Hi Can someone advise me on removing the clutch solenoid from my 580se. I want to attempt to restore electric connection to the clutch solenoid wires that got broken off sometime in the past. There isn’t much wire sticking out the side of the unit but maybe if I can get the solenoid off and onto the workbench I can at least see better what’s going on. Is it ok to turn it off with a pipe wrench on the middle of the can or will I risk damaging it ? Is it best to remove the shifter linkage before attempting to give it a hard ccw turn ? Is it possible to open these up so as to solder on new wires? Thanks .
Gave the the corner of the base a quick hit with a punch and shocked it loose. With a drift , punched in , then drilled out the three pins holding the outer can to the hex base. Then tapped the base and gently separated it from the can. Removed the big snap ring. Then with a few slams down on a solid surface , the solenoids inside core drops out. A little cleaning up and un wrapping and it’s ready for testing. 12 volts with a bulb inline to reduce current , moves the solenoid core and proves its working. Carefully clean and re-solder on new leads . This is time consuming as old wire is hard to clean for good solder flow. Results are workable but ugly solder joints. Next, sand inside of rusted can , paint and reassemble.
Two more pictures
As long as it works and the solder joints look good.
I couldn’t get the new wires to feed out the original hole in the side so I made a new hole in the end which was much easier to feed the wire through and will probably work fine. Some caulk and oem Case yellow to seal it up and put the unit back on.