Just got a 1996 SL500 with 67,000 on the odometer. I'm really excited and love the car!


There are lots of little things that need to be done, and I'm hoping you all can help. I've been lurking for the past few days but figured I'd make this and just ask for help regarding a few issues
- I have a car interior listed as "parchment" and am looking for interior trim pieces, mainly,
- those stupid sun visor mounts
- the trim that covers the rear defroster (that you unplug to take off the hard top)
- rear fuse cover
Does this mean its an entirely different color from the Beige and tan colors? I haven't found anything listing the pieces as parchment

- I just replaced the incredibly old headlight bulbs with Xenons (i had to take the entire driver assembly off, drill a screw into the back of the old bulb and yank it out lol)

but the lights are still incredibly dim and very focused, like I have two flashlights strapped to the hood of my car. Anyone know of this issue, what I can do? Is it possible that the bulb housing in the actual assembly is clouded or dirty? If so can I fix it or does it need to be replaced? Also the left parking light is out, is it a pretty easy fix? I'm planning on getting a bulb and trying today/tomorrow.

- The stereo is driving me nuts
- The antenna motor works but wont catch the antenna track, and every time I turn the car on or off I hear it struggling to try to do its job, but nothing happens.
- Does anyone have the mounting depth of the speakers, or of the speaker assembly for the doors, I want to replace the headunit and speakers but don't want to have to make new mounts for the speakers.

- Does anyone have any experience with lowering their car height? what did it do to the suspension? I'm not going to bag the car, so it'd be coilovers, but I dont want to sacrifice the "luxury roadster" ride comfort, though I would like steering to be tighter and for the car to sit about an inch lower.

Thanks everyone!

 

My cars have H&R lowering springs.

 

How do the H&R springs feel, does it affect the stiffness of the ride? Any noticeable differences?

 

If these tiny issues are the top of the list, WOW!. what a find!! Sunvisor pivot arm trim can be found on this forum vendors or by a Google search. They are 3-D printed. NLA from MBZ. Look on EBAY, ?? for other interior and exterior plastic parts.
Headlights have always been no-good and there are several good upgrades available. Research the issue.
Lowering springs are easy as long as you do not have the 'ADS' hydro-pneumatic computer controlled hydraulic suspension called ADS (which DOES provide fantastic ride and handling quality)

 

Thanks, carwcar really is in amazing condition. i wish I had researched lights before beforeb buying and fitting them. I don't even know what to call the trim for the rear defroster to be honest. and my car has ASR but I dunno about ADS. if it does have ADS is there anything I can do to tighten up steering a bit, the wheel has a bit of wiggle to it and I'd like it to be more crisp.

​​​​​​thanks

 

ASR is 'mercedes' for Automatic Slip Reduction or Stability Control. Different models, years had different components etc of course--remember, ENGINEERS always search for "BETTER' ways to do things. ASR first reduces engine power, then applies the individual brakes to bring the car back to the intended course (as determined by steering wheel rotation, etc.) Of course this complicates ABS tremendously requiring a much more complicated ABS/ASR actuator and miles of plumbing in addition to individual wheel rotation speed sensors, vehicle acceleration sensors front, rear, center, etc.

You should expect hydraulic cylinders in the convertible top mechanism to start leaking any day now. They 'age-out.' and after-market rebuild of yours off-site is the way to go. If you do the work, cylinder rebuild is roughly $1000. A Dealer job of $15,000 would be about right.

As far as steering play. I am not familiar with that as an issue. Look for a loose steering coupling or worn tie rods or ball joints. Sometimes a loose wheel bearing, Some tires are prone to 'railroad tracking.' Tires and alignment are often the cure. . Not enough CASTER (which causes self centering) will cause 'twitchiness'

IF you had ADS you would know because of the dash 'RIDE CONTROL switch.

 

This goes out to the original poster. For starts, your car most likely doesn't have ADS. That is a suspension feature found on SL600s and rarely on SL500s, if ever. The top hydraulics will eventually need replacing. When one goes it's best to replace them all. Check out Top Hydraulic's website for parts. They sell hydraulic kits. If you don't work on your car then find a good indy mechanic. Shop around and see if they will let you bring your own parts. And, if the mechanic charges more than $1500 for the top hydraulic replacement labor then that's too much so keep looking. You'll find a good one. NEVER take your car to a MB dealer for service unless you're rich. $15,000 to replace the top hydraulics is ridiculous. Finally. search EBay for parts. You'll find some good deals. Good luck with the new car.

 

Thanks everyone. I know im slow on the learning curve, never owned a luxury car before. Thanks for the heads up about the top hydraulics, so far the top works great except theres a tear in the rear window stitching. For now I just wanna get it looking and sounding clean. There are paint swirls and whoever did the touch up paint on the rock chips globbed on the paint and I used to detail but only by hand, I think this will need some buffer to get out.

Few more question for anyone thats done any audio swap, what is the mounting depth of the Bose woofers and mids? I really like a 3-way component but critchfield says it wont fit and frankly I dont wanna rip my door off to figure it out.
Also does anyone know the part number or name of the trim piece that covers the cable that needs to be disconnected to remove the hardtop, or the pn/ name of the rear fuse box cover?

 

The H&R springs are same spring rate as factory they don't affect the ride.

 

Classic Trim Parts in Buffalo NY manufactures many replacement plastic parts for the r129. Nice people too!

 

that's great news! only problem now is getting them

 

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-h-and-r-...ing-set/29853/

 

when you installed your springs did you put them over the OEM struts or replace those as well?

 

Our cars don't have struts so you can just replace the factory springs, I did put Bilstein B6 shocks on my 98 they keep the car flat in the corners the ride is a little stiffer too,

 

Thanks! I don't want anything to compromise the ride quality, and my ignorance about this car is now glaringly obvious not knowing they dont have struts, ugh.

 

Put the springs on and a new set of Bilstein B4 shocks and the ride will be good.