on my 1995 E 300 Diesel...

I want to begin my adventure on this forum by saying thanks to Phil. A couple months ago I needed ball joints for my MB. My former online supplier indicated a back-order delay of two weeks plus; while my local supplier had them at a cost of 98 bucks apiece. Phil provided these parts overnight at the best price.

I've made good use of some of the DIY features in this forum enabling me to fix my driver's seat and seeing how to remove the instrument cluster to replace the interior temperature display. Great information.

I own the MB service CD for my model (W124) but find it cumbersome at best to navigate.

Two projects I want to work on:

1. The rotary headlamp switch is in need of replacement. Are there any forum resources showing this "step by step"? In my previous car a 1982 300SD, this change was (to the best of my memory) done from the dash board by unbolting the switch and removing a piece of plastic trim retaining it. It appears that the 124 requires removal of the under-dash paneling and dropping the switch.

2. I need to replace the valve cover gasket. I can see my way clear to the removal and replacement of all covers and components to get access EXCEPT for the linkage across the top of the engine. The service CD has defeated me, I can't trace the jobs to get to where I need to be. If there are any DIY references here, I'd appreciate some help in locating them. The first step as I see to get access involves removing linkage which I do NOT want to mess up. I would also like to confirm the torque and the exact procedure for doing this replacement right.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Best regards,

Pete