HOW TO: Dismantle S211/W211 861 rear Centre Monitor/rear TV Bracket A2118200032

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Ninjacj

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Location
Warwickshire
Car
2004 E55 AMG Wagon (S211) [RIP] 2013 E63S AMG Wagon (S212)
I meant to do this write up back in December, but it's been a hectic year. Hopefully the pictures will jog my memory but do reply if anything isn't clear.....

My E55 estate has the rear TV and the sunroof. 15 years of sun had caused the paint on the bracket (A2118200032) to bubble and flake off. Mercedes wanted £708 for the bracket! Originally I thought I'd get it leather wrapped, but I decided to try spray paint as a first option. Dismantling it was quite a complex process.

In case of error: The full photo set is an album here: S211/W211 Mercedes E55 861 center rear monitor/Rear tv bracket A 2118200032/A2118200132 7241 code £708 Dismantling photos (reverse order images) - Album on Imgur

IMPORTANT NOTES:
Read the entire thing first. A couple steps are linked, and depending on your specific issue, you may not need all the tools/steps.
Also I took these photos in reverse (reassembling), so there may be one or two continuity errors. However I am confident the order is correct.
There are literally loads of the same looking but subtly different screws here, bag and label them all, trust me you won't remember. Maybe use my step numbers to label them?
If you are painting, be prepared to have your car parked up for a few days, without unplugging stuff, you can't use it in this state. Mercedes electrics scare me hence disturbed as little as possible.
Also be very careful with the rest of the mount if you aren't repainting the lot, I annoyingly put a couple new marks on it. It is very soft. I guess I will repaint/cover the whole thing one day.
This isn't a five minute job, ignoring painting, this is still a few hours of being very patient & careful.
When I say remove 2 screws, but one is pictured, I generally mean the symmetric screw on the other side/half. If the screw is a different type, I will refer to it separate.
Also please forgive and dust or dirt in my car, should have cleaned it first!


Pre-repair condition:
yY2Myuu.jpg



1) Tools required:
T10, T20, T25
Selection of flatblades
Special flat nosed lockring pliers (https://www.tools2udirectsw.com/amp/us-pro-tools-snap-ring-pliers-lock-ring-pliers-2239/) [Circlip pliers are unlikely to work, and these are only £7 vs breaking your £700 mount!]
Hook/Pick set
Spatula or Trim Wedge
Cleaning brush (whilst you at it)
Microfibre clothes - cleaning and to protect damaging more trim
Hairdyrer/whitespirit/rubbing alcohol if painting.
Spray paint (Halfords Plastic Bumper Paint Dark Grey 300ml 325191 is what I used, better alternatives may be availble)


hS42kJ4.jpg


2) The cover on the back of the TV just unclips
qGCGtVJ.jpg



3) Then unscrew the TV
lukBQvx.jpg


4) Unplug and carefully put to the side somewhere safe ( I think replacements are £1k+!)
7OchgkD.jpg


5) Open centre console and unscrew the 4 screws
p3o2SPG.jpg


6) Lift this section out, if you have a mobile phone cradle it has to stay attached and balanced on the gear lever panel (on a microfibre cloth). Remove the NVH Foam.
mvNB5gc.jpg


7) Unclip the cable clip for the mobile phone curly cable. (It's like a winged push fit, but should be able to just pull it). I'm sure alternative clips are available if you break this one, just don't hurt the cable!)
brFryDk.jpg


8) Remove this screw.
HJWWYAL.jpg


9) Remove these 2 screws.
FRVaDtL.jpg


10) Slide the metal bracket to one side, remove the screw at the back. (This one eluded me for ages!)

8PiIwHh.jpg



11) Using a trim wedge, you can now remove this lower section of the centre console (read 12 before doing this)
i2teF3N.jpg


12) Honestly my memory is gone on this photo, but its related to step 11. I think these clips free-d themselves without a screwdriver, but be careful.
1jEXDg5.jpg


13) Ah the fun bit, two little tabs to unclip the rear vent unit. They need pulling down till they click. One each side. See 14.

YX4UVLu.jpg


14) Hard to photo, but the tab. I think this is half unlatched. You will feel it.
NEIDahx.jpg


15) 2 screws below the control panel.
hE4n0rS.jpg


16) No photo here, but I must have carefully removed the rear vents and taken them for cleaning.

17) 2 screws here.
KmEyBOl.jpg



18) Another 2 screws (this is behind where the rear vents would be). Also don't for the life of you drop anything down those vent outlets, please cover them..... I dropped an entire small screwdriver and it took ages to get out with a magnet....
1jTeOtb.jpg



19) The mount then lifts out, but is still attached by wires. 4 more screws
bpn0m1Z.jpg


20) 2 screws on the back.
MKaMu6U.jpg



...continued below....

Tags: E55 AMG, Mercedes Benz, E-Class, Estate
 
...continued



21) I think I am showing wire routing here for re-assembly.

LoBZg7X.jpg


22) 2 screws here
cSMYT8R.jpg


23) Another 2
uPytCJQ.jpg


24) Small circlip to remove. After this stage I removed the rear (of the car) half of this cover. It was fiddly.
XxsfDVL.jpg


25) 4 screws under the cover
ao6kjOB.jpg


26) Remove the other cover half.
7mn6GjL.jpg


27) This is the circlip of doom. Now reading this back, I have no idea why I removed it to paint the covers and caused myself the pain before buying these pliers. I think I must have removed it out of order by accident. However this is a common bit to need repairing, so I'll keep it in here.
Bg09laV.jpg



28) Use a hairdryer/scraper/whitespirt/rubbing alcohol to strip then repaint your trim pieces. I only did the bottom 2 parts, not a perfect match but I was pretty pleased considering the outlay, and a vast improvement.

I did lots of testing with
Halfords Plastic Bumper Paint Dark Grey 300ml 325191
&
Halfords Enamel Spray Paint Rubberised Black 300ml 204557
Including various combos. In the end I went with like 5 coats of the Bumper Paint. The rubberised paint I wanted for the texture but it was too dark.


wgNTVNj.jpg



29) Reassemble
DZC90s7.jpg
 
Bravo that man! Need more posts like this (maybe smaller pics)
 
Bravo that man! Need more posts like this (maybe smaller pics)
Thank you, Is there a simple/easy way to reduce them I am overlooking? I load them in via IMGUR, which seems to retain my phones camera quality exceptional well, but like you said, they almost are too large!

(I know there are ways to manually resize photos, but as much as I like to help, these take long enough to write as is so may have to be a compromise!)
 
Also, I can't edit my post, but memory failed me and Step 23 has a mistake - I am actually using the flat blade to prise off tabs on the rear of the bracket.

If any admin sees this, please feel free to edit 23 to:

23) Use the flatblade to prise the tabs off the bracket halfshell, allowing its removal
 
Superb post. I need to tackle this as I just bought a car with this fitted and it dropped off. No screws holding it in place!
 

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