2002 ML55 AMG W163 Hood Latch and Cable Problems
10-07-2015, 10:29 PM
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2002 ML55 AMG
2002 ML55 AMG W163 Hood Latch and Cable Problems
Hey everyone,
First time poster but long time reader here. I'm having continued issues with the hood of my 2002 ML55 AMG (totally stock, well maintained, 140k mileage).
Last year we couldn't get the hood open. Took it to the dealer who wanted somewhere in the $1000 range to have a look. We ended up going with a well respected indie (recommended by a family friend who has his ML320 serviced there regularly). They replaced the lower hood latch (part number 210 880 09 60, $45), the hood sensor (part number 163 540 70 06, $51), the grille (MB1200140 - Aftermarket, $287). They had to break our original grille for the fix. Total with parts and labor, including some labor related to the R and L fender liners (? I assume removing these?), and a little labor and materials for degreasing/cleaning the engine (I had originally brought it in because of a leak oil filter housing) came to $642.
(As a sidenote, the aftermarket grille that this indie provided was a real POS. Very flimsy plastic parts, the large plastic-y emblem would hardly stay on. I ended up having to superglue it to the grille so that it wouldn't fall off off the truck. Maybe not such a great indie afterall...)
The hood worked fine and the rest of the work done on the car was great, so we were happy enough... I hardly drove the car between October and May of this year (2015), but then decided to make it my daily driver. I took a long road trip (2k miles or so) because I relocated for work. The car did totally fine.
(In July I noticed the brakes were making a lot of noise. The pads hadn't been changed in a while, so I took it into an indie in my new homestate (Colorado) that had been recommended by two coworkers. I asked them to check the brakes, and also have a look at the ABS and BAS lights. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked this forum before this, and so probably got taken for a ride on the ABS and BAS - but this is for another post. The indie worked on the car.)
In early August, I went to check my oil level, and felt something snap when I pulled on the interior hood release lever (by the pedals). I tried again and no response from the hood.
I called the first indie that worked on the hood latch in 2014, thinking that maybe they would cover part of the repair for fixing the work they did less than 12 months ago. Their response was that, since the car was out of state, they could not "confirm nor deny" whether the problem was related to their craftsmanship. I couldn't really argue with this, and wasn't going to drive 2k miles back to the northeast, although I would have expected more from a shop with their particular reputation. (Thoughts on this response from the indie? Should I have pressed harder?) I didn't approach the Colorado indie that worked on the car in July, simply because I could "feel" the cable go when I pulled the lever myself - so I don't think there was any wrongdoing there.
I haven't gotten an indie quote yet, as I decided to give this a try myself. I read this thread (and others, but this is the most comprehensive): http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163...cant-open.html
First, I tried the hangar method outlined by skipgrahammnc and springerfever on Page 4 of the thread linked above. I did this for about an hour before realizing that likely my 2002 would not yield the same results that achieved on their 1998 ML320 and 1999 ML430 vehicles, respectively. This was confirmed by lcagee on page 6 of the thread (July 30 2014 post), who describes the difference between the pre- and post-2000 models. After reading lcagee's post I realized I would need to break the grille as originally thought (hated that cheap grille anyway) and get into the latch with some sort of hook. Here's lcagee's method:
"What I did to open mine was this, as explained above with a few extra tips. Using a heavy wire about 1 foot long, bend a small hook into the end. The hook must be small enough to fit inside the latch but big enough to pull on the metal latch itself. It must be of sufficient heft to keep its shape but not too thick or the hook wont bend small enough. I used a BBQ squewer. This worked perfect.
The key is to pass the wire with a hook into the proper slot. The latch is in the center of the rectangle. The proper opening within the latch is just beyond the metal catch of the latch. It is almost exactly in the middle of the rectangle but just a bit closer to the windshield. The hook is threaded into this opening above the latch, the hook is then used to hook the latch and then you pull down. Finding the proper opening is tricky but you shouldnt do too much damage as there isnt really anything to break. It may take several tries. You can actually see where to put the wire hook if you use a mirror and a flashlight. You wont be able to see it with the grill in place. The wire hook should be about 1cm."
