1977 W123: Tips on seats and panels removal?
 

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out how to take out all my seats and interior panels right now. I figured out the back bottom seat portion really easy, but the top section I could not get. I found a bolt on the bottom of each bottom corner, but could not seem to lift it up and off by taking those bolts off. It seems like there are other connections I am missing before it will just slip out. Are there more bolts towards the middle?

On the front seats, I found a bolt and each front rail, but could not seem to find how to get in at the bottom back mounts? How is this done?

After I get the seats out, I'll want to remove the door panels. How do I go about this? Do I just wedge a screw-driver in close to the pop-in connectors and gently pry them out of the holes? Is there some trick to this, or some special tool that it's nearly not worth attempting this without?

Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Back Seat BACK portion --- I may have the w123 and w126 seats mixed up but there is one bolt under the center arm rest. Remove it; then lift the BACK UP toward the rear window\ceiling. It rests on "hooks".

The front seats have 2 bolts in the front and 2 in the rear --- as I recall the front seat HEIGHT elevation has to be moved toward the front. To do this; use the lever in front of the seat to move seat backward; then raise the lever on the door side of the seat and move the seat FORWARD --- this will raise the seat and put the height elevation mechanism toward the front out of the way of the rear bolts.

Door Panels --- I'll let someone point you to a DIY article.

The door panels are a little tricky because some of the screws are hidden. There are two large ones in the arm rest handle, and one at the top near the mirror which requires pushing the trim aside or removing the trim, I can't remember which. I cannot remember either whether the mirror garnish might have to be removed or not. It it does, there is a tricky little part that must be slidden aside to reveal the fastener or to remove it, then the garnish pise out at the bottom and slides up off tabs on the back. This piece is very easy to break so proceed carefully.

ONce all the fasteners are out the panel prise out around the bottom and side edges and then lifts off a lip on the top next to the window glass.

Just proceed carefully and you will be fine. Get impatient and you will break things.

there are no screws around the mirror.

Just replace the chrome plates, the 2 big screws that hold the arm rest on, then pry out the black plastic cover in the door handle cavity and then remove that screw. Then just pop off the clips.

i have taken my door panels off a few times and the back seat a few times to fix the central locking and other things. Not hard, procedure is on the sevice disc

The pretty chrome door stop trim piece needs to come off as well. After all that's off, the map door pocket will still be attached to the door at the front, which is typically broken due to folks forcing things off and pulling when they should be lifting and twisting.

Front Seats Still A Problem...
 

OK, thanks for the tips everybody... I did find the center bottom bolt to the back back-rest portion of the rear seat, so that's out now.

The fronts are still confounding me however..... I don't quite understand what that side lever between seat and door is. I pull up on it, but can't seem to adjust the seat in any way. Seeing how it engages under the seat also doesn't seem to give me a clue as to what it actually does...!?

Are the fasteners in the rear of the front seats driven by a big philips screw head? I do see two bronz-ish looking screws up over the top of the rail/foot areas in the rear.... Is the bolt or screw head I'm looking for up over the slide-rails or from below?

Thanks again for any and all tips!

The lever on the side between the seat and the door is the HEIGHT adjustment. IF you cannot see the same 2 bolts in the rear of the seat rails.....on the FLOOR.....as you took out in the front.....then the HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT IS in the way.

Follow along. There are just 4 bolts that hold the w123 seat in the car. The whole seat comes out......wish I had a pic of the thing.....let me look...

Well, here's a pic of 2 blue seats --- different years. There is a bolt is each "corner" of the frame. Sorry, I don't have a better pic. The HEIGHT Adjustment appears to be forward in the right hand seat. I can see the front hole on the seat on the left.


http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...DSCF3318-1.jpg

Height?
 

Sorry I'm so daft with this it seems.... but the this adjusts the height of the seat bottom from the floor...? The height of what exactly? I was looking around under there carefully but didn't seem to see any bolt heads like the two front ones...

I guess I'll try again tomorrow,

Thanks.

Is that left seat leather while the right one is mbtex?

It'll adjust the height of the seat "bottom". You lift the lever, and slide the seat frontwards (higher) or rearwards (lower). You then adjust the distance using the lever on the front of the seat. If your seats won't move frontwards or rearwards, using either lever, the lever or track might be broken, etc.

Look closely --- I am like 82% sure that both are MB Tex; the pattern change was done in 1984 if I recall correctly.

Or it may be just "gummed up" with dirt, hair, fuzz balls, etc. A proper cleaning and relubrication usuallys brings the front seats back to life. I've done it so many times I can almost do it in my sleep.

I'm a sucker for saving good seats at the junkyard. Just can't stand to see them go to the crusher.

The seat rides on a triangle support, as you pull up on the side handle a spring will pull back and down, so you slide in both directions (back and down). To raise the seat you slide it forward and up, many seats are stuck in the position they're in. You may have success with someone in the back pushing forward as you sit in the seat with the handle in the up position, trying to do the same thing.

daw_two may be able to take a pic of the mechanism.