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Not to resurrect an 18 month old thread (I’m sorry) but I fixed mine today for a grand total of $5.
Lowes sells screen door springs, to keep the wind from ripping the doors off the hinges. $4.48
I disposed of the chain and the spring itself JUST fits over the gas cylinder. I added a fender washer (25 cents) and a small hose clamp (already in my toolbox) and the results are attached.
And the beauty of this is by moving the clamp in or out you can adjust the spring tension.
Took me longer to find the hose clamp than to make the repair!
Not to resurrect an 18 month old thread (I’m sorry) but I fixed mine today for a grand total of $5.
Lowes sells screen door springs, to keep the wind from ripping the doors off the hinges. $4.48
I disposed of the chain and the spring itself JUST fits over the gas cylinder. I added a fender washer (25 cents) and a small hose clamp (already in my toolbox) and the results are attached.
And the beauty of this is by moving the clamp in or out you can adjust the spring tension.
Took me longer to find the hose clamp than to make the repair!
Link to Lowe’s piece https://www.lowes.com/pd/WRIGHT-PROD...-Stop/50102496
Shade-tree mechanicing is still alive and well. Great solution!
The spring is a nice solution, and great that you can adjust the tension. I replaced mine a few months ago using the lift supports depot strut, now it works a little too well! The latch on mine is a little worn down, so if I bump the lid wrong it will pop open.
I had the spring in my hand at the Lowes store but realized my latch is also broken and putting the spring on would only lead to having the lid open all the time. Now we need to find a DIY repair for the latch.
2005 R 230 SL350 (M112 3.7). Sold the 1966 W113 230SL recently
Brilliant. Cheap, not taking into account the cost of growing and maintaining a genius mind. Makes one wonder why MB used a gas strut anyway, since it is known to be a limited lifetime part. Perhaps because a gas strut has a linear force between A en B? How does the steel spring travel 'feel'?
Second on the spring fix, works great. If I really had to nitpick, it “feels” like a gas strut but mine makes a very slight spring noise. I told my wife to listen to it and she thinks I’m crazy. It could be moving ever so slightly but if you open it normally you don’t hear it.
Well I have replaced my worn out gas strut for a new one.
This strut seems to be available from several sources, not just WDS in the UK, and quite cheap at about £12 ($20)
You also need an M6 with dia 6mm hole clevis. It needs to be as short as possible, but 24mm is about standard size.
It was almost direct replacement, I had to cut down the fork clevis that fitted to one end with a hacksaw and then cleaned it with a file.
I cut about 2mm too much off!
Then needed to release gas from the valve, so that it would move up and down easily, and stay up. Very easy to do.
Here are the results
Total time, including cutting the clevis fork, about 1 hour.
I was so happy to see this information BUT then I realized that the housing part of my console was broken. Anyone know how to remove this part? I found the two screws behind the lid. It's the forward part of the mount that I need help with.
Edit: I loosened the two torx screws behind the two tiny holes but that doesn't seem to give me any progress.
Last edited by gwcrim; Jan 26, 2022 at 11:30 AM.
Reason: update
I was so happy to see this information BUT then I realized that the housing part of my console was broken. Anyone know how to remove this part? I found the two screws behind the lid. It's the forward part of the mount that I need help with.
Edit: I loosened the two torx screws behind the two tiny holes but that doesn't seem to give me any progress.
Thanks for the reply. I had already looked at that .pdf. In fact, by now I have the whole console removed for a head unit installation. That top plastic trim doesn't seem to be removable. And I'm the kind of person who can take anything apart. (Getting things back together is a whole other issue.)
Funny thing is that when I took the console box loose and looked under it, I found the little broken piece! Now I just have to figure out how best to reattach it.
2005 R 230 SL350 (M112 3.7). Sold the 1966 W113 230SL recently
There's always 2 component epoxy but I had nice results with clear glue that is activated with the UV led that comes with it. A German brand is called: UHU led light booster. An advantage is that there is no time limit to your fiddling the pieces straight. As long as there's no UV the stuff keeps acting watery. A few seconds UV and you've got a stone hard bonding (ask yer dentist).
This stuff works great on all plastics. The glue is just regular superglue (cyanoacrylate); the activator is the magic that makes it work with plastic.
I bought one of these kits years ago and still have the activator; I've used it with all types/brands of cyanoacrylate successfully.
To remove the top plastic trim you need to pull the trim out sideways from the tray. There are delicate pins that will break if you pull straight up. When I removed mine I simply applied painters tape over the latch hole, applied epoxy from the back sides, then removed the tape and filed accordingly after epoxy set.
I was so happy to see this information BUT then I realized that the housing part of my console was broken. Anyone know how to remove this part? I found the two screws behind the lid. It's the forward part of the mount that I need help with.
Edit: I loosened the two torx screws behind the two tiny holes but that doesn't seem to give me any progress.
I had the same thing on mine, the black plastic was broken off, without it the lid won't stay closed, the latch has nothing to hold on to. I used a piece of black plastic, cut it to size, and glued on top using 2-component glue...issue solved.
This spring hack was genius. It works perfectly on my 2004 SL500. Use the Wright brand spring as suggested in his thread. It fit correctly but others don't. Make sure you overextend the console cover while opening to fully relax the strut prior to modifying and do the same while installing the modifed strut. It is very unlikely that this will ever fail again after adding the spring.
Originally Posted by Jim Muller
Not to resurrect an 18 month old thread (I’m sorry) but I fixed mine today for a grand total of $5.
Lowes sells screen door springs, to keep the wind from ripping the doors off the hinges. $4.48
I disposed of the chain and the spring itself JUST fits over the gas cylinder. I added a fender washer (25 cents) and a small hose clamp (already in my toolbox) and the results are attached.
And the beauty of this is by moving the clamp in or out you can adjust the spring tension.
Took me longer to find the hose clamp than to make the repair!
I think the only significant difference is the original allows the box to open a little further (see my original pictures).
The clevis on the original is welded on.
Does anyone have a part number and/or source for that replacement hydraulic lift? I’m in USA and I never knew that the lid was supposed to stay up. Lol.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
it is an exact match for size....
