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New to this sub category but not new to MBWorld. I currently own an S430 and an E55 AMG. I’m looking at a 2005 CLK320 cabriolet for the wife. The owner says the top works sometimes and his mechanic says it has a hydraulic leak. I have a STAR laptop so I can check a few things. My question is, how difficult are these tops to work on? I’m not a novice but I’ve never worked on a convertible top. I knuu it w a bit about hydraulics. I’m an electrician in a glass factory and work on a lot of mechanical things. What should I look for? Are there hoses that could be leaking or are the hydraulics all internal? Thanks for any help y’all can supply.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Welcome, I purchased an 05 320 Cab for my mom when she retired last year, its been pretty great overall. Looks like you're probably used to the quirks of older mercedes ownership considering your current line-up, nothing too different about the C/A209s. Check out https://www.tophydraulics.com/ they have really good step by step videos on how to replace all of the top hydraulic components. They also provide re-manufactured components at a fraction of the cost of new. I recently did this job (all 7 actuators), by the sounds of it you should be more than qualified to do it. If your relatively competent with a wrench its definitely DIY-able. It does take a while, I had to dedicate the better part of a weekend to it. The only thing I will mention, behind the holes in the rear door/side panels where you would insert the wind deflector, there are two torx screws per side, they are black and hard to see. For some reason none of the videos I watched mentioned them and it took me a solid 20 minutes of trying to figure out why the hell the panels weren't releasing to realize there were screws there...haha.
Last edited by crazy00c230k; Oct 4, 2021 at 02:56 PM.
Thanks for the response. I’m fairly confident. And yes, I am familiar with the old MB quirks. Lol! Purchasing my laptop with STAR made a huge difference in the ability to diagnose things. I just didn’t know if there was anything in particular to look for. I know the engine and trans are pretty bulletproof.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Originally Posted by Hrvstr1
Thanks for the response. I’m fairly confident. And yes, I am familiar with the old MB quirks. Lol! Purchasing my laptop with STAR made a huge difference in the ability to diagnose things. I just didn’t know if there was anything in particular to look for. I know the engine and trans are pretty bulletproof.
Yeah, the m112 and 722.6 are pretty stout, not much to worry about if they've been well maintained. If your E55 is a W211 the 209 has the potential for similar electrical gremlins (cluster failure, seat module parasitic draw, etc.), I feel like most MBs from that era all do though.
So we just got home. Drove it 45 miles. Zero issues. The top does move but it’s very low on hydraulic oil. So next step will be to fill the tank and locate the leak. Purchase price was 4K. Think I got a pretty decent deal.
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