Daniel and I went to Pull-and-Save, they had a couple of newer cars there. I managed to drop about $40. From the E320 I got the door latch. $2! Its courtesy light switches were an older style, and not usable. From the slightly newer C230 I got a courtesy light switch that fits and works; I installed it in the parking lot; $3. I also picked up its Owner's manual. It's older and not particularly accurate, but is better than nothing; $2. I also grabbed a handful of dash lamps and some fuses from the C230, they look like the kind the E320 uses.
The bad right front door latch was there on the E320, and its locking diaphragm was intact. (You can test this by corking it with your thumb while you move the locking knob.) Thus began the nightmare! That SOB does _not_ want to come out, it's trapped behind the riveted-in window guide rail. The main problem seems to be the molded plastic rain guide, which is snapped to the latch. If you can figure out how to separate the two first, then the body of the latch can pivot around the window rail and come out. That took us maybe 40 minutes to get out. I also grabbed some plastic pop-rivets for the door panel. Daniel was whining because his seat was fully forward on the trip in, from my earlier work in the back seat, and the switches were at home on the door panel in the garage. I spent $9 and bought the E320's door switches just so that he could adjust it better for the trip home. I'm so nice! They can go on the spares shelf, I guess. At home the nightmare really began. First we had to get out the old door latch, which was, if anything, worse than the first one. In part because I cared more about not ruining _anything_. The bad latch was P/N 202 720 44 35. The older latch from the yard was P/N 202 720 20 35, and was set up for a mechanical key lock. It looked, however, like it would fit in place of the simpler lock-less one. Getting the thing put back together was a nightmare. The biggest problem was getting the latch back in place, and the handle on, all while not losing the screw that holds the external (infrared?) lock plate in place and making sure the connector to that piece was in place. We lost that screw into the door guts twice, and had to take it all back apart and fish with a magnet to get it back. Frustrating, and time-consuming. However, eventually we prevailed, but we really did need four hands and two sets of eyes to get it done. (This would likely not be necessary for somebody experienced at this, who knew all the tricks.) This consumed a good three or more hours, total. Once it was somewhat together we tried out the door, including the locking system. It all seemed to work nicely. I was too tired to finish putting the door back together, and it was starting to get dark. Tomorrow. This particular door latch seems very poorly designed, an all-in-one thing that may be quick and cheap to assemble at the factory, but which is a nightmare to service in the field. The part, bought new, is quite expensive. Smells of cost-reduction to me. (To the factory, not to us!) Three separate parts, rain shield, latch, and vacuum pod, that would be infinitely easier to service, and cheaper, _as_ separate parts. _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
