bowtiguy

First time poster here on the forum. Ive been a member of several other forums over the years. Cadillac Forum, Corvette Forum, 67-72chevy truck

Just picked up a 14' GL63 Palladium Silver/Auburn Designo interior w/ under 10K miles to replace the family Denali XL after 174K miles of f

The wife & I LOVE the vehicle but she can't stand the piano black laquer wood trim ( neither can I). SO.... I told her I'd swap it out for the Brown ash wood accents instead and get her a full leather wrapped wheel.

I found a great replacement wheel that made us both happy


http://www.ebay.com/itm/331900393983?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Looks like I can get the other 7 wood pieces from MB direct at a cost of about $2K.

Ive completely disassembled a C6 Z06 interior along with a 97' 911TT in the past but haven't tackled a MB yet. I'm comfortable swapping out the steering wheel & door panel trim but I'd like to know if anyone here has replaced the wood trim in a current X166 model & might have some helpful hints. Thanks!

fabbrisd1

I'm glad you are "comfortable" swapping out the wheel - for my tech's that's a 4hr job ..

On the wood trim - black ash is stunning - good luck !

smartbot

Yeah, that was my concern. Also for our GL the new wheel would need to have heating, Lane Keeping Assistant, etc. activated. That's why I went with a custom wrap. It's easy to install and saves $$.


* https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ing-wheel.html

bowtiguy

Just completed the swap, steering wheel was the easiest part. took "maybe" 20mintes. The rest of the wood replacement took another 5.5hrs


Steering wheel removal steps for an X166


1) Just insert a small to medium rod in the access hole in the back of the steering wheel perpendicular to the steering shaft to release the airbag retention springs ( after disconnecting the battery and waiting 20 minutes)


2) Remove airbag by disconnecting the electrical plug form the column.
3) disconnect steering wheel controls electrical tab
4) back out steering wheel retention allen bolt
5) note the steering wheel alignment to steering shaft ( the wheels I.D. has detents at 12 and 6 o'clock)
5) slide wheel off
6) install new wheel in same position
7) install steering wheel allen bolt, torque to 80 nm
8) connect steering wheel controls electrical plug
9) connect airbag electrical plug
10) press airbag assembly into place

bowtiguy

Complete 8 piece X166 Designo Piano Black Lacquer interior wood/steering wheel now for sale.


https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...l-gl-x166.html

Mike450

4 hours to 20 minutes ... Lol

Nice DIY.