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We had 3 leaking hydraulic cylinders and took all the cylinders off and sent them to Top Hydraulics for seal replacement. (Thanks to those guys... they are fabulous!).. Yesterday, we installed the cylinders, filled the fluid tank and the pump and cylinders are doing fine.
The problem is with the case cover (Tonneau cover). When it goes to close after the soft top is in the compartment, the passenger side tries to come down but the drivers side will not. It gets in a bind and touches the trunk lid. The center arm in the hinges were broken and after reading other posts, we broke them off in hopes that it was what was causing the bind. It did not help. We can push the drivers side down to get it even with the other side. When we try to complete the closing of the cover with the console button, the driver's side pops back up like it's trying to open. We can reverse the operation with the button.
I have looked all over this forum for a problem similar to this and haven't found anything. We went back and made sure the hydraulic lines were connected correctly to the cylinders, so thinking it may be a switch or relay? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I recently saw a post either here or on benzworld. The member found a misaligned latch on the underside of the cover where it mates to the folded top to lock it in place. Maybe that is a factor in your problem?
Does it start binding when the top is fully vertical, or just as it does its final close? if it's binding when vertical, I would suspect a problem with the hydraulic cylinder. If it's right before the final pop-down, then I would suspect something mechanical, like the hinge or even the front catch where the microswitch is located.
When releasing the top to open, it all functions normally. The cover opens to vertical normally. When it starts to close over the top, the passenger side comes down, but the drivers side does not. This puts the cover in a bind and scratched the trunk We can lift up on the cover and line it back up, and guide it down. When it gets to the point of locking, the driver's side pops back up like its trying to open.
I think this is more than we can tackle without a way to check all the switches, relays. I also cannot find a diagram for the W209 that shows where the hydraulic lines connect to the cylinders ( in case we connected something backwards). We labeled the lines and cylinders so we would know where they went, but the numbers on the cylinders were gone when we got them back. ( My fault, I should have noted that on my order, or at least had taken pictures). Looks like its going to the dealer...
Also, now we cant get the cover to lock down manually at all. It is in the locking position, but it will not engage fully. UGH!
03 SL Kleemann, 97 SL320 pano top, 95 Lorinser E320 Cabrio, Ferrari 360, Tesla X
lisamb,
Sorry that you couldn't find where the lines go. Our techs are supposed to scribe the line numbers onto the aluminum if customers send the cylinders in marked. Here is a list:
Top lock shaft side 65, bottom 66
RH main lift shaft side 13, bottom 14
LH main lift shaft side 11, middle 15, bottom 12
RH bow tension shaft side 23, bottom 24
LH bow tension shaft side 21, bottom 22
RH tonneau shaft side 33, bottom 34
LH tonneau shaft side 31, bottom 32
Don't hold the techs responsible... we only marked them with a "1" and "2"... and "3" on the Left Main. We didn't put the corresponding number from the lines and we did it with a sharpie marker which isn't that hard to get off!
We will recheck the lines with the information you have provided. Once again... you guys are a life saver!
03 SL Kleemann, 97 SL320 pano top, 95 Lorinser E320 Cabrio, Ferrari 360, Tesla X
Originally Posted by lisamb
you guys are a life saver!
"Life saver" is an overstatement, but I'll settle for "serious money saver"...
All original seals in your set of cylinders were pretty much wasted, thanks to the high temperatures where you live. The good news is, the rebuilt cylinders should last about three times as long as the originals under similar conditions, and you paid a fraction of the dealer price by having us rebuild them.
The left main lift (top drive) cylinder A 209 800 07 72 has three lines going into it, as a special way to slow down the top before it reaches the windshield. It can indeed be confusing how those lines are supposed to be configured. We will add the line numbering to our packaging stickers as of tomorrow.
OK... We are back in business. The problem was the Left hand Tonneau shaft cylinder. We had the hydraulic lines connected backwards which was causing the cover to not close on the left hand side, then pop back up when trying to lock. Once we attached the lines correctly, everything worked beautifully.
