removing steering wheel
 

even though my car is going straight, the steering wheel is turned to the left(wheel alignment is correct). Can I remove the steering wheel on the '99 CLK430 and make the steering wheel straight? How could this be done? I noticed there are two screws behind the steering wheel, do I remove those screws? will the airbag deploy? Thank you:p

If the steering wheel is off, but the car tracks straight, then the alignment isn't truely correct. There should be a centering pin the alignment tech uses to ensure the wheel is straight when the alignment is done. The wheel can only be moved something like one spline in either direction, anything more will effect the turn signal operation, plus shifting the wheel on the shaft is not the way to correct the alignment.

When I removed the st wheel on my r129, it used torx screws. I used TORX 25 as the correct size, then the airbag and horn combo came off . Disconnec the battery before pulling the airbag connection, if you don't , it may give your computer an error code which would necessitate a visit to the dealership to clear the code. After this, an allen bolt holds the wheel itself to the streering column. You will be tempted to push against the lock mechanism of the steering wheel to apply force to undo the bolt....DON"T DO IT! You might break the locking mechanism of the column. I suggest to use a pneumatic tool, the one that you use to remove lug bolts with, attach a half inch allen bolt size and unscrew the bolt supporting the wheel so it doesn't apply too much pressure on the locking mechanism. Reverse the process when putting it back . ***The first and last thing you need to do in this procedure is disconnecting and connecting the battery**
Hope this helps

Centering steering wheel
 

Dont do it, one of the steps in alignment is to center the wheel and adjust everything else. I would think someone did a bargain alignment.

Do NOT center your steering wheel by removing it and re-centering on the hub. If you do this, the turn signal lever will not snap back when the wheel is pointed straight ahead.