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2009 CLK 350 W209 Soft top Hydraulic Fluid Brand and Fill-up
Folks, my soft top started misbehaving yesterday and would not close or open w/o some manual intervention. But we were finally able to close it (top up) after a few tries.
Reading the forums learned to check the Fluid level in the trunk pump reservoir.
Want to confirm a few things before I attempt the fix:
1. I do not see any leaks any where on the visible cylinder or near the pump area. But the fluid level is slightly below the MIN level with top up (closed). Is that normal for the fluid level to go down w/o visible leaks ?
2. If so, I just need to add new fluid and not replace the whole thing, correct. With the top up (closed), do I add fluid to the Max level or between Min and Max !?
3. I think Rudney mentioned the fluid type for W209 to be different from W208. Will this brand work Meyle 0009899103A Hydraulic System Fluid
If not, can anyone please provide a brand or product link for 2009 CLK350.
4. Finally, to add/replace new fluid, just unscrew that one bolt on the reservoir, take care of the washer, add/replace new fluid (will use harbor freight pump) to the suggested level, hand screw the bolt/washer back. Is that it or do I first need to manually move the top half way / raised.
5. When the top was not functioning, I sprayed some WD40 around the several arm joints / cylinder area. I hope I have not messed up something in the process.
1. You have a leak somewhere. Check in the bottom of the trunk area, below the cylinders there - it will often drip into unseen areas.
2. You can check and fill the fluid with the top either open or closed. The fluid recirculates, so it should maintain a constant level regardless of top position. It's easier to access with the top closed.
3. You need a fluid that meets MB spec 343.0, and this Myle fluid is listed as meeting it.
4. Yes, just remove the reservoir screw and fill. You can use a pump, a turkey baster, syringe or anything (clean!) that will inject the fluid without making a mess.
So with the top closed, shall I fill to the Max or in between Min and Max ?
It seems there is no mention of this Meyle brand for 343 specs use on this forum. Is there any known brand I should look for ? Or shall I just buy from the Dealership ?
Sadly, refill did not help. Worked the first time opening up and i exchanged Hi5s with my wife. And it all ended soon after. Will not close. It seems gets stuck on the Rear Glass window coming down. It does so if we help it a bit but still does not close w/o some pressure on the back piece above the trunk.
Checked the oil again and it was low again. I think I may have found the leak but not 100% sure as I had used WD40 a few days back.
Q. Could the battery not be supplying enough current !? It shows 12.4v when I get in and when I start the car, it shows 14.x volts.
Anyway, I will go with the leak theory and possible repair/replacement of the leaking cylinder or all.
Q. If the leak is only in 1 cylinder, how much the Dealership would charge approx !? I believe the part is $125-$150 each.
And for all 6 ?
If too much I might as well sell the car as is, as it is depressing to see these car depreciation. A 2009 $64k retail + taxes/reg with 60k miles gets offered just $13-15k.
And one last Q:
Does the newer 2011-203 or 2014-current E-class convertibles have the same Cylinder leak issue ?
Thx for your help Rodney.
A weak battery can prevent the top from operating properly, but to check that, just operate it with the engine running. I am fairly certain you have a leaking cylinder. My advice is to avoid the dealership. Contact Klaus at tophydraulicsinc.com - he sells rebuilt cylinders for less than the dealer. It's a DIY job if you have the skills/tools (nothing to exotic - just some wrenching). If not, then find a local indy that will install for you. It's recommended to replace them all (there are 7) since one leak is usually followed by another soon after.
The new A207 uses the exact same hydraulic top system.
03 SL Kleemann, 97 SL320 pano top, 95 Lorinser E320 Cabrio, Ferrari 360, Tesla X
Hello jigsb, welcome to the forum. Allow me to insert some comments in Blue and Bold below
Originally Posted by jigsb
Folks, my soft top started misbehaving yesterday and would not close or open w/o some manual intervention. But we were finally able to close it (top up) after a few tries.
Reading the forums learned to check the Fluid level in the trunk pump reservoir.
Want to confirm a few things before I attempt the fix:
1. I do not see any leaks any where on the visible cylinder or near the pump area. But the fluid level is slightly below the MIN level with top up (closed). Is that normal for the fluid level to go down w/o visible leaks ?
The hydraulic fluid does not just evaporate, so you do have a leak somewhere. However, slightly below MIN level with the top up should not be creating the problem you are describing.
2. If so, I just need to add new fluid and not replace the whole thing, correct. With the top up (closed), do I add fluid to the Max level or between Min and Max !?
With the top up, the fluid level will be slightly lower than with the top down. The difference is not huge, so anywhere between MIN and MAX will be fine.
