instrument bezels

[n/a]

I want to remove the three chrome bezels around the instruments on the dashboard. I just can't seem to figure out how they come off and I
don't want to use any force to prise them... does anyone in the group     know what the trick is ...... Jim

[Naj ✝︎]

Jim,
With the instruments off, you can unwrap the bent-over edge at the back with a small screw driver. Mostly they come off with about 2/3 of the edge straightened.
Care is needed with the glass. Old glass is very brittle.
Also note that the two knobs come out with the glass.
naj

65 230SL
68 280SL

[merrill]

I sent my instruments to palo alto speedo and the refurb'd the instruments and installed new chrome.  if you just need the chrome is was not to expensive to have it done.

matt

[n/a]

My main problem is how to remove the instruments off the dash, there is no room to get rear access. Do the instruments prise off, or is there some hidden fixing that I'm failing to spot ....Jim

[J. Huber]

Ahh, Indianjim. Prepare for your first Pagoda Yoga Lesson!

Actually, its not all that bad. Yes, you must remove the instruments one by one to prise off bezel, clean glass, send away for service, etc. Access is available from the back -- albeit very tight.

Here is my technique for tach. Disconnect the positive battery cable. If you have the underdash panels, you need to remove at least the driver's side panel. Next, you need to lay on your back with head firmly lodged into the brake pedal, legs draped out the opened driver's door. You then fish your right hand carefully up behind tach. Find the tach cable where it screws into tach. Unscrew it. You then need to loosen the finger nut which secures a u-shaped bracket to dash. Then you can remove lightbulb housing and ground.(All the while pay attention to the orientation of all this)... The tach should now slide out the front. Then you are home free. Guys did I miss anything?

James
63 230SL

[ted280sl]

Indianjim,
  I have a 1969 280SL. In order to remove my instruments I need to also remove a bracket under the dash. To remove the bracket I must first remove the three screws holding the lower dash pad in place. After the lower dash pad is removed hten the two bolts holding the bracket are accessible. You now have complete access to the rear of the dash panel. The Pagoda Yoga trick is to carefully work you hand up behind the tach. There are two knurled nobs which need to be removed. These nobs hold the metal bracket whichpresses against the back of the dash to hold the tach in place. Once these nobs are off the tach can be pulled out slowly. I have then disconnected the tach cable and lights.
   There is very little room behind the dash and it is impossible to see what we are discussing. It is a good idea to pre-order replacement rubber gaskets before you attempt this job. I am referring to the gaskets between the beze and the dash. I would suggest ordering the gaskets for the speedo and center gauge while you are at it.
Ted 1969 280SL
Pagoda Yoga Black Belt, I have the nicks in my hands to prove it.

[n/a]

Thanks everyone, I just went and ripped the back of my hands to shreds, testing out Ted and James advice.... but I now have a smile on my face......... shiny bezels here I come..... Jim

[waltklatt]

All the advice is very good and should be followed, but I need to add that removing the steering wheel helps a lot with the space and crawling underneath yodalike.
Hope this helps.
Walter Klatt
1967 230SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas and being stripped

[J. Huber]

Oh and if you move on to the instrument cluster, be very careful. The oil pressure line needs to be dealt with delicately.

Bravo on jumping right in! Some ibuprofin (or a HefeWeissen) should help.

James
63 230SL

[Cees Klumper]

Not just the oil feed line is delicate, also the coolant temperature gauge sender is something to be very careful with: it is a capillary tube that runs straight to the engine. If you damage it, gas will escape, rendering the instrument effectively useless, and they are expensive to replace.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[J. Huber]

Thanks Cees, that's the delicate item I was grasping for...

James
63 230SL

[ted280sl]

Jim,
  Did I forget to mention that taking the instruments out is the easy part. All this commaraderie and yet no one warned you about getting the nobs back on the tach. Be patient.
Ted
68 280SL 4 Speed

[waltklatt]

Might it be prudent to include a clause for the injuries sustained during the reassembly?  Just don't hang out with those who are quick to tattle on the authorities about your attempts at suicide.  
I swear it has happened to me, where I just finished doing the dashboard reassembly on the SL with the heater cables and all, where a few people at a party asked me if I was alright.  I asked why they ask, and they said that my arms and wrists look badly cut up.
Haha, so just be warned here.
Walter Klatt
1967 230SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas being stripped

[merrill]

One more tip,
to keep from loosing the knurled nuts or dropping them, wrap a piece of tape around the nut in such a way that there is a tail of tape.
that way, even if you drop the nut it does not go very far and is much easier to recover.

this job sucks and I have r/r the guages more often than I ever wanted to.  While you are in there replace any thing you can because going back in is nothing to look forward to.

my .02
matt

[n/a]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I'm training a hamster to go in with a very small grip wrench as I've already shredded my knuckles checking out where the knurled nuts are......... Jim

[Longtooth]

Naj... do you mean that to get the glass off the instruments, the chrome bezel comes off by prying the backside of the chrome edge off with a small blade screwdriver or some other small edged prying instrument?

