Those of you who have been following my blog will know by now that Jade is a Series 1 W114, which means she has the much more delicate and in my opinion elegant steering wheel, complete with a chrome ring which in earlier Benzes, such as the Ponton, is actually the indicator switch.
As part of the series 2 face lift, this steering wheel was changed and brought into line with that of the bigger W116. That wheel is much chunkier and lacks the classic aesthetic of the previous version, and so it is common to see the owners of series 2 cars sourcing the earlier version to install on their cars.
Jade's Series 1 Steering Wheel
Later Series 2 Steering Wheel, also seen on the W116, R107, W123
With the horn pad removed you will see 5 nuts that hold the wheel to the boss; undoing those nuts will allow the wheel to be separated from the boss.
It is worth noting as you remove the wheel from boss that the bolts are not equally spaced, which means the steering wheel can only be fitted in one location, pretty smart really, but frustrating if you do not notice the uneven spacing.
For the boss removal, you will need to keep the steering wheel fitted as you will need it for leverage and for goodness sakes make sure the steering lock is not on, as you will damage it if it is engaged.
There is a single nut that secures the boss to the steering column (refer to picture above), and as you would expect it is on good and tight. I used my ratchet and all the extension bars and strength I could muster but it wouldn't budge.
I spoke to a friend to make sure it was not a reverse thread on anything, but it is not, it is just tight, I needed to find an extension bar.
This is where my process of removal will vary from the pro's, as I fully embrace some backyard mechanics, tyrobenz style.
Knowing that there are several properties under renovation near my house, I decided to take the dog for a walk and see if I could spot anything resembling a steel tube in any of the skips.
As none of the skips were at the park, my dog was none to excited about this new experience, so I called it quits and went back home and had another go; nope still not budging.
I next spotted the metal pipes wired to my back yard gates. I have opened those gates neatly every day for the past 4 years and never paid any attention to them until now. I took them off and checked that they slid over the end of my extension bar, which they did giving me an extra 200mm of a lever.
Extension bar with metal tube from back yard gates
So that I could focus my strength on undoing the nut I decided that it would be best to secure the steering wheel from spinning rather than trying to hold it, so out come same rope.
I tied the rope through the steering wheel spokes and, as Jade's interior has been stripped, I used the hole where the interior light used to be to tie the rope off.
Some backyard mechanics. Not pretty but free and it worked
With this done I put the socket in place and hoped for the best. To my amazement the nut came loose so easily that I thought I had sheered the bolt.
Steering wheel tied tight and free from movement
Boss removed from steering column, splines undamaged, great success!
As a said, not a conventional method, but it worked, and with the boss off I was able to pack it up and post it off to its new owner, who like I referenced before, is installing a series 1 steering wheel to his series 2 vehicle.
Packed up and ready for postage to the other side of the country
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