So I decided to give it the old college try and try to remove the dash to get to my heater core. I read the tutorial here from an 87 300e but my car is 93 and does not have a glove comparment but an air bag on the passenger side. I removed the vents and speakers and instrument cluster....and now do I need to remove radio to take out climate control unit out.??...do I need to remove light switch bolt behind the switch itself.....I need someone to guide me through this....help.......

If you are referring to the nut on the threaded part behind the light switch then yes, you need to remove it.

Remove the small screws that screw into the wood piece at the very lower outer edge of the wood above the radio, lift the lower part of the wood, pivoting around the upper part and once the catches at the top our clear you can remove it. After you get this piece of wood out remove the screws holding the plastic piec and you should be able to pull the climate control unit out with the plastic. Disconnect the cables and you can then get it out of the car.

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Jim

Ok. Great....what about the passenger side with the air bag??...anything special I have to do??...I did one mistake with center vent with the bolt inside that held the open close dial. Damn thing cracked on me...oh well if I dont try I cant learn

There is a fastener coming into the airbag from underneath. Do you see any holes on the lower part of the dashboard under there.

Here is a thread that leads to pictures. There was a good thread around here somewhere with pictures. This may be what you have found.

vacuum pod replacement

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Jim

Ok I will take a look.....so..remove the cover on passenger side underneath to find the fastener...this is all new to me ...so thanks for the info...I am trying...my best...hopefully I dont get frustrated and give up

Do I have to remove the passenger side airbag or disconnect it prior to the removal of the dashboard and are there any bolts or screws that have to be loosened on the passenger side below under the knee cover??

yes

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Jim

Ok, I removed the climate control unit without an issue and I found the red airbag prong on the floor of the passenger side and disconnected it. Now, I am stuck with the passenger side dash section..It will not budge. Am I missing some fasteners or screws.??? Do I have to take whole airbag out??

I just removed the dashboard ....Now its on to the heaterbox...hopefully on can handle this next obstacle on my way to the heater core...Any suggestions???????...how to take on this part of the job

Just take your time and if it seems that it is offering some resistance look around and see if there is something else attached. Don't forget to remove the a/c connection and heater hose connection.

Oh yea, at least on the 95 E300, there is a fastener on the bottom of the hvac box that you will need to remove prior to pulling the box out. The ones at the firewall are evident, the one on the bottom is only if you look for it.

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Jim

Does the whole box have to come out to remove the heater core? I am assuming its time to drain the antifreeze out of the car now? I found some pics here but its shows only the removal of the heater box cover.

It does on the 95 E300. Heckuva design isn't it? Don't forget to remove the freon before you disconnect the a/c hoses.

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Jim

...you just lost me. I am just a weekend warrior and don't have the equipment to recapture the freon. Is there any way to avoid having to touch the ac connection

damn, all this work and you can't go any further?

To get the box out you have to disconnect the a/c lines at the expansion valve near the brake booster and the heater hoses on the engine side of the firewall. How do you know that you have done all this work and not disturbed the a/c lines and caused the freon to leak out?

A couple thoughts, if you have gone this far you may as well replace the evaporator core, modify the center vent where it never closes automatically (but you can close it manually) and modify the recirc door where it stays in a position where it let's only a minimum amount of outside air in at any time. I did this on my 95 E300 and it worked out great.

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Jim

Well, I am pretty sure I have a leak in my heater core ...based on the symptoms. That is why I decided to take apart the dash, which is all I have done so far..I have not touched ac lines or anything else for that matter