TheSaint

Great if any of my fellow members here can take a look on how the left side and right side tension wedge is placed on the trunk lid on your SL`s and give me a quick answer so i know if i have placed the ones on my car the correct way

I just replaced the micro switch for the handle on the trunk lid on my 2003 SL R230 and when installing the trunk lid carpet and parts i noticed the tension wedges on my SL might be sitting the wrong way/turned the wrong way.

When closing the trunk lid as far as you can watching how the tension wedges close down in the trunk it looks to me like they should be turned the other way (Which i did as you can see on the 2 lower pictures)

Late last night before i went to bed i found this diagram showing the right side tension wedge (Part 50)

Here is a picture of the left side tension wedge before i turned it with the tension wedge inside the red circle


Here is a picture of the right side tension wedge before i turned it with the tension wedge inside the red circle







The 2 pictures below shows the left side and right side tension wedge after i turned them around so does any members here know if this is the correct orientation/way the tension wedges should sit?


Left side tension wedge after i have turned it to what i think is the correct way





Right side tension wedge after i have turned it to what i think is the correct way





Drawing showing the right side tension wedge. This right side tension wedge on this drawing looks more like the tension wedges sit on my car after i turned them.

as.thompson

I checked my 2005 R230 to see if I could help. But those parts on my '05 don't look anything like the pictures that you show on your car. They must have changed the design of those parts from 03 to 05 Sorry I can't help.

TheSaint

But thanks a lot for taking the time to check

Frederick NL

On my 2005

MikeJ65

The new orientation is correct. They are often installed incorrectly, either flipped, sides swapped, or both. They do have the P/N, so you can double check which side it goes on. The wedge is supposed to be vertical with the trunk closed.

A1EK

I just go with the R and L that are printed on them, I made the same error when I removed them once, just keep L-Left and R-Right, try and use the paint wear mark as reference point to exact position. Once you have them correctly, there are little lines to use as datums for final alignment, use a paint pen to mark the final resting place for future reference.

TheSaint

Frederick NL thanks for posting the pictures but it looks like the wedges on your car is the facelift type that only sit with 1 screw
Also the part that the wedges strike against in the trunk is different from the ones on my car
But even if you have the updated wedges on your car it looks like they are placed the oppsoite way to the the wedges on my car after i turned them. Have i turned them the wrong way around?
Yours are pointing inwards but my turned ones are facin backwards. The opposite way to the wedges on my car afte i turned them around
The type of wedges on my car i think was used from 2002-04 and a updated wedge from 2005 and newer SL R230

I am not sure that i have put the "wedges" on my SL on the correct way but to me it seems like this is how they are supposed to sit so that is why i hope some other members here can post pictures on how they sit on their cars

A1EK. If you have the same type of wedges hat sits on my car (both sith fastened with 2 T30 torx scews) but even if the wedge is marked left and right hand side you can easy put them on backwards
As i said i did not notice the wedges before after i had replaced the micros switch and connector pins on my car
After thinking they where sitting the wrong way i took the right side wedge and turned that and then i turned the left side wedge as well because they looked to fit better this way.

Looking how they "strike/touch" when closing the trunk/boot lid makes me think that they are supposed to sit like on the pictures

Also when looking at the right hand side wedge on the drawing from Mercedes it looks to me like the right side wedge is shown the same way as after i turned the left side and right side wedge on my car


This is the way the left side wedge sit after i turned them on my SL R230




This is the way the right side wedge sit after i turned them on my SL R230




If i am not wrong the right side wedge (see the red arrow) sit the same way as the wedge on my car






The left side receiver that sit in the trunk/boot for the left side wedge on my car





The right side receiver that sit in the trunk/boot for the right side wedge on my car

TheSaint

Arghh. Now after looking at the receivers in the trunk opening on my car i start to wonder if i have turned thewedges/stoppers the wrong way.....

herpderp

Thanks for this thread. I had to take mine off when I was fixing something and am not 100% sure I put them back on the right way.

as.thompson

With parts removal & re-installation a good procedure is to take pictures of it before removal. That certainly helps a lot on installation. Unfortunately you are past that possibility. Good luck!

TheSaint

If there is anything i have always done when working on my cars is to take pictures on how special parts sit before i take it off This is a very good advice

I did take pictures of the tension wedges before i took them off and they where pointing the oher way.

I turned them after looking at how they met the "strikers/stoppers" in the trunk lid and thought they where installed the wrong way but now i am not really sure.

Looking at the "strikers/stoppers" where the wedges touch i am starting to think i might have turned them the wrong way. But then it is the drawing from Mercedes that shows the right side wedge sitting like the way i turned them

TheSaint

Thanks a lot for telling me Mike J65 So then i was correct that the tension wedges (trunk lid stoppers i guess i a more correct name) was installed the wrong way on my car and that they sit the correct way now after i turned them

I can not believe that i did not catch what you said here before now. I guess i was to hang up in pictures showing the tension wedges here

As MikeJ65 wrote about the tension wedges that they are often installed incorrectly is absolute correct since i called 2 different car dealers that had the same year Mercedes SL R230 for sale and asked if they could take picture of the tension wedges on the cars and MMS the pictures to me which they where nice enought to do and these 2 cars of the same year had the tension wedges pointing in different postitions

Also a friend of mine that have an Mercedes SL R230 took pictures of the trunk lid showing the tension wedges on his car and the left side pointing to the front and right side side tension wedges pointing to the back on his car..

But now i am done with tension wedges/trunk lid stoppers...

TheSaint

Here is a picture showing the tension wedge from inside the trunk with the trunk lid is closed.
This is the correct orientation of the left side and right side tension wedges as far as i can tell.

yovenim

Currently rebuilding my 58 hinge towers and have one cleaned, painted and reassembled with new springs. To me, this is a dangerous and extremely difficult undertaking. Prior to starting, I found very little search info on this forum, NCRS archives and the C1 Servicing Guide. Would like to incorporate "How To Rebuild Hinge Towers" in my currently ongoing 58 Restoration Thread. Let me say that I personally would not recommend taking this task on unless I had weak or broken spring(s) or maybe I just didn't know the right "tricks or tips" to make it safer and easier to do. I am soliciting input right now and have the following questions:

Can you replace the springs without removing the towers from the car? If so, how in the world did you do it?
Anyone know the differences for 53-55 and 61-62 versus the 56-60?
Any pictures of special tools and/or jigs?

A1EK

This video may help you, it shows my stops before I removed,
Check 0:52 secs and 2.55 were the L and R is printed on the reverse/

Hope it helps.