I have an '88 190D. My approach was to remove the panel under the steering column. A nudge from behind was enough to get things moving and I was able to pull from the front. I removed the speedometer cable and a couple of large electrical connectors and the whole thing swung out.

The main difficulty I remember was disconnecting the speedo cable. I have read suggestions to disconnect at the tranny and feed slack through the firewall so that you can get a little room to get your hand in.

When you put it back in, that's the only way I could reconnect the speedometer cable.

I don't remember any issues with the tach.

Here's a couple photos from my removal effort:

Attached Thumbnails