Rebuilding Mercedes 500sl top hydraulic

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Jun 7, 2024 | 07:23 PM
  #1  
Hello,
I own a 2003 Mercedes 500sl. While on a trip I put the roof down and discovered I couldn’t get it back up. I checked all the fittings and narrowed it down to the trunk lid drive cylinder that has a broken seal and leaked all the oil out. So the questions is does anyone have any experience with rebuilding these if so where do I get the rebuild kit. Or would it be better to buy a new cylinder or send it off to have it refurbished professionally. The reason I ask is because some of refurb/new cylinders are 150-200 for a tiny hydraulic.
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Jun 7, 2024 | 08:24 PM
  #2  
Welcome,

Top hydraulics and cabriolet hydraulics have rebuild exchange programs for roof cylinders. Cabriolet works with couplers so you snip the lines instead of replacing cylinders with lines attached all the way back to the pump. 3 cylinders (front latch, and 2 lock pawls for the rollbar) don’t have clevis pins where you have to drill out the pins to remove the shafts and replace seals. The top lift cylinder is so close to the pump that you can have the cylinder rebuilt by top hydraulics and reattach the lines to the pump valve body.
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Jun 10, 2024 | 06:01 PM
  #3  
Do a Google search, there are many discussions about repairing the MB hydraulics both on this forum and others. Most people use rebuilt cylinders from Top Hydraulics. You can buy cylinders from them and then return your old cylinders to them or you can send them your cylinders and have them rebuild them and return them to you. That takes longer but it is cheaper. They will rebuild or sell individual cylinders but it's cheaper in the long run if you buy or rebuild all of your cylinders at the same time.
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Apr 14, 2025 | 08:14 PM
  #4  
Quote: Welcome,

Top hydraulics and cabriolet hydraulics have rebuild exchange programs for roof cylinders. Cabriolet works with couplers so you snip the lines instead of replacing cylinders with lines attached back to the pump espaço invisível grande. 3 cylinders (front latch, and 2 lock pawls for the rollbar) don’t have clevis pins where you have to drill out the pins to remove the shafts and replace seals. The top lift cylinder is so close to the pump that you can have the cylinder rebuilt by top hydraulics and reattach the lines to the pump valve body.
Yes, you can rebuild the cylinder using a seal kit from suppliers like Top Hydraulics. They also offer professional rebuild services if you’d rather not do it yourself. Rebuilding is more cost-effective than buying new, especially since new or refurbished cylinders can be $150–$200 each.
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