ok, looking back at the pic I see the pin sticking out of the end of the shaft which locks the steering wheel. It's all making much more sense. I think it will all make sense once I have the part in my hand. The only Mercedez dealership here in Vegas has the part in stock (they have 2 actually) and they want $191 for it. I called a Mercedez dealership back where I used to live in California and they said it's $149, but it was a special order item. Oh well, I'm going to buy it on Friday for $191 and then do the removal, modify, reinstall on Sat. If my old part works after I put everything back together, then I'm going to return the new part back to the dealer, which they said I could do as long as I didn't install the part.