. To get at the rheostat you only need to unscrew its one fastening screw and then pull outwards on the rheostat. I never change the brightness of my cluster lights so I simply soldered a wire between the two poles on the back of the cluster. For added peace of mind I put some Devcon 5-minute (1hr cure) epoxy over the soldered wire on the poles. Vibrations and soldering don't really go together. Now I'm good to go.

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Tony
(Actually, a member since 2000)

I don't have this problem, the previous owner removed the screws anbd installed industrial Velcro in spots. It's real easy to go in from the rear, for that reason.

And...as you may or may not know... going in from the rear can have some unique charms as well

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

What I find works best on the 300SDL is a paint can opener from Lowes! It fits right in and the little spoon shaped hook works great.
I keep one in the car with the spare bulbs.

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"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

I took 2 welding rods and made tools.W140 pulls out too.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

for new members

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ASE Master Mechanic
https://whunter.carrd.co/

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Hey, if you lower the under dash plastic cover, you can get at most of the bulbs, with a little care, without removing the cluster.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)