Richard

Had some clunks and "crack" noises coming from the SL roof recently particularly bad when the car is cold - and thought it was going to be the leaking front lock and low hydraulic fluid issues mentioned in other threads.

But, good news, it wasnt.

I applied the special mercedes lubricant to the roof seals and all the noise was gone !!! I guess what was happening is the roof seals were getting stuck to the body and when they moved as I went over a bump the noise of them unsticking was amplified through the roof.

The special lubricant comes in a 1 oz bottle and that is enough for 10 roofs !!

You clean the seals that touch the bodywork with water, let them dry and then apply very small amounts of the lubricant and wait 20 mins !

Lubricant part number A000 989 36 60 cost approx £30 in UK

(so if theres anyone near Ascot in UK with a noisy SL or SLK roof, pop round and we'll sort yours out as I have lots of the stuff left)

Richard

Scotsman

Thanks Richard. So far, mine's been OK but haven't been driving it much lately.
Good to know thow!

Scotsman

thow!!! what kind of word is that? :O(

mkhurley

How do you get at the seals to apply it?? Stop it in mid closing or when it's stored in the trunk?? New to the SL so not real familiar with how to get at this....

Ferri

"Though"

Rook3300

Normally, you stop the closing of the roof mid-way. This is done by placing a brace between the roof mechanism and the front windshield frame.

Rook3300

mkhurley

Thanks, is there even a seal on the roof side?? I put the top down yesterday to get a look at it and it seems most of the seal is on the windshield portion, so just having it down should be enough....maybe??? The seal on the windshield is pretty dried out, guess I'll be swinging by and picking up some of this stuff, unless somebody jumps in and tells me it's nothing more than vaseline (or ??) with a 3 point star on it....

Richard

Definetly not vaseline :-) I did mine with the engine on and the roof half open. I'd suggest that you support the roof somehow though, I was being very careful, but the roof is heavy and you don't want it crushing you or getting your arm caught in the sizzor mechanism.....

R

mkhurley

Great, need to go by and get another key for it anyways, pick up a couple things while I'm there.....

Chris-W

Ive had mine done twice at mercedes and it worked for about 1 month then all went noisy again. Ive been ignoring it BUT now I have the prt number for the lube I'm on it!

What would be great is if we could get an image with specific points to apply the lube to so that everyone with the problem can solve it without having to pay the £200+ per visit Ive done to have it solved

Leester

Great idea Chris.
We all know that quality silicone lubricant for seals and rubber is the answer but do we have to apply it randomly? It's a messy proposition if you just smear it all over the place. And where do we apply the lubricant when it comes to the roof mechanism ?
This could very well be one of the most useful topics ever. So please join in.
Hate to pay the dealer frequently for something that we can easily rectify our selfs and may be even do better job at that.
Cheers.

Chris-W

I just checked and my dealer has the lube so I'm picking it up tomorrow. Im going to make some educated decisions about where to actually use the stuff! Wish me luck

Leester

Great.
Please share with us your findings and best of luck.
Cheers.

Lee Wireless

See attached PDF

Leester

Most informative Lee. Thank you for sharing.
Do we also need to lubricate the roof and trunk hinges and hardware ?
If affirmative than where and how and what to use ?

gqa

Hey guys maybe you can help me. I have this loud tapping noise coming from the passenger rear area. It sounds like metal tapping on metal. I tried stuffing padding every wear with multiple test drives.

I can't figure it out or where it is actually coming from. I even had my brother drive while I stuck my head back there trying to locate the source of the noise.

anyone had this same problem?

boatman245

This could be the baffle plate in the fuel tank, it breaks away inside the tank, i have heard of people saying they get them repaired but new tank is more common, expensive!

Neander

In addition to the rubber roof seals, there are points in the mechanism where hard plastic stops come up against metal (two on each side) plus plastic wedges that are against metal (one on each side by the sides of the window) when the top is closed. Theses can also be a source of noise after a few years. Cleaning these contact points and lightly lubricating them with silicone made a difference in my car. Again, you need to stop your roof halfway to locate and attend to these.

weybridge

Hi Richard,

Thats a very generous offer.

As a newbie looking to buy a friends 2003 SL55AMG this could be very useful for me. The reason is that the car (albeit has a full MB service history) has been used very little over the last two years and has been parked outside. As a result the seals may need re lubricating to bring them back to new. The car has various new vario roof seals fitted by MB in May 2010 but because its been a little weather beaten I think softening up the rubber could be a good idea?

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

Pete

Richard

I'd probably lubricate the seals just to keep them all supple

R

fournote

I have a Genuine Mercedes Benz Mold Lubricant Fluid 000-989-36-60 (30ml bottle) on eBay for $30 each (Auction #161805454436). Or, if you like, you can email me at smhc@charter.net.

STL-SL500

I swear by, "GUMMI Pfledge Stift"...twice a year after soft-cleaning with a damp cloth...then, cycle the top a couple of times...you'll notice there is no build-up, speeds-up mechanisms, does NOT attract dirt particles...I purchase it in bulk as shelf life is long.

STL-SL500

That's what I use...in fact, purchased a multi-pack of it when I owned my SLKs! It's the best & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! I suspect the same type of material is used at the dealerships; marketed under a different name with the M-B emblem...

STL-SL500

the trick is...damp microfiber clean all rubber PRIOR to application. You WILL have residual appearing upon your windows...simply damn microfiber cloth them off (am sure you're like all of us by now and have a stock of clean ones in your trunk.) You will need to exercise the roof a few times (so keep the engine running as to not run out your consumer battery, though, exercising that isn't such a bad idea either.) WATCH-OUT! the mechanisms run very quickly and don't want to hear you were in the ER just to silence your roof!!!

As for all of the other hinges...a very high grade silicon, sparingly used while manipulating the pressure points; i.e., the hood.

You can buy Gummy Pfledge on eBay at a discounted rate per # of bottles/they appear to last a long time depending where you store them.

Best of luck!!