HippieDave

Hello all! I have always admired the lines of the SL, so when out shopping around for a practical replacement for my pickup truck I found a 1998 SL500 with 50,000 miles on it and only one small ding and a few minor bumper scratches, none of which bothers me. I have really been enjoying this car! Now I'm in the process of educating myself on maintaining it--particularly the vulnerable parts like the soft top and plastic windows. I found one helpful thread here on window maintenance, but any leads would be appreciated.

Also, there is what appears to be light oil leaking from the upper left window post, as if it is coming out of the hole where the soft top post secures. Anyone know what this is? I cannot detect any leaks around the hydraulic mechanism on that side of the roof.

MJ50

welcome to mbworld...

MB-Dude

Welcome to the SL world! You'll love the car in So. Cal.! The hydraulic leak you describe is the classic symptom of a leaky top latch actuator. Very common problem. More of a wear-and-tear item. Nothing lasts forever. Search in the R129 section and you'll understand these bad boys in no time. And they are an easy fix. Have fun!
Cheers,
Jeff

HippieDave

Thanks MBDude...but I ran a search of the R129 forum for leaky top latch actuator and came up with zilch. (Just referred me back to this thread.) Also searched on top latch actuator with same result. Any suggestions for a source of fix info?

robertstjo

Get in touch with Klaus at "TopHydraulics", his website has a complete tutorial on removal and re-installation. Also it's usually recommended to do all 11 actuators, once one leaks the rest are not far behind.

MB-Dude

Yeah, search functions on a large site such as this can be tedious and difficult. Nevertheless, Robert has provided excellent advice. Top Hydraulics has a good amount of info and expertise.
Cheers,
Jeff