Thanks for that tid bit about the large nut.
My wrenches go up to about 1 1/4 inch and 32mm. Any idea what size the large nut is? I will probably have to go to Sears and get a craftsman wrench to fit it... or can I use a plumbing pipe wrench on it? In fact I might have an old large adjustable wrench that might work. I'll go out now and see if I can find it.
(Located a small and midsized pipe wrenches. Old but quality tools... not bulky so they might fit in a constrained area. Hope using pipe wrences on a Benz is not considered sacriligeous and cause for banishment from the forum.)