W210 Steering Column Seal at Firewall...How Hard to Replace?
 

On my '98 E300 I see there is supposed to be a seal at the end of the bellows type boot and mine is missing which is probably why I feel a warm draft from down there on my right foot when my windows or sunroof are open.

How hard is it to replace the seal? Can I simply remove the bolt and separate the column at the coupling and push it back enough to slide the bellows out and the new seals on or would I have to go through the entire process for removing the steering column from inside the car? The column seems to have a joint which is supposed to allow the wheel adjustment in and out. I was thinking if the wheel is all the way out then the adjustment arm could just be pushed back when I separate the coupling from the steering column and I wouldn't have to do anything else to get access to the end of the column.

The parts cost is trivial, but I don't want it to turn into a 3 hour job if it can be done in 15 minutes.

Can't answer your question, but I wonder if someone at some time tried to fix a squeaking steering noise that is common on these cars and didn't put everything back together right?

See https://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/StarTuned/pdfs/SqueakFactSept04.pdf

Thanks Len,

I have learned that replacement of the boot/seal is rather trivial, you just need to loosen the bolt which holds the steering shaft clamped in the coupler, back it out, R&R the seal and re-clamp it down. The shaft has enough movement to allow it without having to touch anything on the cabin-side of the firwall since it has the extension feature that has a link to allow the shaft to move away from the coupling. I'm ordering the parts and special grease and will replace it the next time I have the car up on the lift to get rid of that nasty draft.

As for my car, I think the seal just disintegrated and failed since I had never noticed a draft before a couple of months ago and it is the kind of thing I'd have noticed in the 2 prior years I drove it.

I need to address the steering column rubbing noise in mine. Have the grease on hand - just haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.