After breaking the grill and not knowing where to next, I realized I should get a dealer quote. They quoted $1500 to replace the upper and lower latches, the release cable, and the grille - so I decided to order parts and do it myself. I ordered a new grille (2002 Mercedes ML55 AMG Grille Assembly - MB1200140 Action Crash - $109.98) and new bottom latch (2002 Mercedes ML55 AMG Hood Safety Catch - 210-880-09-60 Genuine - $47.63) from partsgeek.com.
This is where I am now. I have broken the grille, and have broken out the plastic parts ("electrical confusion") blocking access to the latch. There is an electrical cable dangling which I assume is for the hood sensor. I can see up through the rectangular cutout, where the bottom latch is. It looks like my hood release cable broke at the anchor, because I can't see it anywhere. (Does anyone know where it could be and how I can locate it? Once I find it, how do I replace it? I haven't found that on threads anywhere.)
I am also looking at the new bottom latch that I ordered to understand how the mechanism works. When I look up at the latch in the truck, though, I can't figure out how to unlock the bottom latch - especially using lcagee's method.
I've posted pictures below with text and arrows explaining my main questions. Any help on what I do next will be highly appreciated...In return, I'll be posting lots of pictures with text as I go through the repair.
Thanks in advance.
First time poster but long time reader here. I'm having continued issues with the hood of my 2002 ML55 AMG (totally stock, well maintained, 140k mileage).
Last year we couldn't get the hood open. Took it to the dealer who wanted somewhere in the $1000 range to have a look. We ended up going with a well respected indie (recommended by a family friend who has his ML320 serviced there regularly). They replaced the lower hood latch (part number 210 880 09 60, $45), the hood sensor (part number 163 540 70 06, $51), the grille (MB1200140 - Aftermarket, $287). They had to break our original grille for the fix. Total with parts and labor, including some labor related to the R and L fender liners (? I assume removing these?), and a little labor and materials for degreasing/cleaning the engine (I had originally brought it in because of a leak oil filter housing) came to $642.
(As a sidenote, the aftermarket grille that this indie provided was a real POS. Very flimsy plastic parts, the large plastic-y emblem would hardly stay on. I ended up having to superglue it to the grille so that it wouldn't fall off off the truck. Maybe not such a great indie afterall...)
The hood worked fine and the rest of the work done on the car was great, so we were happy enough... I hardly drove the car between October and May of this year (2015), but then decided to make it my daily driver. I took a long road trip (2k miles or so) because I relocated for work. The car did totally fine.
(In July I noticed the brakes were making a lot of noise. The pads hadn't been changed in a while, so I took it into an indie in my new homestate (Colorado) that had been recommended by two coworkers. I asked them to check the brakes, and also have a look at the ABS and BAS lights. Unfortunately, I hadn't checked this forum before this, and so probably got taken for a ride on the ABS and BAS - but this is for another post. The indie worked on the car.)
In early August, I went to check my oil level, and felt something snap when I pulled on the interior hood release lever (by the pedals). I tried again and no response from the hood.
I called the first indie that worked on the hood latch in 2014, thinking that maybe they would cover part of the repair for fixing the work they did less than 12 months ago. Their response was that, since the car was out of state, they could not "confirm nor deny" whether the problem was related to their craftsmanship. I couldn't really argue with this, and wasn't going to drive 2k miles back to the northeast, although I would have expected more from a shop with their particular reputation. (Thoughts on this response from the indie? Should I have pressed harder?) I didn't approach the Colorado indie that worked on the car in July, simply because I could "feel" the cable go when I pulled the lever myself - so I don't think there was any wrongdoing there.
I haven't gotten an indie quote yet, as I decided to give this a try myself. I read this thread (and others, but this is the most comprehensive): http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163...cant-open.html
First, I tried the hangar method outlined by skipgrahammnc and springerfever on Page 4 of the thread linked above. I did this for about an hour before realizing that likely my 2002 would not yield the same results that achieved on their 1998 ML320 and 1999 ML430 vehicles, respectively. This was confirmed by lcagee on page 6 of the thread (July 30 2014 post), who describes the difference between the pre- and post-2000 models. After reading lcagee's post I realized I would need to break the grille as originally thought (hated that cheap grille anyway) and get into the latch with some sort of hook. Here's lcagee's method:
"What I did to open mine was this, as explained above with a few extra tips. Using a heavy wire about 1 foot long, bend a small hook into the end. The hook must be small enough to fit inside the latch but big enough to pull on the metal latch itself. It must be of sufficient heft to keep its shape but not too thick or the hook wont bend small enough. I used a BBQ squewer. This worked perfect.
