2.3 16v speedo cable ??

any advice on replacing speedo cable on my 190 e 2.3 16v looks a darn nightmare. manual says remove r/h side air vent tube. (has anyone tried this) you cant get at it. am thinking of removing driver seat to give me more room. any ideas appreciated regards ken

[MTI]

You don't have to remove the seat, just move it all the way backwards. Once the lower dash panel is removed by unscrewing the fasteners, then you will be working on your back in the footwell. The plastic air duct that runs from the center console to the driver's side vent is just a formed plastic tube that is press fit together and is uber simple to disconnect. Once the black tube is removed, you should be able to get your hand up to the backside of the instrument cluster to undo the knurled speedo cable connector with your bare hands. For future reference, this is how you can remove the instrument cluster without resorting to hooks or risking stretching the speedo cable and ending up with a bouncy speedo at low speed.