dashboard removal...help..300e...
 

So I decided to give it the old college try and try to remove the dash to get to my heater core. I read the tutorial here from an 87 300e but my car is 93 and does not have a glove comparment but an air bag on the passenger side. I removed the vents and speakers and instrument cluster....and now do I need to remove radio to take out climate control unit out.??...do I need to remove light switch bolt behind the switch itself.....I need someone to guide me through this....help.......

If you are referring to the nut on the threaded part behind the light switch then yes, you need to remove it.

Remove the small screws that screw into the wood piece at the very lower outer edge of the wood above the radio, lift the lower part of the wood, pivoting around the upper part and once the catches at the top our clear you can remove it. After you get this piece of wood out remove the screws holding the plastic piec and you should be able to pull the climate control unit out with the plastic. Disconnect the cables and you can then get it out of the car.

Ok. Great....what about the passenger side with the air bag??...anything special I have to do??...I did one mistake with center vent with the bolt inside that held the open close dial. Damn thing cracked on me...oh well if I dont try I cant learn

There is a fastener coming into the airbag from underneath. Do you see any holes on the lower part of the dashboard under there.

Here is a thread that leads to pictures. There was a good thread around here somewhere with pictures. This may be what you have found.

vacuum pod replacement

Ok I will take a look.....so..remove the cover on passenger side underneath to find the fastener...this is all new to me ...so thanks for the info...I am trying...my best...hopefully I dont get frustrated and give up

Do I have to remove the passenger side airbag or disconnect it prior to the removal of the dashboard and are there any bolts or screws that have to be loosened on the passenger side below under the knee cover??

yes

Ok, I removed the climate control unit without an issue and I found the red airbag prong on the floor of the passenger side and disconnected it. Now, I am stuck with the passenger side dash section..It will not budge. Am I missing some fasteners or screws.??? Do I have to take whole airbag out??

I just removed the dashboard:D ....Now its on to the heaterbox...hopefully on can handle this next obstacle on my way to the heater core...Any suggestions???????...how to take on this part of the job

Just take your time and if it seems that it is offering some resistance look around and see if there is something else attached. Don't forget to remove the a/c connection and heater hose connection.

Oh yea, at least on the 95 E300, there is a fastener on the bottom of the hvac box that you will need to remove prior to pulling the box out. The ones at the firewall are evident, the one on the bottom is only if you look for it.

Does the whole box have to come out to remove the heater core? I am assuming its time to drain the antifreeze out of the car now? I found some pics here but its shows only the removal of the heater box cover.

It does on the 95 E300. Heckuva design isn't it? Don't forget to remove the freon before you disconnect the a/c hoses.

:(...you just lost me. I am just a weekend warrior and don't have the equipment to recapture the freon. Is there any way to avoid having to touch the ac connection

damn, all this work and you can't go any further:eek:?

To get the box out you have to disconnect the a/c lines at the expansion valve near the brake booster and the heater hoses on the engine side of the firewall. How do you know that you have done all this work and not disturbed the a/c lines and caused the freon to leak out?

A couple thoughts, if you have gone this far you may as well replace the evaporator core, modify the center vent where it never closes automatically (but you can close it manually) and modify the recirc door where it stays in a position where it let's only a minimum amount of outside air in at any time. I did this on my 95 E300 and it worked out great.

Well, I am pretty sure I have a leak in my heater core ...based on the symptoms. That is why I decided to take apart the dash, which is all I have done so far..I have not touched ac lines or anything else for that matter

Can anyone tell me if you can remove heater core without removing the whole box?? I just read a post from November from Ismalley here on his 190e where he removed core without removing whole box.

Well, Ismalley just Pmed me with how he replaced heater core without removing box...Can anyone add to his procedure ...

take off the metal clips from around the heater box and then take off the bolts from both ends of the long bar that runs across the front dash and take off the nut that is on the middle of the bar.....should be like a small vertical support bar. pry the long bar away from the bolts....you will not get it off completely, but you should get about an inch to an inch and a half more of clearance. take off the metal clips around heater box and pry it open. you will only get the top part open, mostly on the driver side, from there you can get the heater core out.

I've never tried to get just the heater core out of one so I don't know.

Ok, if I decide to remove the heater box I will disconnect the line from the expansion valve and the heater line on the opposite side next to ecm unit...Now where do I start disconnecting to get the entire box itself...Anyone have a rundown of what needs to be done

Here is a pic of the 95 E300. I have circled where the fasteners were that held the box to the firewall and driveshaft tunnel.

It looks that from your pic I have alot more work to do.:( The whole center console has to come out before the heater box can be removed???....I am almost ready to wave the white flag and throw in the towel:confused:. I started a job I don't believe I can finish unless someone can tell me the heater core can be removed without removing the box. Jim, thanks for all the info so far as it has helped me get to this point in the project.. Can one of the moderators chime in here, The GURU's of this forum, whunter, vstech..and anyone else. Is the heater core removable without taking the whole box out????

lsmalley has a 190e, not a 300E. Different story.

The box has to come out.

Take the car to a shop and have them evac the system. Do the job then take it back to get charged again. Shouldn't cost more than $80.

You are too far into it now to stop. If you can afford it, replace all the vacuum pods unless you have enjoyed taking it to pieces and wish to do it again!
Same goes with the evaporator. It has to come out, so replace it because eventually they leak and you'll have to do it all again.

How can I take the car to a shop to evacuate the system...no speedo, dash, ccu .. I have not tried to start the car. Basically, the interior is in pieces...will it start even without all those parts in place???

If it will then I absolutely do not see how without butchering the box.

Don't let console removal stop you. It is kinda the easy part. Can you post a pic of how far along you are?

Where do you live? I could run over and help out if you are within about 20 miles.

Thanks for the offer Jim. I am in Connecticut. I have the dash out with the heater box right in front of me similar to the pics in the peachparts wikki. The same for that matter

PeachPartsWiki: Center Vent Pod Replacement

So, I could not finish the job of replacing the heater core and take it to a mechanic friend of mine who did the job. It is now 3 weeks later and I smell antifreeze and my expansion tank is low?..I felt like WTF:eek:.... and I see a wet spot in my driveway....A few days pass and expansion tank is empty again and windows are fogging up. ...:mad::mad::mad:....I take it to my mechanic today and he tells me the heater core is leaking again....:mad::mad:...He tells me defective part....????...I bought an oem behr heater core from parts....g e e k ....and their website states no compensation on labor for installing defective parts ........Now, I have no idea what I can do as i am out big money on the labor end ..........Any opinions here for the members ...Should I contact behr ...the manufacturer..?????...Need help??

for something like heater core that's a PITA to get to, I would have bench tested it first before installing. Is he sure that's what's leaking? I would think it would leak INSIDE the car. Check all your hoses under hood while the engine's running with the heat on to make sure where that leak is coming from.