Dropped my 82 300SD off at MBI motors for some work this morning. Driving home in their nice W124 loaner, a light bulb lit in my brain: Could I substitute an SRS air bag horn pad from a late model W126 for the existing pad that has no air bag? Are these early airbags self contained? Also, what about substituting a complete steering wheel with SRS bag from a W124? Are W124 steering wheels compatible with a W126? Is the W124 SRS horn pad self contained? If so, is the W124 horn pad compatible with my 1982 W126 steering wheel? I know the parts would be old, but surely a good, easy upgrade if no compatibility issues. Don

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John 5:25

Swaps directly over I believe. I swapped a W124 wheel with airbag into my W123 with no problems, splines and horn contacts line up perfectly. Airbag of course does nothing, but it looks nice and feels better than the stock steering wheel in my opinion.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission - engine spun a rod bearing, sold to pick your part

1979 300SD, ~90k original miles, all stock

You have to swap the whole wheel over. The splines and everything should be a direct fit. The airbag won't work obviously, and if the slip ring is different, you can always transfer the one from the original wheel over. Non-airbag wheels have 2 slip rings, airbag wheels have 4. Whether or not they line up perfectly, I haven't paid attention to.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

Ok, thanks all. So, a cosmetic improvement if find a nicer one, but no safety improvement. Knew there had to be a motion sensing device to trigger bag, but didn't know if was built into the bag unit or located somewhere else. Don

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John 5:25

The SRS system is external and has multiple parts throughout the car with multiple harnesses and various electrical tie-ins. It isn't something you want to try to retrofit to your car "just because". Additionally, if it detects a single fault, the entire system is disabled to prevent accidental firing of the airbag or seatbelt tensioners.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

i would not want an explosive device near my chest without the OEM designed safety circuitry using shielded wire and multiple ground points to prevent accidental discharge from static or an errant screwdriver tip. a 'floating' device like without grounding is just asking for the Boom.

These old airbags hardly go off when they're supposed to. There is little to no risk of one accidentally discharging when it's not plugged in.

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Watch him go!!! link

#dontdealwithkahlil

I don't want explosive devices in my car, period. No air bags is just another reason to prefer these older vehicles.

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'75 John Deere 450C (times 2)
'83 240D plus parts car
'87 F350, 6.9L IDI
'89 F350 crewcab, 7.3L IDI
'89 F-Superduty, 7.3L IDI
'91 F-250, 7.3L IDI
'91 F-350, 7.3L IDI
'94 F-350 Crewcab, 7.3L IDI
'94 E-350 Ambulance, 7.3L IDI

Some Gen 1 W126s (at least euro ones) had them too. I wouldn't try to retrofit one though.

All airbags from a W124 or W126 are technically "expired" years ago at this point. And the SRS system has many components as was already mentioned. The airbag by itself won't do anything without the proper impact sensors etc installed in the car.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

82 or 83 airbags became available on euros.

In the us:

84 500sel it was optional

85 500sel had them standard and were optional on 380se and 300sd

also all 1985 mercedes have seat belt pre-tensioners with a crash sensor (even w123)