3. I think Rudney mentioned the fluid type for W209 to be different from W208. Will this brand work Meyle 0009899103A Hydraulic System Fluid
If not, can anyone please provide a brand or product link for 2009 CLK350.
The fluid type for W209 and W208 convertible tops is identical. The Mercedes p/n is 000 989 91 03, and this fluid is originally made as a ZH-M fluid by Aral, sold as Aral Vitamol in Europe.
It's also sold in the US as FeBi 02615. Mercedes adds a dye and calls it p/n 0009899103. BMW and Porsche sell it in half-pint bottles and charge $40...
You can order FeBi 02615 online in places like autohausaz.com or rmeuropean.com, or you can get it in a good NAPA store for some $10/quart. The Meyle brand is what folks buy down under.
Convertible top hydraulic fluid is designed to have low viscosity (be thin) even at low temperatures, of course it is supposed to lube and not to interfere with the seals (no stop-leak additives in there!), and it does not have emulsifiers (it makes water from condensation drop to the bottom of the reservoir, instead of letting it get all over the system and oxidize or hydrolize seals or metal components).
4. Finally, to add/replace new fluid, just unscrew that one bolt on the reservoir, take care of the washer, add/replace new fluid (will use harbor freight pump) to the suggested level, hand screw the bolt/washer back. Is that it or do I first need to manually move the top half way / raised.
Indeed, it is that simple.
5. When the top was not functioning, I sprayed some WD40 around the several arm joints / cylinder area. I hope I have not messed up something in the process. This should have neither helped nor done any harm.
Originally Posted by Rudeney
1. You have a leak somewhere. Check in the bottom of the trunk area, below the cylinders there - it will often drip into unseen areas.
Right on. All seven cylinders in the W209 CLK tend to leak first on the bottom, where you wouldn't expect it. Near the bottom mounting pins, often mistaken for a leak from a hydraulic hose. Cylinder leaks start slowly, and keep on growing.
Top lock cylinder p/n 2098001172 in the front between headliner trim panel and canvas,
Left top drive cylinder p/n 209800772 in front of the left wheel well,
Right top drive cylinder p/n 2098000872 in front of the right wheel well,
both bow tension cylinders p/n 2098000972 above the wheel well,
both tonneau cover cylinders p/n 2098001272 mounted in the forward corners of the trunk.
Speaking of hoses, they can fail, as well, but they typically do so in dramatic fashion.
Originally Posted by Rudeney
A weak battery can prevent the top from operating properly, but to check that, just operate it with the engine running. I am fairly certain you have a leaking cylinder. My advice is to avoid the dealership. Contact Klaus at tophydraulicsinc.com - he sells rebuilt cylinders for less than the dealer. It's a DIY job if you have the skills/tools (nothing to exotic - just some wrenching). If not, then find a local indy that will install for you. It's recommended to replace them all (there are 7) since one leak is usually followed by another soon after.
The new A207 uses the exact same hydraulic top system.
Originally Posted by jigsb
Q. If the leak is only in 1 cylinder, how much the Dealership would charge approx !? I believe the part is $125-$150 each.
The cheapest cylinder of the seven is about $350 plus tax etc, and the most expensive one is about $800+ from the dealer. Top hydraulics practically rebuilds the full set of cylinders for the price of one new tonneau cylinder 2098001272.
If too much I might as well sell the car as is, as it is depressing to see these car depreciation. A 2009 $64k retail + taxes/reg with 60k miles gets offered just $13-15k.
My trend of thought is opposite: you won't loose much more money now that the car has depreciated a lot, you have pampered the car, and you are just about to fix one of the notorious problems for good - why sell it...
And one last Q:
Does the newer 2011-203 or 2014-current E-class convertibles have the same Cylinder leak issue ?
Yep, the A207 system is practically identical, with practically identical parts. Only they went a little cheaper yet on the hoses, so those fail sooner.
Thank you Klaus so much for you valued feedback and time. I have found a local MB mechanic who has started his own shop after working for a MB dealership for 15+ yrs. Seems very knowledgeable and honest. He is going to take the car Wednesday to his shop to figure out the cause of the leak - whether cylinders or pump. We will go from there. He said, we could replace just the leaking cylinder but in pairs. So if left is leaking, he would replace both left and right.
But then the price you have on your website, it makes sense to replace all 7 together.
If I understand correct, once we remove and ship the cylinders to you, it can take about 2-3 days for your shop to ship it back to us. So can the top be locked down and car be safe to commute at freeway speed.