If we had taken better "notes", or more pictures, this DIY job could have been completed in 7-8 hours.
Klaus, thank you so much for your service and the information here to help us get the lines connected correctly. And, yes, life saver is an appropriate term as far as we are concerned. My daughter drives this car and went all summer not being able to use the convertible top, she had been as patient as she was going to be about it. She was one happy girl today with solid blue skies, 77 degrees, and the top tucked neatly away and working perfectly.
Also... Rodney, I caught a tip you posted on another thread about removing the center arm on the tonneau cover hinges. Both were broken on this car and it would occasionally pop when trying to close. We removed the arms and it has not popped at all. I wish we would have known sooner about those. I feel as though the broken arms getting in a bind may have contributed to busting the seals on the cylinders. I'm sure the climate is the main culprit, but I would think the pressure the cylinders were under when the arms were getting stuck certainly didn't help.
OK... We are back in business. The problem was the Left hand Tonneau shaft cylinder. We had the hydraulic lines connected backwards which was causing the cover to not close on the left hand side, then pop back up when trying to lock. Once we attached the lines correctly, everything worked beautifully.
If we had taken better "notes", or more pictures, this DIY job could have been completed in 7-8 hours.
Klaus, thank you so much for your service and the information here to help us get the lines connected correctly. And, yes, life saver is an appropriate term as far as we are concerned. My daughter drives this car and went all summer not being able to use the convertible top, she had been as patient as she was going to be about it. She was one happy girl today with solid blue skies, 77 degrees, and the top tucked neatly away and working perfectly.
Just curious if you have any pcs of removing the hinges? That is also what you did isn't it? I'm pretty sure I had the exact issue you described.
Any info, especially photos would help.
If you only replaced three of the seven cylinders I highly recommend having the remaining four sent to Klause. It is only a short time and one will fail due to the same cause as the three. They will all fail at approximately the same time.
I had him rebuild all seven and the pump, and had to replace several lines. the system works as designed now. Next a new canvas.
Just curious if you have any pcs of removing the hinges? That is also what you did isn't it? I'm pretty sure I had the exact issue you described.
Any info, especially photos would help.
The hinges for the tonneau cover have a center plastic "arm" that on our CLK were both broken. Sometimes, if one of the boken sections was in the wrong positon, it would cause the cover to pop, etc. We removed those, I think my husband cut them off with a dremel tool, and the cover moves smoothly with no pops, delays, or anything.
If you only replaced three of the seven cylinders I highly recommend having the remaining four sent to Klause. It is only a short time and one will fail due to the same cause as the three. They will all fail at approximately the same time.
I had him rebuild all seven and the pump, and had to replace several lines. the system works as designed now. Next a new canvas.
We did have all the cylinders replaced, which was a very smart decision. The lines and pump work great. Next, is a new canvas for ours too. Incidentally, right after we fixed the top operation, the driver's side rear window regulator went out. We just thought we were done tearing that car apart! Two weeks later, the passenger side went out. So, with new cylinders, new rear window regulators, and a new top on the way, hopefully there will be no more top issues any time soon!
The hinges for the tonneau cover have a center plastic "arm" that on our CLK were both broken. Sometimes, if one of the boken sections was in the wrong positon, it would cause the cover to pop, etc. We removed those, I think my husband cut them off with a dremel tool, and the cover moves smoothly with no pops, delays, or anything.
Thanks but don't those plastic pieces trigger the release of the back glass locks?
Thanks but don't those plastic pieces trigger the release of the back glass locks?
Are we talking about the same thing? There are hinges that attach the tonneau cover to the car and then there are plastic levers on the underside of the tonneau cover that triggers a sensor/limit switch. The part I am referring to (where we removed the center arm) is on the hinge that attaches the tonneau to the car. In an earlier post in this thread there was a suggestion made about checking the lever to make sure it was hitting at the right point and not out of alignment (on our car, this was not the problem).
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We can lift up on the cover and line it back up, and guide it down. When it gets to the point of locking, the driver's side pops back up like its trying to open.
