Okay guys I have a 2003 CLK 430 Cab and like many of you my hydraulic cylinders for the top are leaking. I have rebuilt two of the easy cylinders(rear bow lock and case cover lock) but now I need to rebuild the top drives and bow cylinders. I really like to do the work on my own cars. I know there are rebuild services out there but I don't want to pay that much money for their services. I now have found a place in Germany that makes the upgraded seals for these cylinders. MJ Produkte - Technische PKW Lösungen I bought seals for the four cylinders for 58.00 USD with shipping and they got here in about 10 business days from Germany(I live on the east coast). I have taken off the cylinders on one side of the car and I am ready to rebuild them. I have taken pics of the cylinders and will post more pics of the process when I get them apart. But that is where I am stuck. I don't know how to get the cylinders apart. The easy ones have videos online how to disassemble them but the big black ones don't. Any help would be appreciated and as I said before I will share pics and maybe a video of how to do this process. the part numbers of the cylinders I am referring to are 2088000072 and 2088000172. I have a friend who works on hydraulic stuff for tractors and such but I will have to travel to NC to get his help if it comes down to it. And no I am not trying to start a business of this I just like working on my own stuff and would rather pay $100 bucks to fix my top than $800 bucks warranty or not.


thanks

 

rxphiler,

I can appreciate you trying to save money, but I'm afraid you have been ripped off, if anyone sold you seals for DIY repair of cylinders p/n 208 800 00 72, 208 800 01 72, and 208 800 02 72. These steel cylinders are crimped and swaged, and you can only machine them open. The bigger problem is closing them afterwards. That takes some REALLY fancy machining, plus custom made parts to keep the seals in place.

On the smaller cylinders, please keep in mind that nobody is selling all the seals needed for a rebuild. Rebuilding these cylinders is NOT a matter of changing o-rings. Every aluminum CLK cylinder has one o-ring, and those rarely ever fail. What fails most frequently, are the other seals, which have special shapes for proper function. Top Hydraulics replaces and upgrades ALL seals in the cylinders with superior material:

1) Rod seals. They are cup-shaped and seal the piston rod from the rest of the cylinder. When they fail, you will see fluid coming out next to the chromed shaft (rod). These are usually the first seals to fail in the cylinders.
2) Piston seals. They seal the input and output sections from each other, as the piston slides through the cylinder. The piston seals have been made of different materials and sizes even in the same p/n cylinders throughout the years. Failing piston seals will cause internal leaks, which result in a pressure drop in your hydraulic system. Early model years have the added problem that the piston seals swell up and make it very hard to move the piston inside the cylinder. Crumbling piston seals can block valves or pinholes inside the hydraulic system, and it can be difficult to diagnose a piston seal failure without testing several cylinders once you find that your top is moving slowly or not at all.
3) Gland seals. These are just o-rings that seal the top cap of the cylinder from the housing. They are usually the last seals to fail, but these o-rings are penny items.
4) Port seals. They seal the hydraulic lines where they are pushed into the cylinders. Port seals have a special shape that makes them seal under pressure. O-rings wouldn't do the trick. They are secured by precisely machined brass rings (accuracy about 1/100 mm). DIY removal of the brass rings will almost certainly destroy the brass rings. Top Hydraulics installs port seals that are tighter than the originals, just in case the hydraulic line fittings have been scratched.

Klaus

 

Okay Klaus I knew you would respond with something like that. I am not associated with the company that sold me the seals and they should work just like your rebuilders do with the seals you guys have. I don't think they ripped me off, that is your opinion. Like I said before I just didn't know how to separate them and you have given me the answer. I am not trying to steal any of your business. I just wanted to know how they come apart so I could fix them myself. I have presses, a welder and other tools that I am pretty good at using. If I fail then I fail nothing wrong with trying.


thanks anyway

 

I'm in the same boat - the rear bow lock bled out all over the back of the car and I really like working on my own stuff because I bought this car as a project-car. I'd love to hear about how you did the first group of cylinders.

 

So good news today! I have figured out how to seperate the cylinders. I will post pics and how to as soon as I can finish the job. I work late the next week so It probably wont be until next week. I bought an extra cylinder at a pic and pay incase I really screwed something up. Stay tuned. thanks

 

Thank you for posting your results. This is a project that I need to tackle very soon. It's getting nice in the desert.
-J

 

Hey, man, how are you doing with the cylinders?)

 

Please contact me re dismantling W208 black cylinders. Im badly stuck and paranoid Klaus won't help. Thanks, joe . Galway, Ireland

joefgoodfellow@gmail.com

 

Hi rxphiler,

Not sure did you ever post the photos of dismantling the 208 black cylinders but I am in the same boat and need your help. I asked Klaus but got more or less the same response as you and says dismantling them is way above my head. I have been in precision engineering for fifty years and manufactured parts and assemblies for the Rolls Royce RB211 jet engine. Like you I just want to rebuild my cylinders rather that go into competition with TH. Anyway it may be a bit late but could you post any info or maybe contact me at joefgoodfellow@gmail.com

Any help will be greatly appreciated. kind regards, joe. Galway, Ireland

 

Klaus has produced fantastic videos on Youtube which are available for free. They have been incredibly useful to me and he has always been very helpful when approached, even though I have never spent a penny with him yet.

 

Yes Klaus has been very helpful making videos to show how to remove roof cylinders. This is in his own interest so customers can send their cylinders to him for repair rather than having MB dealers replace the cylinders with OEMs.. Understandably, he his very protective of how the cylinders are dismantled, and tries to convince enquirers that the process is "rocket science".(see previous post). I want to rebuild my cylinder as the cost sending them to Klaus >$800 + shipping + customs and duty is probably more than the car is worth. Anyway, I will figure out how to dissemble them and if worst comes to worst, I have the facilities to manufacture new cylinders from scratch that will do the same job as the OEMs. Obviously rebuilding the existing ones would be an easier option. There again, maybe making replacements for others in the same boat may be a lucrative business. (lol)

 

BTW, have your cylinders started leaking yet? The problem with mine is the car was stood outside for a year and the cylinder hard chromed piston rod blistered> I suspect it was the blisters that damaged the front seal rather than age.

 

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Hi ,could you please send me the procedure and pics so I can do mine .Thank you.

 

The two small cylinders (bow lock, etc) are relatively easy to do. The only hard part is removing the “C” clip ring to get them apart. I ended up using a small file to put a grove in the aluminum housing so I could easier remove the clip ring. After that they came apart, replace the o rings and cup ring (which was obviously cracked on mine) and put it back together. It takes about 15 minutes, once you figure out how to remove the “C” clip ring.

 

Hi thanks for that info the ones I need help with are P/N 2088000072.Cheers

 

Those cylinders look to have similar seals to the bow lock. All you need to do is remove the “C” clip from around the shaft here. It’s not easy, and I had to cut a little groove in mine as well as it took a set of picks.