The key is to pass the wire with a hook into the proper slot. The latch is in the center of the rectangle. The proper opening within the latch is just beyond the metal catch of the latch. It is almost exactly in the middle of the rectangle but just a bit closer to the windshield. The hook is threaded into this opening above the latch, the hook is then used to hook the latch and then you pull down. Finding the proper opening is tricky but you shouldnt do too much damage as there isnt really anything to break. It may take several tries. You can actually see where to put the wire hook if you use a mirror and a flashlight. You wont be able to see it with the grill in place. The wire hook should be about 1cm."
After breaking the grill and not knowing where to next, I realized I should get a dealer quote. They quoted $1500 to replace the upper and lower latches, the release cable, and the grille - so I decided to order parts and do it myself. I ordered a new grille (2002 Mercedes ML55 AMG Grille Assembly - MB1200140 Action Crash - $109.98) and new bottom latch (2002 Mercedes ML55 AMG Hood Safety Catch - 210-880-09-60 Genuine - $47.63) from partsgeek.com.
This is where I am now. I have broken the grille, and have broken out the plastic parts ("electrical confusion") blocking access to the latch. There is an electrical cable dangling which I assume is for the hood sensor. I can see up through the rectangular cutout, where the bottom latch is. It looks like my hood release cable broke at the anchor, because I can't see it anywhere. (Does anyone know where it could be and how I can locate it? Once I find it, how do I replace it? I haven't found that on threads anywhere.)
I am also looking at the new bottom latch that I ordered to understand how the mechanism works. When I look up at the latch in the truck, though, I can't figure out how to unlock the bottom latch - especially using lcagee's method.
I've posted pictures below with text and arrows explaining my main questions. Any help on what I do next will be highly appreciated...In return, I'll be posting lots of pictures with text as I go through the repair.
Thanks in advance.
10-11-2015, 03:25 PM
#3
Senior Member
I would urge you to check the benzworld site before you do much more. They have a very thorough article that explains how to get into a "broken" hood and how to install a system to prevent it from happening again. It's www.benzworld.com go to the W163 forum. There are some incredibly knowledgeable men there and they will help you if you can't find the thread I'm referring to. This is a very common problem and while not dealt with on MBWorld it's been thoroughly dealt with there. Good luck.
11-13-2015, 11:08 AM
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Thanks for the replies.
RossN, I did get the hood unlatched with the help of a Mercedes specialist here in CO.
It turns out that the aftermarket bottom latch that was installed in 2014 was warped. We had to jimmy the "arms" on the latch open with two screwdrivers because the bent part meant the latch was not working as designed. Check Images 4 and 5 and the arrows at Questions 6 and 7.
Once we did this, we swapped out the part with an original bottom latch from a parts car. The difference in material quality between the two parts is substantial. Contrary to my original thoughts, the hood release cable was intact. This is fortunate because it looked it somewhat challenging to replace (under the fusebox). We left the hood sensor disconnected altogether.
Everything is working great so far. The only problem I have is that I could not find a second hand grill, so have reluctantly installed an aftermarket grill (~$150 on ebay) again. I don't have a lot of confidence in this grill but it will do for now.
Hope this write up helps you out.
RossN, I did get the hood unlatched with the help of a Mercedes specialist here in CO.
It turns out that the aftermarket bottom latch that was installed in 2014 was warped. We had to jimmy the "arms" on the latch open with two screwdrivers because the bent part meant the latch was not working as designed. Check Images 4 and 5 and the arrows at Questions 6 and 7.
Once we did this, we swapped out the part with an original bottom latch from a parts car. The difference in material quality between the two parts is substantial. Contrary to my original thoughts, the hood release cable was intact. This is fortunate because it looked it somewhat challenging to replace (under the fusebox). We left the hood sensor disconnected altogether.
Everything is working great so far. The only problem I have is that I could not find a second hand grill, so have reluctantly installed an aftermarket grill (~$150 on ebay) again. I don't have a lot of confidence in this grill but it will do for now.
Hope this write up helps you out.
