Hello All,

With all the technical expertise I've seen from this group, I'm sure some of you have come up with a way around this years ago. I'm needing to remove the instrument cluster on my '89 300SE to investigate my fickle clock. The repair manual CD's call for a special tool 126-589-03-33-00 to slide in at 5 points surrounding the cluster. I have a couple questions, first, should I purchase the tool or is there a suitable alternative? (e.g. 90 degree bent coat hanger, if so, what dimensions)

Secondly, the five retaining clips the manual talks about, can they be released individually or do all five need to be released simultaneously to slide the cluster out?

I imagine I'm making this process more complicated than it really is. I've read some posts where some models you take a vent out and reach behind, am not sure that applies to this or not.

Lastly, on the clock. I set it and it works fine for 5 - 10 minutes then stops. It does that each time just like clockwork (yeah, I know, that was a cheap shot). Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Jeff