davezaristo

Could you open your hood and take a pic for me? I bought a slk grill thru ebay from some guy in germany and I can't close my hood after the installation. It appears that the hood latch is hitting against the top part of the grill. Anyway, I am planning to mod it myself since the seller is not responding to my email and i will definitely complain to both paypal and ebay. Any feedbacks or inputs from you guys would be awesome...thanks!

P.S. here's one of his auction...think twice before you buy

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33645

Madd_Scientist

Oh boy, that's not good.... because I just ordered one from this same guy myself on Ebay. He was doing really good about replying to questions and other e-mails BEFORE I bought it. Now, I can't get a reply from him to save my life.... and all I'm trying to do is find out which color he sent me. I guess I'll find out in a few days when it gets here.

All of his feedbacks though have been quite commendable (even the ones I've had to get translated from German-to-English), so I wonder what happened with yours.

I have a microsoft word document that has some VERY detailed instructions and pictures on the modification process. E-mail me at: gigene1@comcast.net if you would like a copy of these instructions, it has pictures of what it looks like with the hood up I believe.

davezaristo

Yeah, I bought it since he got all positive comments as well. However, I just left him the first negative comment and he replied by calling me stupid for not knowing how to install. Really, it only involves couple screws and it doen't take a rocket scientist for this if the grill is properly modded. In addition, I experienced similar situation which is very responsive BEFORE the purchase and slow or even no response afterward. All I am saying is good luck on your grill and hopefully it would fit.

Furthermore, my car has never gotten into an accident before so that rules out the possibility. In addition, I got some very detailed instruction off mbslk.de as well but if you have better ones, please send them to me at dave240@pacbell.net. If you would like to see pics of my install, let me know and i will be glad to email them to you so you know what to expect and why I complain that it doesn't fit.

jacques

I just received and installed the CLK grill today that I purchased from Daniel in Germany. The unit I received had a ~1.5 inch hole in the top above the star to allow for clearance of the hood latch. I have attached a picture (sorry it is not a complet view - it is snowing out today and I was in cramped quarters when i took the picture). I hope this helps.

Madd_Scientist

How does it fit though? Is it flush like it's supposed to be, and does the hood close properly without putting stress on points where it's not supposed to?

jacques

It appears to fit well. I don't see any contact points after the hood is closed. When you drop the hood, however, you will see a slight flex above the star because the bumpers must compress due to the force of the hood. The hood appears to be aligned properly at all points across the front.

davezaristo

jacques: I installed the same way (since for sure there's only 1 way) as you did but the latch does indeed land on top of the grill and it is hitting against it. Did you slam down on the hood and it fits okay? Me and couple of my friends all looked at it and it seems that there's no way it will fit unless the opening is large like this..

davezaristo

Here's how my install looks like..pls comment jacques

davezaristo

Notice if i press it anymore on the hood, it will break the grill...unless you are sayint that you can still slam on it and it won't break...

davezaristo

Also, my car has NEVER gotten into an accident just in case if you wonder that's the cause

jacques

I looked at my installation. The elbow (bend) in the hood latch fits into the hole in the grill. The lever portion is spaced above the grill top when fully closed. I cannot close the hood by gently resting it and then pressing down hard. It will only close if dropped from about 3-5 inches above the closed position. I suppose you could open up the hole above the star to provide greater clearance for you latch. Is there anything pushing the grill up above the bumper cover?

davezaristo

The grill pretty much just tucked in (after my slight modification) and there's no more space between the bumper and the grill. As a result, i am afraid to slam on it since the hood latch would definitely hit against the grill and may break the grill. Does your hood latch already touch the grill before you close it?

In addition, at first, the grill wouldn't even tuck in so i had to shaved off part of the curve at the edge of the bumper and did some bending on the anchor that screws onto the bumper.

It would be greatly appreciaed if you can take some pics similar to the ones i posted if it stop snowing at your location so that i can do a further comparision before i start modifying it to make it fit. I don't think this Daniel guy will give me my money back he is being a super aXXhole about it.

Btw, is your car a sports package? I wonder if that make a difference even though it probably won't.....but just asking out of curiousity

du7668

Idid the same mod all by myself--thank God not ordering from eBay. I had to open up a big hole on top of the grill, like you did. But I dont see the gap as in your picture.

jacques

My car does not have a sports package. I know that there was a bumper change beginning in MY 00. I don't know if that makes a difference. I will take some pictures within the next day or so when I pull the car out so that can get a better angle.

From what I can telll at this point, the foam that is attached to the lower part of the grill just contacts the top of the bumper. There is some vertical give available. The hood is in full contact with the rubber bumpers that are adjacent the headlights.

I wonder if the L bracket can be modified where it contacts the side of the grill such that the grill can be set down a little lower to provide a bit of clearance?

davezaristo

Actually, I haven't open up the big hole yet...I am trying to get my money back first...DIY for the big hole would be my last resort since i will probably need to borrow or buy a set of dremel, which my grill will cost over $300+..i am so angry at this guy not letting me return it....

Nektopoli

I didn't know the CLK grill had the mesh behind the star, the intruction I read said you had to paint somthing behind the grill black to make it match, now the grill I'm looking at has the mesh behind the star like the stock grill, also did you guys have to cut into the bumper cover?

NP

jacques

No cutting was necessary for my install. I may add a small piece of plastic hook material (such as used to mount an EZ pass transponder painted to match the bumper so that it is not noticed from a distance) to the lower inside corners.

If you look closely through the mesh you can see the support member. In my case the red color of the support is not objectionable. For silver it may be different. Even so, I think that a black self stick material could be used rather than paint.

davezaristo

As mentioned earlier, i had to shave part of the curvy part of the bumper just to make the grill fit the middle part....I am still struggling on getting the hood to close..i will update all of you once i get around to modding it and make it fit.......

For those who are considering this mod, check the instruction on www.mbslk.de for a DIY...save yourself $100 and don't make the same mistake as i did...

mbzclk

I don't understand why you're having problems with Daniel's grill. I happened to be one of the first to order one through Germany, before he even started using ebay usa. Absolutely no problem installing the item, nor any problems afterwards, including using the hoodbra! I did decide to mount the grill tab BELOW the bumber tab, which should give just a touch more clearance. I wonder if your L-shaped brackets are reversed or upside down when the grill was received.. Good luck!

davezaristo

Can you show me exactly how you got more clearnace? i don't really understand what you mean by "mount the grill tab BELOW the bumber tab"....basically, i can't even adjust it since i had to shave my bumper just for the L-shaped brackets to fit in!!! I basically forced it in and it has no space for adjustment...i guess i just got a messed up grill but the seller just won't admit his mistake!!!

mbzclk

you can email me at camradoc@hotmail.com for a picture of the tab installation.