Interior Parts Upgrade for '86 W126 to Later 126?
 

Hi all,

I have a question relative to upgrading / replacing a couple of interior parts of my '86 300SDL to ones from a '90 560SEL. Right now, I'm interested in replacing the following.

• Steering Wheel (including the adjusting motor) The motor is burned out and I need to replace the slippery and well-worn 19 year old 15” wheel.

• Shift Gate (complete assembly). The rubber "boot" inside mine has disintegrated. Plus, it would be cool to have the newer leather shift knob over the existing rubber one.

I have a supplier on eBay who is selling the entire steering column, including the wheel, as well as the shift gate from a ’90 560SEL. Being an ’86, my car has the ABS system and the adjustable steering. Are there any known issues with attaching the 14” wheel and airbag unit to the steering column that holds a 15” rubber wheel? I have no interest in removing the entire steering column from my car since I only aim to replace the wheel/airbag unit and the adjusting motor. Is doable just to replace those components, or will I need to change out the entire column?

What’s the best strategy for replacing or upgrading the shift gate? There are some obvious differences between what I have now and the one from the ’90 560. For one, I don’t have the brake lock (where one is required to press the brake pedal when starting), nor do I have the arrow pointing to the right below the 2. Since I’m changing the center console out completely, access to the shift gate is not an issue. For me, the issue is whether I can swap the entire shift gate assembly, or whether I should partially dissemble the existing and change out the parts. I’m guessing there is no issue with my wood panel having the smaller, rubber lined opening versus the hard plastic reveal borrowed from the R129 found on the ’90 and ’91 W126s. AFAIK, the position of the shift gate is the same.

I appreciate any help on this. Most obliged,

Casey