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My convertible roof won't open or close. It's stuck open about an inch. Unfortunately because of that I cannot get into the trunk to get my user manual nor the wrench required to manually lock. Any suggestions for getting into the trunk?
If I get a generic hex wrench and push the top down can I manually close it?
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Originally Posted by Yomama604
My convertible roof won't open or close. It's stuck open about an inch. Unfortunately because of that I cannot get into the trunk to get my user manual nor the wrench required to manually lock. Any suggestions for getting into the trunk?
If I get a generic hex wrench and push the top down can I manually close it?
Thanks
If the top isn't open enough to interfere with the trunk lid you should be able to manually pop the trunk using the key and trunk handle. Remove the blade from the key, put it into the key cylinder on the trunk (near the license plate lights), cant remember which direction to turn, but if you turn the key and pull the trunk latch it will open the trunk. You can use a standard allen key to open/close the top latch.
Thank you. The keyhole for the trunk is hidden pretty well. I was able to open the trunk and of course there is no 6MM allen wrench required for latching LoL. I used a generic one was able to lock the roof. I did notice the hydraulic tank is basically empty. Before I take it to the dealer, I am going to refill it and try to determine how bad the leak is.
Is it as simple as adding generic hydraulic fluid with a turkey baster?
Originally Posted by crazy00c230k
If the top isn't open enough to interfere with the trunk lid you should be able to manually pop the trunk using the key and trunk handle. Remove the blade from the key, put it into the key cylinder on the trunk (near the license plate lights), cant remember which direction to turn, but if you turn the key and pull the trunk latch it will open the trunk. You can use a standard allen key to open/close the top latch.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Originally Posted by Yomama604
Thank you. The keyhole for the trunk is hidden pretty well. I was able to open the trunk and of course there is no 6MM allen wrench required for latching LoL. I used a generic one was able to lock the roof. I did notice the hydraulic tank is basically empty. Before I take it to the dealer, I am going to refill it and try to determine how bad the leak is.
Is it as simple as adding generic hydraulic fluid with a turkey baster?
Cool, glad you were able to get access.
Febi Bilstein for Mercedes 2Lt Hydraulic Fluid for Suspension and Convertible https://a.co/d/1EmJx8P
That is the correct fluid, a few other brands make it, if you google you should be able to find the equivalent. I used a syringe and vacuum tube, a baster should work to get fluid in.
It appears to have a massive hydraulic leak and was wondering if there was a DIY to help determine if i need to replace the motor or how to find the leak. Here is what is happening. The roof went from working to not working. I filled the hydraulic reservoir, tried to open the roof and it only unlatches. There is whirring sound from the motor area. After only two attempts to operate the roof the reservoir is empty.
Top Hydraulics, Inc. has a great series of videos on how to replace all of the cylinders. The usual suspects are the top latch and/or the main lift cylinders, as you've not had hydraulic fluid squirt all over your interior, its probably the latter. You can manually open the top and inspect all of the cylinders with relative ease. Unfortunately replacing the main lift cylinders is kind of a PITA, but definitely DIY-able. I replaced all 7 on my mom's 05 cabrio last year in the driveway, it's a solid weekend project.
Thanks. I just watched the main lyft cylinder video (chapter 3). Boy you're not kidding, that is pretty involved. I would hate to go thru all that trouble to discover that is not the problem. What plan of action would you recommend? What should I rule out first and in what order?
Any sense how much a dealer would charge to replace the main cylinder it if they discovered that to be the issue?
Top Hydraulics, Inc. has a great series of videos on how to replace all of the cylinders. The usual suspects are the top latch and/or the main lift cylinders, as you've not had hydraulic fluid squirt all over your interior, its probably the latter. You can manually open the top and inspect all of the cylinders with relative ease. Unfortunately replacing the main lift cylinders is kind of a PITA, but definitely DIY-able. I replaced all 7 on my mom's 05 cabrio last year in the driveway, it's a solid weekend project.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Originally Posted by Yomama604
Thanks. I just watched the main lyft cylinder video (chapter 3). Boy you're not kidding, that is pretty involved. I would hate to go thru all that trouble to discover that is not the problem. What plan of action would you recommend? What should I rule out first and in what order?
Any sense how much a dealer would charge to replace the main cylinder it if they discovered that to be the issue?
If you open the tonneau cover and the rear window (bow I think mercedes calls it?) is up, you can see all 6 of the rear cylinders without taking anything apart. I think it is step 1 on the main lift video, removing the top/upper bolt. You should be able to see the bottoms of the cylinders from there as well, if it's wet/oily down there, you have a leak. The "void" there goes all the way into the cabin and you can see the bottom of the cylinders.
I never got a quote, but I'd assume you're looking at $2-3k pretty easily at an independent mechanic for the remanufactured parts and labor. Sky's the limit for new parts and labor at a dealer.
If you open the tonneau cover and the rear window (bow I think mercedes calls it?) is up, you can see all 6 of the rear cylinders without taking anything apart. I think it is step 1 on the main lift video, removing the top/upper bolt. You should be able to see the bottoms of the cylinders from there as well, if it's wet/oily down there, you have a leak. The "void" there goes all the way into the cabin and you can see the bottom of the cylinders.
I never got a quote, but I'd assume you're looking at $2-3k pretty easily at an independent mechanic for the remanufactured parts and labor. Sky's the limit for new parts and labor at a dealer.
