I joined this forum just to publish the repair i made on a clients car. I searched a lot for repairs and found nothing so I just did it myself after some thinking and tweaking.
So any R230 driver knows the systems that were great in first ten years are not so great today. The clients SL350 I just repaired only had 48k miles on it! The centre console catch had snapped off and the piece was of course nowhere to be found, not to mention that fact it would be too small to affix back anyway. So what I did was simply remove the lid and the first tray and examined them together. My repair is super easy and should hopefully help someone else.
I removed the tywo screws inside the rear face of the compartment and pulled up the rear armrest. Under there is the most over the top mechanism I have seen so far! Its a lid for freaks sake!. Anyway I diconnected the plug for the phone module and then using a set of expanding clamps prised apart the metal sides until the lid came free. Takes only five minutes to having the lid in your hand.
The over to the bench. What I did was drill a 2.5mm hole about 10mm into the broken catch stub. I then formed a panel nail into a hook and glued that into place. The first tray is also the catch receiver for the top lid so aligning those back up allows you to set the height of the hook catch. Once done I let the epoxy set up and then gave the hook a light coat of black paint. I put it all back in the car and a month later my client says it is still working great.
Under the rear armrest. The top and first tray after repair The repair utilising a simple nail, Note the angles. This allows the catch to close as it did. 2.5mm hole drill in 10mm Drilling at a constant angle is important else you could burst through the side. The lock pawl in position.
Greetings from Melbourne Australia.
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+1 on the modification. Brilliant.
I've worked out how to get the console lid off now. My issue is that the tab you lift up with your fingers has become dislodged on one side so I need to take the actual lid itself apart to repair it.
How does the inner plastic assembly of the lid itself separate from the outer leather cover?
I cannot see how to separate the two and don't want to break anything.
Does anyone knows how remove te plastic to acess the upper latch . The a site the octoclassic the sell the two lachts the upper and the lower
i cant remove the plastic to acess the upper latch on the armrest on sl r 230
BACKSTORY: So I have this on my 05. The car is pristine and only 48k miles. A true garage queen. :-) My father in law who owned the car (and was 85 years old) took it to the MB dealership to get the console fixed. He had arthritis real bad in his hands and couldn't get it open. It had this broken catch like you describe.
How much do you think the dealership wanted for the repair?
The dealership wanted $1,006 USD to repair the broken console latch. Seriously. I literally just looked at the paperwork about an hour ago. I swear I am not making up that figure.
Of course he did not do it. He was Scotch. When he passed, I got the car.
I will now perform the upgrade from cheapo bio-plastic to genuine finish nail. :-)
Does anyone knows how remove te plastic to acess the upper latch . The a site the octoclassic the sell the two lachts the upper and the lower
i cant remove the plastic to acess the upper latch on the armrest on sl r 230
When you open the armrest/lid there is 2 screws on pointing towards the rear (towards the plastic cover you want to remove) that sits right under the "hinge" to the armrest/lid
Does anyone knows how remove te plastic to acess the upper latch . i cant remove the plastic to acess the upper latch on the armrest on sl r 230.................
You have to take off the arm rest and split it apart with a lot of force. That glue is tenacious!
Split it bit by bit until it comes apart in two pieces. Do the repair and glue it all up
Thanks HatManSan for your thread. I fixed (2) 2003 or 2004 500SL center consoles by drilling a hole like you did. I inserted a tiny screw to fix that latch catcher. The other latch would not push its release down to the right level. So, I glued double stick pads under the bottom of the shelf to get the height to work.
See pics: I screwed that screw in until that head protrudes less than a ¼”. I used a 1/16” drill bit.
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