SL/R129: Cannot unlatch soft top on 1990 SL500
03-09-2019, 10:40 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Cannot unlatch soft top on 1990 SL500
Hello,
I'm new to the forum and new to Mercedes ownership. In fact, I just purchased the car on Thursday. Here's the issue. The soft top is still up. Both of the hydraulic rams for the front latches are blown so I can't drop the top with the switch. I've manually unlatched everything except the front drivers side. The bolt that opens that latch manually is sheared off. Does anyone have any possible solutions? It's worth noting that the top is probably in need of replacing anyway so if there is a way to get the latch open by cutting the top I might have to do that. Thanks.
I'm new to the forum and new to Mercedes ownership. In fact, I just purchased the car on Thursday. Here's the issue. The soft top is still up. Both of the hydraulic rams for the front latches are blown so I can't drop the top with the switch. I've manually unlatched everything except the front drivers side. The bolt that opens that latch manually is sheared off. Does anyone have any possible solutions? It's worth noting that the top is probably in need of replacing anyway so if there is a way to get the latch open by cutting the top I might have to do that. Thanks.
03-10-2019, 10:24 AM
#2
Banned
I would drill out as much of what remains of the sheared "bolt" in hopes that this adequately destroys the latch to allow you to pull the roof up and out. If that fails, then I would cut away the canvas roof to expose the top frame and cut it away.
If your efforts leave you in need of a latch or a roof frame, I can put you in touch with a friend with a parts car. Send a PM if interested.
If your efforts leave you in need of a latch or a roof frame, I can put you in touch with a friend with a parts car. Send a PM if interested.
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MrSpeedypants (03-10-2019)
03-10-2019, 08:40 PM
#3
These are just my thoughts on approaching a fix to this.
I would only cut the top as a last resort, you don't want to risk damaging the frame across the front of the top. I don't recall what size of the allen head bolt for the manual release, but I would use a drill bit size at least half the diameter of the bolt. Go with a good quality carbide bit. If you can get a hole drilled into it, you might see if you can lodge a screw or small bolt into the hole and unlatch the lock. Get someone to push down on the top above that lock, as you try and unlatch the lock. Mine takes very little force to unlock manually. If you can find a diagram of the lock, you can see just how the bolt works to release the locking piece. Fortunately these locks can still be found, unlike a lot of parts for these cars. I always try and find a solution for the problem before I ruin a part.
I would only cut the top as a last resort, you don't want to risk damaging the frame across the front of the top. I don't recall what size of the allen head bolt for the manual release, but I would use a drill bit size at least half the diameter of the bolt. Go with a good quality carbide bit. If you can get a hole drilled into it, you might see if you can lodge a screw or small bolt into the hole and unlatch the lock. Get someone to push down on the top above that lock, as you try and unlatch the lock. Mine takes very little force to unlock manually. If you can find a diagram of the lock, you can see just how the bolt works to release the locking piece. Fortunately these locks can still be found, unlike a lot of parts for these cars. I always try and find a solution for the problem before I ruin a part.
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MrSpeedypants (03-11-2019)
03-11-2019, 11:04 AM
#4
Newbie
Thread Starter
Done!
Mission accomplished! thanks to you both! Upon further studying, I realized that cutting through the roof would not have given me access to the latch anyway. It had to be drilled out. I went through 6 drill bits and it took the afternoon yesterday but I was able to drill it out. For anyone who's curious, I began w 1/4". It took 4 of those to get through the latch and then I had to step up 2 more sizes to get the top loose.
