Got a new steering wheel for my '92 300SE. It's a real beauty - wood and leather. So my buddy says - that's about 2 hours worth of work to exchange, right?

Nah - about 15-20 minutes and I'm good to go.

But what about all that stuff you need to take off?

2 bolts to release the air bag - one big bolt to release the steering wheel and reverse the process.

Well - he was right and I was wrong.

I forgot I really needed to disconnect the airbag circuit, so add 5 minutes to get at the connector under the passenger side floorboard.

Also didn't notice that the new steering wheel didn't come with the contactor ring for the horn/air bag - so had to swap that one from the old wheel. Took a while to figure out how to get it off the old wheel - finally figured out leaving the screws threaded in 2 turns or so and gently tapping the heads would push the contactor ring off the back of the wheel. Took all 4 bolts loose and for some unknown reason, removed 1 of them, then turned the wheel upside down to pull the contactor ring off - there go the other 3 screws across the garage. Found 2 of the 3 immediately - spent 10 minutes looking for #4 which is officially MIA. Spent another 5 minutes looking for a replacement bolt.

Get the contactor ring re-installed and notice that the horn button assembly on the new wheel doesn't have the attached wire like the one on the old wheel does. There are 2 wires to make the horn circult function - one attaches to the top of the horn button assembly, the other to the bottom. OK - no big deal - swap the horn contact assembly from the old wheel to the new wheel. Remove the bolts that hold the contact ring on, as they go through the base of the horn switch assembly. Remove the 5 bolts that hold the switch into the wheel - on both steering wheels. Naturally the torx headed bolts that hold the switch on the old wheel are a different size than the bolts that hold the switch to the new wheel. Reverse the process - whoa - wait a minute - not so fast. The old switch assembly doesn't want to bolt into the new wheel - the holes are just a little bit off. Spend 15 minutes coaxing the switch onto the wheel.

Attach the new wheel to the car and connect the wires. Attach the air bag and something's not right. When bolted down, it's all "floppy". Pull it all back apart again. (Wheel remains in car). Check, double-check and triple check - can't find anything wrong. Reattach air bag. Each attachment attempt requires me to turn the wheel to the left where the top of the airbag is vertical to gain access to one of the holes in the rear of the steering wheel. Turn the wheel to the left, lock the steering wheel so it will stay put - remove the screw. Turn the wheel 180 to the right - do it again.

Decide to pull it apart again and compare the switches from the old and new wheel. Discover that somehow the original switch is bent - never noticed a problem with the mounting of the airbag before??? OK - got to go with the new switch in the new wheel. Figure out how to get the missing wire back into the picture. The old wheel has the wire riveted to each of the 4 contactor points on the back of the switch. The new switch has a simple male spade lug stamped into the frame - make up a jumper wire and re-install everything.

Get ready to reinstall the air bag and notice that the bolts that go through the switch to hold the airbag in place have slipped out of place. They rest gently in a recess in the steering wheel, and you must take care to align them properly into the holes in the horn switch at installation - RATS!!! 4 screws and 5 bolts - out AGAIN!!!! Reinstall and check for airbag screw alignment - good to go!

Put it back together and everything bolts up just fine. Reconnect the airbag circuit and put the passenger side floorboard back together. You've got to take the right kickpanel out to get the cover panel out to reconnect the circuit. There are 2 long screws that hold the kickpanel in place that never want to find their original holes on reinstallation. Spend 10 minutes cussing and fussing to get the kick panel back in place. Cover everything up and turn the key.

The friggin' SRS light STAYS ON!!! I forgot to reconnect the airbag!!!! Take the airbag loose again and - screw safety - plug the airbag back in. The key was off but I still should have taken the time to again disconnect the airbag circuit.

All counted - about 2.5 hours to do what should have taken 30 minutes.

But the steering wheel looks real nice.

Don't feel bad. That's the way most of my projects tend to go, too.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

just disconnect battery

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MB-less

I second that.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

That's why I quit attempting stuff that could totally disable the car if I got stuck midstream.

I like to be a ble to DRIVE it to the shop, once I've completely hosed it up.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

That is why I cautioned you about the sunroof repair you decided to undertake. You are pretty new to Mercedes repairs, right?

True yours is not the motorized one, but many, many cases of these have gone badly wrong when attempted by first timers.

We are talking $1,000 or more, also, when this goes bad, it goes bad BIG TIME, many instances of it recounted here.

I would think (with total respect to your DIY MB abilities) about leaving this one to the pros.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

They really, really do, but how do they handle??

The big bus sized steering wheel was designed by Mercedes Benz to be more relaxing on long drives and cruises, and you can actually rest your elbows on the right armrest and left door handle armrest as you drive, with it. That was by design of the Mercedes engineers.

Is the wood/leather smaller? Does it make cornering and parking maneuvers easier?

Does the wood sweat on your hands in summer, is it colder in winter?


They look so lovely and so modern and updated, I really like the looks of them (as on Kevin's - Powerpig's - SEC) that I have thought about them for a long time.

But would never get one without answers to those questions.

Excellent and fascinating post, by the way. Thanks for it.

Certainly most instructive and very well written

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I don't know why everyone is so afraid of the sunroof. When I replaced mine a few years ago you guys got me all worried, but all the parts dropped right in and I was like, OK where does the tricky part start now?

The old ones that just slide back and forth would be real easy to work on.

Most projects take at least twice as along as you anticipate.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

That's nothing, man! 2.5 hours is well worth the learning experience.
It could have been worse, like stuck with no steering wheel on the column, for a couple of days ....

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