Retrofit Brake pedal shift interlock on 1987 w124?? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Skippy · #31 03-30-2011, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

All the more reason to drive with both feet!!!

When my dad taught me to drive (in an automatic Chrysler) I did as he did and used my left foot for the brake and my right for the gas. Later, I was told this was wrong, but if you only drive automatics, I don't see any reason not to do this. I didn't start driving the "right" way until my '83 went in the shop for a front end rebuild and I was left exclusively driving my 5-speed Samurai for a few weeks.

vstech · #32 03-30-2011, 10:22 PM

UGH!
I can think of a few reasons not to drive with both feet...
biggest one is brake wear.
two feet drivers seem to rest their feet on the brake pedal while driving. especially between stoplights... not wise.

Orv · #33 03-31-2011, 01:50 PM

It's also annoying for the people behind you when your brake lights are constantly on.

1stbenznc · #34 04-06-2011, 11:14 PM

I went to the junkyard today and pulled the brake assembly, shifter and cables. Wasn't too difficult. It came off a 1992 sedan. I did notice that the 94 and 95's had a different position of the cables on the brake pedal assembly.

I will post some pictures and my findings as I do the retrofit in the next few days. I took apart the shifter to clean it all up this evening . Sticky soda, coffee, 4 coins, and who knows what else in there!

The shifter cutout in the wood IS larger. I think because the newer shifter unit sits just over 3/16" higher than the original. I could not find one in good shape, but should be able to open mine up a bit. The plastic trim ring will cover any errors

Still deciding if I want to hook up the ingition cable. I actually bought the whole column from that car months ago for the good steering wheel (he wouldn't separate it). So I have the update ingition (w/cable hole) and key. Not sure if I want two keys though!?!?

Can the ignition switch be changed/keyed to match the rest of the locks on the car?? who would do it? how much?

vstech · #35 04-07-2011, 08:28 AM

you could swap ignition tumblers between the cars... keep keys alike in the car.

1stbenznc · #36 04-07-2011, 10:14 AM

Is there a DIY on that?Never attempted something like that and don't want a bunch of small pieces flying across the garage

vstech · #37 04-07-2011, 10:35 AM

a search should pull one up, but it's pretty simple, put key in, turn to position 2, stick paperclip into the hole, unscrew the outer ring, remove tumbler, reverse to assemble.

babymog · #38 04-07-2011, 01:03 PM

Choosing the right size pins is the difficult part for the ignition tumbler swap, the right size and it just comes apart, too small and you'll never win. An angled tip is also useful to push the pins into place.

1stbenznc · #39 04-07-2011, 11:45 PM

I got the Shifter and Brake pedal assembly installed today.......and it works!!

It went pretty quickly since my console was already out. Besides a little trimming of the hard insulation materal to make room for the cables on the right side of the shifter, it was all easy bolt on.

I will be leaving the ignition cable disconnected for the time being. Most important to us is the locking shifter, once in park.

The mechanism for the ignition function on the shifter can be held open with a metal wire (twist tie) or a zip tie. So only the one cable will be utilized.

Very strange, but with all the stuff I have done to the car this was one of the most satisfying things I have done. I guess it was the unknown if it would work, and just doing it. I still have to trim the wood and put the console back once the new stereo is wired up.

Some pictures tomorrow...

1stbenznc · #40 04-08-2011, 11:16 PM

Here are some pictures and explanations of what I did. I will follow-up with more as I modify the wood cover.

Here are the parts I picked up.

Close up of the locking mechanism for the ignition cable/lock (Left one) and the Brake pedal cable/lock (right one)

The difference in the wood covers. I thought mine was pretty bad (right)! I just took the other as a reference and template to cut mine. It seems to be just a bit longer, I will soon see how it fits

Some close-ups of the brake pedal differences. Besides the cable hook-ups it fits right in place. There is bolt/shaft and pin holdng the pedal arm to the booster arm. Pull pin then remove bolt. There are then 4 nuts and one bolt holding the assemble to the car (15mm). Unplug tail light switch and it will pull out.

The new shifter was disgusting with soda, coffee and 4 coins in there! How it even moved is beyond me!

I took it all apart and thoroughly cleaned it up with soap and water

I think I understand why the cut out was so much larger on the wood for the new shifter. It sits about 3/16" or so higher than the old style, making it protrude up above the wood surface. The plastic trim ring will cover the surface edge. I definately like the leather wraped knob and shorter throw of the shifter arm too.

Had to make more room for the cables and mechanism on the right side of the shifter and cut away some material.

A little locktite on the four bolts holding down the shifter. I did notice the arm going through the floor was in a slightly different position than the original. An adjustment of the linkage to the trans will ne necessary (threaded rod)

A close-up of the how the mechanism works. In the first picture it is locked (both the ignition and bake cable. In the second, both are released and unlocked. Since I will not be using the ignition cable for now, I will tie the left linkage open and disconnect the cable. Only the brake interlock function will work.....just what I want!

Last picture is looking up under the dash at the brake pedal assembly. The thing to note is how close the cable is to the black protective wire harness tube. I thought I was going to have to cut or file it down, but it fits snug next to it and operates freely - Perfect!!

......more details to come

vstech · #41 04-08-2011, 11:33 PM

be ULTRA careful when you mount your original switches in the new wood, or are you going to use the original wood, and cut out the shifter hole?

compu_85 · #42 04-08-2011, 11:37 PM

Thanks for the pics, hopefully I never have to refer back to them

Interesting that the cutout for the euro Economy / Sport selector is there on the shift pattern label. One of these days I need to figure out how that system worked...

-J

1stbenznc · #43 04-18-2011, 11:39 PM

Here are some final pictures of the assembly.

Since I was not going to use the ignition interlock feature I had to secure open the mechanism. I just used a piece of wire and tied it back to the mounting bolt (easy).

Once the shifter was in, I laid the old wood over it to see how far it was off. The top and right side of the rectangular opening needed no cutting. I only trimmed about 1/8" off the left side and 1/2" off the bottom. I used a dremmel cut off wheel and worked great until it broke.....then I hacked it up a little

I noticed the new trim ring had wide plastic tabs under it to fill much of the gap - Sorry no pic of that. I decided to cut less wood; keeping it stronger and less resistant to cracking, and ground off the tabs until snug between the shifter and wood.

I did need to adjust the linkage under the car where the shifter connects to the trans. (longer by about 1/4"). That was the hardest part as the threaded dowel pin was seized after all these years.

The wife is happy and so am I

New stereo is working now too......

EuroRash · #44 07-07-2012, 01:23 AM

Did this to my 91 300TE

Didn't like the wood look

So I went with carbon fiber (as you can see I still have the door trim to do)