What do you mean by "about 2/3 of the edge straigtened"?  

Does the chrome bezel deform plastically in the process? ... how do you get the chrome bezel back on (with glass in place)?

I haven't tried to take off the bezel's but my glass inside heeds cleaning after years of condensation (glass has never been off as near as I can tell).  Is there a special tool available for removing the bezels?

 

quote:With the instruments off, you can unwrap the bent-over edge at the back with a small screw driver. Mostly they come off with about 2/3 of the edge straightened.
Care is needed wiht the glass. Old glass is very brittle.
Also note that the two knobs come out with the glass.
naj

Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport

[Cees Klumper]

Longtooth - my experience in removing the bezels I would have described as Naj has, so I will try it differently.
Looking at the back of the instrument, you will see that the crome bezel is crimped onto the instrument body. If you take a small screwdriver, you can 'uncrimp'/ pry open the bezel. If you do this to about two/thirds of the circumference of the bezel (and so also the instrument), the bezel will come off. You can straighten the bezel quite far without damaging the way the bezel will look from the front when you put it all back together again later. From the back, you will always be able to see that the job was done by an amateur without the proper tools (I am sure the instrument maker has some sort of specialized handy tool to crimp new bezels onto the instrument).
I did my tach and my center cluster instrument this way. From memory, I believe that the center instrument bezel comes off easier, since the crimping is not all around but only in certain places. From the front, it is not possible to tell that the bezels have been off the instruments. You have to work a bit carefully though. The difference in the appearance after cleaning the glass on both instruments was tremendous. I knew it would be, because I could always tell the difference between how they looked before with how they should look, because the previous owner had a brand new (KM) speedometer installed not too long before I bought the car.

Good luck,

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[Naj ✝︎]

Longtooth

 

quote:Naj... do you mean that to get the glass off the instruments, the chrome bezel comes off by prying the backside of the chrome edge off with a small blade screwdriver or some other small edged prying instrument?

What do you mean by "about 2/3 of the edge straigtened"?

Yes, as Cees explained (more fully and accurately)...

68 280SL

[enochbell]

Cees,

I appreciate your description regarding the bezels, that is how I did mine many years ago and I thought it was crude but could see no other way.  I was wondering if you had a source for the center instrument cluster bezel: I got round bezels from SLS but could not locate the oblong one.

Thanks,
g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[merrill]

G,
contact palo alot speedo,  they rebuilt my guages etc...
they may be willing to sell the the part


http://www.paspeedo.com/mercedes.htm

Palo Alto Speedometer
718 Emerson St.
Palo Alto, CA 94301-2410
Tel: 650-323-0243
Fax: 650-323-4632

Matt
66 230 sl - "white"
78 300 D - Blue
98 C230

[Joe]

I found a good way to get the guages out. Put a piece of carpet or something soft on the floor beside the open door. Remove the small flex pipe that goes to the flap thing on the dash (I think it shoots air to the side window). Get on your knees on the carpet and reach up with your left hand. You should be able to get the nuts off fairly easily.
I agree about putting some tape on them to avoid their dropping, but didn't do that. I did spend considerable time looking for the nuts after they dropped!
As for removing the bezel, if you are going to do the cleaning and repairing of the innards yourself, I would strongly suggest taking the instruments to a local speedo shop. They do this all the time. If you do it yourself, there is a good chance you will damage a bezel, and every time you look at it later, you will have regrets.
Joe

[Longtooth]

Cees... thanks for the more complete explanation of the uncrimping ... I understand now that in so doing the bezel thus 'uncrimped' at the rear is plastically deformed.  With that knowledge, I'll be taking mine to PA and their expertise / tools when I next remove the instruments.   PA Speedo's just up the road about 30 miles (freeway drive) from me so it's not a big hassel... but I was hoping against hope that the DIY methods could do it without permanent deformations.

And Naj... thank-you for setting me onto the whole thing... though your original post is from a year ago.

Longtooth
67 250SL US #113-043-10-002163
'02 SL500 Sport

[Cees Klumper]

Enochbell - SLS has the oblong (learned a new word) one but make sure you are sitting down when you read the price: some $250! The round ones are only $20 each.
Maybe it can be found less expensive, have not checked farther.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[merrill]

Cees,
Palo Alto speedometer rebuilt my instrument cluster for $179 US.
including new chrome bezel.

this did not include the water temp guage with the capillary line.

that would be extra.

Matt
66 230 sl - "white"
78 300 D - Blue
98 C230