Also rebuilt with your better seal technology, if I were to keep the car to pass it to my kids (2-3 yrs from now), the cylinders should not leak again, right !? The current ones lasted good 6-7 yrs before the leak happened. How long do you warranty the rebuilt cylinders !?
Klauss / Rodney, my mechanic says he took off the panels and misc and found no signs of leaks on any of the cylinders or in the pump area.
But he found that one of the Tyco yellow Relays has gone bad. He said if he toggled with the good one next to it (near the pump area), he was able to operate the top one way and then toggle it to operate the top other way.
He asked me to get Part Tyco relay #A 0025421419 or an equiv brand Hella.
Q. Could a bad Relay have known to be a common issue too with the top operation !?
If so, Hella is a good brand to get ?
He said, hopefully it should do it. If not, he will have to dig in a bit more. My putting WD40 around the cylinder/arm, he is not able to tell for sure if it is oil or WD40.
I think I have found myself a very humble and honest MB mechanic. He only charged me $65 to bleed my brakes incl the oil and corrected the transmission fluid level issue from my last project. My tranny was lurking/jumping a bit since that job. I paid him $75 and will pay him nice if the Top issue turns out to be just the Relay.
If anyone is interested in his contact info, let me know. His shop is in Hawthorne in LA area.
I'd get the relay and give it a try. Regardless, if your reservoir was low, you have a leak, it might be slow, or might just be elusive, but there's a leak.
Guys, relay did the trick. There has been no decrease in oil level since the refill. And so far, we may have operated the top at least 15-20 times. So if at all, it could be a very slow leak somewhere. But we really could not find it.
So Jorge my mechanic came back over the weekend with the OEM relay ($23) from a Dealership, we put it in, worked great. The yellow relay (part # above in Rodney's post), there are two of them right next(left) to the Pump/Reservoir. The relay he replaced, we opened it and it was burnt a bit.
Then he reset and re-adapted/reprogrammed my Transmission using the Scan/Star tool (Panasonic Tough-book). My car now drives like new.
At the end of it, he only expected me to pay for the relay part and maybe some $20 in Gas money. Gosh, I felt so bad and good at the same time. I gave him $100. He was so happy.
So for $175 or so, I get my brake fluid flush, tranny fluid level corrected, tranny re-adapted and Top fixed even if temporary.
I think I am going to keep my Car just because of Jorge. I was thinking BMW but he does not do BMW. So Benz it is.
If any of you need a wonderful and honest Mechanic in LA/Riverside area, give Jorge a call. His shop (which he started recently with a partner) is in Hawthorne (near LAX) and he resides in Riverside. So can cater to customers anywhere in between as well. He can be reached at: Europa Motors 13124 Inglewood Ave, Hawthorne, CA. 9-zero-9-2-eight-7-nine-0-seven-fiv
Hello and happy holidays. Its been 18 months since your soft top experience.I am on that journey now and Rudney the demigod is in my corner. My situation mirrors yours in some ways. I am curious to know there were further issues with the fluid level and operation of the soft top.
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Klauss / Rodney, my mechanic says he took off the panels and misc and found no signs of leaks on any of the cylinders or in the pump area.
But he found that one of the Tyco yellow Relays has gone bad. He said if he toggled with the good one next to it (near the pump area), he was able to operate the top one way and then toggle it to operate the top other way.
He asked me to get Part Tyco relay #A 0025421419 or an equiv brand Hella.
Q. Could a bad Relay have known to be a common issue too with the top operation !?
If so, Hella is a good brand to get ?
He said, hopefully it should do it. If not, he will have to dig in a bit more. My putting WD40 around the cylinder/arm, he is not able to tell for sure if it is oil or WD40.
I think I have found myself a very humble and honest MB mechanic. He only charged me $65 to bleed my brakes incl the oil and corrected the transmission fluid level issue from my last project. My tranny was lurking/jumping a bit since that job. I paid him $75 and will pay him nice if the Top issue turns out to be just the Relay.
If anyone is interested in his contact info, let me know. His shop is in Hawthorne in LA area.
Thanks you for your help and support.
Yes -- please provide your mechanic's information. I know it has been awhile, but maybe he is still around. Thanks... Bud Gobbel
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2004 E320 (sold), 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan
Originally Posted by kioiii
clk 350 2005 convertible ,& its leak oil
into the cab
If its leaking from the front of the top, probably a leaky lock cylinder, common failure. Not terribly difficult to replace, tophydraulicsinc.com has the parts and write ups you will need. Keep in mind, though, that if one goes others are likely to follow. Usually one of the main lift cylinders.
04-16-2016, 10:15 PM
