72 280 SE 4.5 Fan AirConditioner Controls

[tviano]

Ok, I have a great 280 SE 4.5 that's in great shape. Such great shape that I can spend much time worrying about the little things. This week's obsession is the fan and air conditioner controls. They're basically shot, but still "work." (The fan speed control has a "dead" zone on it; the ac control is hard to turn. These are the two round knobs located beneath the radio; left knob for fan speed, right knob for ac/temp control.)

My questions are:
1)Has anybody replaced these?

2) My mechanic told me that these are best left untouched, even in their crappy working state since the parts are not available and I'm basically stuck w/ what I've got. There is 1 (and only 1) manufacturer of this part, but the part is reported to "be crap."

I've seen the part listed on Merceds Shop Parts for about 30 bucks. I suspect if was lucky enough to find these in junk yard (yeah right), they would be shot as well.

I just wanted to know if anybody has replaced this and what your experience was and any advice I you may have for a guy who is falling deeper in love w/ a 29 year old (car).

Any advice and commentary is welcome.

The A/C controls aren't that bad. Much easier than heater levers. The blower switch is fairly easy...for that matter, so is the temp control. You gain access to the back of the switches from below through a small panel. Try to free up the temp control before replacing it. I don't recall ever having a good time running a capilary tube into anything. You know, a little WD-40 with a tube on the nozzle...that sort of thing. Pull the knob, spray it, see if it gets better. I think all of the Behr systems used the same "style" knob. This is where the memory gets a bit foggy...but the Behr stuff had a sleeve made onto the knob that was held in by a spring clip while the ThermoKing(earlier stuff)had a knob that just pulled off. The Behr system (like yours "should" have) required a bit of belief to get the knob out. You had to "believe" it would come out and yank on it. The failure rate on this stuff is so low, I don't think anyone really has a feel for replacement part quality. Usually just buy MB stuff and do it once.
If it bothers you, fix it.
Regards,
Randy D.