I manually opened the roof and what are the odds. It's the cylinder with the arrow in your picture. Driver side. It looks like it exploded. It's in two pieces
with loose metal attached to it. Now I have to figure out if I am up to taking the backseat/panels and air bag out to replace it. I'm wondering what could have caused it. I did notice(I don't know what they are called) that one of the plastic pieces that closes around the hinges for the rear cover seems broken. It's broken on the same side as the broken cylinder. The passenger and driver side were in two different positions(down on the driver side, up on the passenger .
Everybody agree the cylinder I circled is this part: Left Soft Top Compartment Cover Lid Cylinder - A2098001272
Here are some pictures:
Originally Posted by crazy00c230k
If you open the tonneau cover and the rear window (bow I think mercedes calls it?) is up, you can see all 6 of the rear cylinders without taking anything apart. I think it is step 1 on the main lift video, removing the top/upper bolt. You should be able to see the bottoms of the cylinders from there as well, if it's wet/oily down there, you have a leak. The "void" there goes all the way into the cabin and you can see the bottom of the cylinders.
I never got a quote, but I'd assume you're looking at $2-3k pretty easily at an independent mechanic for the remanufactured parts and labor. Sky's the limit for new parts and labor at a dealer.
Last edited by Yomama604; Jun 25, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
I reached out to Top Hydraulics this morning to confirm part numbers and was pleasantly surprised how quickly they responded. Even more surprised that the response was from Klaus Witte, the same Klaus from the videos. Here is what he said:
Thanks for asking. The damaged cylinder is p/n 2098000772. Unfortunately, the cylinder cannot be rebuilt and it has a reduced core value.
The reason these cylinders can explode on the bottom is because the manufacturer underestimated the effect of pressure spikes in the system. The bottom of the cylinder, around the mounting hole is the weakest spot. We reinforce that bottom part during our rebuild process, which has a perfect track record so far out of many thousands shipped. Pressure spikes happen when there is air in the system after some initial leaks from one of the seven cylinders in the system.
In your case, you clearly want to replace at least both main lift cylinders 2098000772 and 2098000872. The matching 2098000872 on the passenger side would be leaking soon, anyway, plus you want to avoid it exploding on you and losing almost all core value on it. The parts shipping from our inventory first are $250/ea plus $200/ea deposit. We refund the deposit in full after we receive back the matching parts without serious damage to the metal parts. We would still refund $50 on the exploded core.
If you are planning to keep the car, then it would be wise to deal with all seven cylinders at the same time because the package deal at $1200 plus $900 deposit saves you money, plus you save a lot of labor and aggravation. The core refund in this case would be $750 with the only damage being one exploded cylinder core.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Yeah, Claus was very helpful when I went through this as well. I totally agree that if you're changing one of the main lift cylinders that you should change both while you're in there. The amount of extra work to get to one vs both is pretty negligible, having to re-do all the work when the second one inevitably fails will be far worse. The other 4 are (relative to the main lift cylinders) pretty easy to access and IMO could be done separately with little to no repetition of work (outside of having to manually open the top and open the valves again). That being said, I ended up doing all 7 just because I didn't want to risk any more failures while out and about (it's my mom's car so the additional $ was worth the piece of mind).
Those stupid little switch/tab things were broken on my mom's car as well, as far as I know it's very common. Have never read anything about it causing any issues.
I am leaning towards doing both as you and Klaus suggest. I'm a little worried the seats, weather stripping, trim etc is going to be tough to put back and won't look right or the airbags will have issues. Did you have any such problems?
How much time do you think it will take to do both?
Originally Posted by crazy00c230k
Yeah, Claus was very helpful when I went through this as well. I totally agree that if you're changing one of the main lift cylinders that you should change both while you're in there. The amount of extra work to get to one vs both is pretty negligible, having to re-do all the work when the second one inevitably fails will be far worse. The other 4 are (relative to the main lift cylinders) pretty easy to access and IMO could be done separately with little to no repetition of work (outside of having to manually open the top and open the valves again). That being said, I ended up doing all 7 just because I didn't want to risk any more failures while out and about (it's my mom's car so the additional $ was worth the piece of mind).
Those stupid little switch/tab things were broken on my mom's car as well, as far as I know it's very common. Have never read anything about it causing any issues.
2000 c230 kompressor special edition, 2012 E550 coupe (sold), 2017 C63 sedan (sold), 2018 C63S Coupe
Originally Posted by Yomama604
I am leaning towards doing both as you and Klaus suggest. I'm a little worried the seats, weather stripping, trim etc is going to be tough to put back and won't look right or the airbags will have issues. Did you have any such problems?
How much time do you think it will take to do both?
I didn't have any issues really. Disconnected the battery, let the car chill for 20-30 minutes before touching the airbags. The rear "door" panels were the most frustrating part that I can remember. For your sanity, there are torx bolts in the top of the panel where the wind buffer/screen thing can attach. They are black against a black trim piece, difficult to see and weren't mentioned in any tutorial I was able to find. I probably spent 20 minutes trying to carefully remove them wondering why the heck they weren't going anywhere.
I'd set aside a full day to do the main lift cylinders. 4 - 6 hours is probably a reasonable estimate. I was on the higher side of that, but also took the opportunity to clean up the seats while I had them apart, so that took some time.
Last edited by crazy00c230k; Jun 26, 2022 at 12:26 AM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
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