CL500 Power Trunk Problem Coversion/Solution

[Vegasheat]

Greetings! First, Thank you for all the help through the years. My 1st post: I have 2002 CL500 w/ power trunk lift and close. While under warranty have had trunk 'normalized' (adjusted), for not open/closing correctly, several times throughout the years. Every time i'd check into a hotel, the valets would not wait for the power close and slam it...throwing it out of adjustment. Now out of warranty, dealer says "shock and pump are bad...$1500+. Rather than pay (~$900+ pump, ~$150+ ea shock + labor), i converted it back to springs for under $100. Now works beautifully with remote unlock and no error mssgs. 1st: Purchased used springs from ebay for $85. I used EuroChopShop (http://stores.ebay.com/Euro-Chop-Sho...id=p4340.l2563). CL500 Trunk pump.jpg Below: There are 3 wires the come from the pump which is directly under the battery. Disconnect the only one that has a plastic coupling as shown- CL500 disconnect.jpg Below: There is a plastic cover on both sides. Wiggle out, pulling forward (takes some force). You will leave these out when the new springs are installed. I think they are cosmetic covers for the pneumatic shocks as the new springs will need this room to move up and down. CL500 plastic.jpg Below: There are 5 bolts. I removed 4, leaving the top adjustment bolt loose. CL500 Trunk Bolts.jpg Below: Once the 4 bottom bolts are off you can move yourself to one side and lift the trunk off of the remaining bolt and rest it gently on the rubber trunk seal. CL500 trunk resting.jpg Below: When you remove the passenger bracket and shock, there is a gear that must be wiggled out. The drivers side does not have this and is simply removed via the bolts. CL500 Bracketgear.jpg Reverse the procedure to install the springs. You may have to adjust the bolts to have a perfect closure. I had to adjust very slightly to have my seam lines uniform. Now my trunk springs open about 50% when i use the switch from inside the drivers door like a regular trunk. Once i get out i simply push it the remaining way open, once again, like a normal trunk. To close, i gently push down to latch. The auto pull down grabs it and closes it securely. For me this works and saves me from valets constantly pushing the old auto close down and screwing it up...not to mention $1500. Thanks and i hope my 1st post is acceptable!! Good driving!

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[biker349]

what car was that spring out of?
thanks, very interesting!

[1995E320Cab]

Great post thanks for sharing !!

[Vegasheat]

Don't know what year or even model it came from. When I purchased them from Ebay the description said:
TRUNK HINGES SPRINGS Mercedes W215 CL500 CL55 CL600 CL65 2000 01 02 03 04 05 0

Fits: 00-06 CL500, CL55, CL600, CL65, Part Number 2157500387 . 2157500487.

Here's the actual link*:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130630686738...84.m1497.l2649

*This is from Feb 2012. Ebay will delete this link in a couple months if it didn't work for you.

Thxs for the question!

[saintz]

Thanks for posting this up. I have repaired a leaking ram/shock with epoxy and refilled the pump (twice). This part is really a terrible design. This seems like a good solution for anyone that wants to permanently fix it.