So I was prepared to remove and replace the motor inside the ESL because of the troubles I started having recently (all the symptoms of an imminent failure) but ran into a completely unexpected problem..the steering wheel bolt. I've been trying to remove it over the last week with no luck at all. Broken ratchet, breaker bar failed, impact failed (caused to start of rounding), JB weld failed and now the inside hex is completely rounded too the point I've drilled slightly for an extractor but still it is not coming off. One extractor broke, the other seems to be just carving away at the bolt. The metal the bolt is made of seems way too soft. I'm all out of ideas, and no access to a welder which I'm not sure that would even work. So my question is, is it even necessary to remove the steering wheel? Will I be able to work around with the steering wheel attached? Will I need to remove anything else in its place?

 

Hi @ngaines1 and welcome to MBWorld! Please check out this thread regarding your issue…
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...lots-pics.html
All the best with it

 

So I was able to remove the ESL while leaving the steering wheel in place. It was a pain in the *** though, just be patient and you can get it done. Remove the bottom 2 bolts on the steering column and loosen the top 2 enough to move it around a little. Also when you get the ESL out it may look like the wire harness isn't long enough but its just being held in by a wire tie. I bought a motor for the ESL off of amazon for $15 but it did not work, so just go ahead and get the best quality you can find. Instead for now I disassembled the old motor, cleaned and oiled it up and placed it back it in..so far so good. Can even tell the difference in the sound. There are tutorials on YouTube that shows how, its pretty easy. Fearing that it could still fail being the old motor I did not place the ESL back in its position on the steering column, instead i wire tied it to the plastic kick plate for easy access and all is well.