SLS/R197/C197 AMG: DIY - Carbon Fiber door rail replacement
Tools needed:
Torx 25 driver
Plastic painter's putty knife
Mounting tape
Step 1: Grab the back of the leather cover and slide the putty knife underneath. Gently pull up and work the knife through the existing mounting tape. Be patient and gentle - this will take a while as they used quite a lot of strong mounting tape. Resist the urge to "go gorilla" and start yanking upward with a lot of force as you'll run the risk of damaging the leather covered piece.
Step 2: Use your Torx 25 to unscrew the 3 visible screws.
Step 3: Back to the putty knife. Same process as Step 1. Start at the front or rear ends where it will be much easier to get the knife under the cover. Slow and steady wins the race. There is a LOT of mounting tape. You will get angry and swear a lot.
Step 4: Clean all of the mounting tape crud off of the door sill, wipe it down and make sure it's free of residue.
Step 5: The manufacturer already applied the mounting tape for you on the underside of the CF cover rail. Peel off the backing (mounting tape) - not pictured. Carefully line it up and apply to the door rail. Apply even pressure and make sure it's good an stuck down!
Step 6: Replace the screws. Do NOT over tighten as you'll probably just end up cracking the CF and it would serve no real purpose anyway.
Step 7: Remove all of the tape crud from the back of the leather covered piece. It comes off fairly easily, just use your thumbs. Apply fresh mounting tape in the same places that were previously covered.
Step 8: Mount the leather piece and apply even pressure to make sure it's well seated. You're done!
Thanks for the informative DIY!!
Tools needed:
Torx 25 driver
Plastic painter's putty knife
Mounting tape
Step 1: Grab the back of the leather cover and slide the putty knife underneath. Gently pull up and work the knife through the existing mounting tape. Be patient and gentle - this will take a while as they used quite a lot of strong mounting tape. Resist the urge to "go gorilla" and start yanking upward with a lot of force as you'll run the risk of damaging the leather covered piece.
Step 2: Use your Torx 25 to unscrew the 3 visible screws.
Step 3: Back to the putty knife. Same process as Step 1. Start at the front or rear ends where it will be much easier to get the knife under the cover. Slow and steady wins the race. There is a LOT of mounting tape. You will get angry and swear a lot.
Step 4: Clean all of the mounting tape crud off of the door sill, wipe it down and make sure it's free of residue.
Step 5: The manufacturer already applied the mounting tape for you on the underside of the CF cover rail. Peel off the backing (mounting tape) - not pictured. Carefully line it up and apply to the door rail. Apply even pressure and make sure it's good an stuck down!
Step 6: Replace the screws. Do NOT over tighten as you'll probably just end up cracking the CF and it would serve no real purpose anyway.
Step 7: Remove all of the tape crud from the back of the leather covered piece. It comes off fairly easily, just use your thumbs. Apply fresh mounting tape in the same places that were previously covered.
Step 8: Mount the leather piece and apply even pressure to make sure it's well seated. You're done!
Part numbers:
197 680 03 35
197 680 04 35
The pair of covers were about $3,250 with shipping. Not cheap but worth it to me.
Next up, I'll be doing the seat bottoms and backs in CF.
http://www.mbpartsworld.com
I'll post up the other part #s in a separate DIY thread - probably next week.
Luckily, I had found a factory video on YouTube showing how to adjust the gullwing doors. In that video, they did a nice job explaining how to remove the cover rail in order to get at one of the adjusting mechanisms. Once I saw that, I knew it would be an easy job.
Last edited by Sandy Eggo; Jun 10, 2016 at 08:00 PM.
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How much time did you spend completing the project? I enjoy using my hands too for such work.
CF or vinyl wrap - either way, it's definitely a good workout for your hands and fingertips and will look terrific!
Thanks for posting!
What is part number for the seat bottoms and back in CF ?
Last edited by NewportSLS; Jun 15, 2016 at 12:04 AM.
http://www.mbpartsworld.com/p/__/MOL...979190200.html
Left seat bottom: 1979190100
http://www.mbpartsworld.com/p/__/MOL...979190100.html
I finally got the CF cover rail for the passenger side of the car and installed it. This time around, I spent $10 on a set of body panel wedges. Highly recommend instead of the painter's putty knife. Made very short work of it.








