Thanks Kestas. My wife is tall too, so your "trick" of putting the back seat in a more vertical position may work for her as well. I also suggested to her that it may help if she tried to have more of her thighs in contact with the seat cushion, as opposed to mostly her lower back only, putting too much pressure there and explaining the pain (she has long legs too). So maybe moving the whole seat up would also help? What's your experience? It may help me convince her to try harder and that there is indeed a simple solution...

No, my transmission expert did not adjust the play in the throttle linkages because he admitted his unfamiliarity with MB designs, and so I wanted to double-check first, hence this thread. ;-) Thanks for confirming that this can be adjusted on the M104 (as on the M103) and could not only improve feel, but also behavior. I also mentioned in another thread that my W124 didn't hold still in slopes without braking: could adjusting the throttle linkages address this too?

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1991 W126 300SE (M103)
1995 W124 E320 Wagon (M104)

Another trick I've used for the past 30 years is to cobble something up so the front mounting points of the seat are about an inch higher. This will support the back of the thighs, as you mentioned. This should take some pressure off the butt. Since most cars now have power seats adjustable in all kinds of positions, I haven't had to do this in a lot of cars, including my MB.

It looks like the next thing on your list is to find a mechanic who can adjust your Bowden cable. I've seen a DIY writeup of this procedure a few years back somewhere in this forum. I've never done it myself. Try searching the srchives using the keywords "bowden cable adjust".

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

Mercedes source has a panphlet on how to replace padding and seat springs in 126/123 sedans. The orig. springs fail and the seat feels that of a truck floating unit. You can replace both pads for $125/a piece, and the seat bottom spring for 230$. Assuming your leather is still good and you know how to dismount the seat's upholstery, you can do this job yourself. Looking at about $500 per seat w/ all new parts. May be worth it if you got heated units and manual lumbar control as I do in my 380 sel. les

I agree with placing the seat back nearly vertical. Also use the power controls to adjust the seat bottom: lower under the butt, and higher under the thighs near the knees. I put the rear of the seat cushion at the lowest setting, and I get the front of the seat cushion to gently support my thighs behind my knees; in this position I can sit/drive all day without complaint. Of course you may have to adjust the forward/backward position also to allow the elbows and knees bent. If she tries, I'll bet she can get comfortable.
regards,
Mark

The firmness of Mercedes seats has always been a deal-breaker for me. Only the S-class has proper seats and Mercedes should make those seats standard across the entire product line. Unfortunately, the S-class price has risen to stratospheric heights over the years. The only good thing about Mercedes seats is that the driver and front passenger get identical seat features and adjustments contrary to some manufacturers who provide proper adjustments only for the driver -- that's like giving you half a car in my book.