replace shift knob of 560 sel 1990

How can I replace my shift knob from a 560 sel 1990 benz..is there a lock, i have tried turning it but it was to hard..was afraid to deform the orignal shift knob..any help will be appreciated..thanks..

[peterhardie]

I have replaced a couple shift knobs. On both, I had to pull the console panel up and out, and undo a lock bolt at the base of the shifter. Your year should be similar. If you open up your console, it should become apparent.

Good move not to force it!

Thanks Peter..now the next question is how to do you remove the console panel..are there locks or screws to be removed...thanks again

[peterhardie]

Hopefully someone with your model will chime in here, since I am dealing with the cars listed in my signature, and I haven't done your car. I ASSUME they are similar, but I could be wrong.

Firstly, open and remove your ashtray. There should be a couple screws behind there that hold the ashtray base in. It should come out, and you will probably have to unplug it to get it out of your way.

At this point you may want to put the key in, and move the shifter to neutral or drive (chock the wheels or engage the parking brake. Your console panel may just lift up and back at this point, or there should be some screws that you can see, either at the front where the ashtray unit was, or under the carpet (or whatever you have there) at the rear of that panel. BE VERY CAREFUL here, because most of these panels require a bit of pressure to get out, which MAY CRACK YOUR BEAUTIFUL WOOD PANEL!!! I have cracks in both of mine from PO's. Go slow and gentle.

On mine, at least one of the switches unplugs as the panel comes out, in effect holding the console in place. On my earlier car, there are lugs at the rear of the panel that hold the rear down, so to remove the panel, you have to cock the front upward and back. It won't lift straight up. On my 400, the panel will lift up from the rear.

There is another cover with the PRND21-shiftgate, could snap in, might have bolts or screws. Remove this.

At the base of the shifter shaft should be a 17mm(?) nut; when undone (ccw), the shift knob can be unscrewed.

Putting the new shifter on is just the reverse, with a bit of care to get the thing to look straight.

I have an aftermarket shifter that doesn't sit properly in the notches in the shift gate, and requires an additional tap to release the key in park. It is coming out as soon as an OEM replacement comes in. I figured I ought to warn you that if you don't have OEM, you may have fit-and-finish issues.

Hope that helps. I have seen my mechanic do a few of these, so doing one seemed less intimidating. It's not a bad job, just be careful of your wood!

[Lou K]

Rather than taking out the console and risking the chance to break the wood here is how I did it on a 1991 560-SEL. Remove the ash tray insert. You will see 2 screws that hold the ash tray assembly in place---remove these. Unplug the lighter and remove the light from the assembly--- remove the ash tray assembly. This will enable you to remove the coin caddy and the panel that holds the seat heater and horn switches. Unplug the switches and remove the panel. At this point you will be able to access the locknut on the shift lever from the space vacated by the ash tray and switch panel. You will have to push bach the rubber boot that covers the locknut. I would follow the advice to put the car in either neutral or drive so that the shift lever is somewhat straight in the gate.

I had to modify the 17mm wrench that I used by sawing off the end opposite the jaws to get a better angle on the lock nut. Once you unlock the nut by turning counter clockwise, unscrew the shaft and repeat in the opposite to install the new knob and shaft. Before putting it back together make sure that the gears engage properly. Due to the different angles on the shaft a slight variation from the original can cause problems as peterhardie described.

[downsmith]

Just take the wood off! Once you go through all of the steps to get to the wood console, you have accomplished 80% of the job.

peterhardie: I wood look at my linkage adjustment to cure that trouble.

thanks much...real do appreciate it...