Hello, I currently own a 03 S430 and need to replace the door door lock actuator and am having a hard time removing it from the the door frame itself. Can you please help?

 

This is a good starting point for W220 repairs:
https://www.benzworld.org/threads/w2...quent.1508080/

Here is the second major starting point for repairs:
https://w220.ee/

Each of these is basically an encyclopedia, so you will need to start at the beginning and drill down to get to the articles on your specific problem. I suggest that you bookmark each of these.

 

Jose,

The one step no one posted is

You need to drill out the RIVETS of the bracket that holds the window glass. It is a 4.8m rivet so you need a bit that can remove that rivet. There is another metal bracket you can drill out those rivets.
Once you drill out the rivets
The Window bracket metal bar will slide to the right about 3-4 inches
That gives you enough room to pull your Actuator out.

Order some rivets off https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/category-s/769.htm
They sell the actual rivets for window regulator slides for Mercedes/BMW etc

I had experience taking out 5 actuators because I went to the junk yard and removed from 5 drivers doors. First one was hard since I was frustrated on how to remove then I realized I need a drill to get that job done easy.

Get a Drill, it works fast to take that 4.8m rivet out.

 

Can I just lift along on this thread? I'm having this situation on my '03 s350 atm; only the driver door soft close is working, other doors and trunk nothing although on the passenger side I can hear what sounds like the lock but no closing action. Lock and unlock works fine everywhere and as fast as usual. What does this point to? First thing to do?

 

Kammie - The soft close, along with locks, trunk release and close, headrest raise/lower, and on some cars, seat massage, are all powered by a pneumatic pump. It's a common part across models and years, costs about $700 from Mercedes and has to be programmed for the individual model and options when it is installed.

That pump is protected by a fuse under the rear seat, and by its own software. If a branch of the pneumatic system takes too long to respond, the pump shuts down that circuit to protect the pump itself from burnout for running too long and overheating.

If the fuse blows, none of those features will work. If some of the features work, then the pump is getting power, but it may have shut down a branch. Pulling and resetting the fuse will reset the protection feature and allow the pump to operate a leaking circuit, but at the risk of overheating the pump again. So, I don't recommend repeated resets of the fuse to reset the protection system.

If you've got some pneumatic features that work, and some that don't, then the repair is to locate and correct the leaks in the line and actuator for that circuit. Could be a broken pneumatic line, or, quite commonly, the actuator itself is leaking.

The trunk, for example, has the lock and soft close and the "pucks" in the actuator get old and start leaking. The Pump shuts down the trunk circuit (as explained above) and the fix in this example is to repair that leaky actuator. The part is about $375 from Mercedes, but some owners have been able to repair just the puck itself.

A good hand-held vacuum pump and the Mercedes DAS/Xentry system to communicate with the pump (it will tell you what circuits it has shut down and why) are recommended for troubleshooting. Sometimes, you can hear "hissing" in a failing actuator as it moves, in a door lock, for example. It's a pain to troubleshoot, but once the repair is complete, and the leak fixed, you can enjoy all those things - soft close, locking, etc. again.

 

Thanks for the breakdown, you tell it more clearly than the encyclopedias. What a brilliant system tho, had no idea the pump is protected this way. So worst case I need 3 door actuators and 1 for the trunk and best case just hook up a couple lines. Gonna drive by my shop and do a scan before replacing everything.

 

Yep. Until you check each circuit, it’s just a guess. Troubleshooting takes a while. But it’s so worth it.

Replacing even a single actuator is quite expensive (parts & labor) so, you really don’t want to guess.

Imagine how you would feel if it wasn’t the actuator after all, and it was just a broken line.

 

there is an 'actuator' in each door. If the other doors are working safe bet its the actuator. None of mine were working and it was the vacuum pump. Replaced and all good.

 

good deal indeed. I got two, completely rebuilt, for $360. They even look new. Installed one, works perfect and I have a spare.

 

battery under the hood or trunk??

 

This is the W220 Forum - you need to be posting in the W221 Forum.