first you need a 5mm allan key for the front locks under the sun visor you turn one and then you reverse the wrench so it turns the opposite direction, Counter clock wise, To unlock the other. on the right hand side of the drivers seat

Now you should see the front 2 locks popped up, The second two locks closet to the door are dummy locks, They do not exist, You can simply pop the locks up by pulling on the hard top or using a screw driver to push it up.


third lock you have to play a fun game, you have to get in the back of the trunk, and

A. Cut up a bunch of the cardboard stuff that blocks your vision,

or
B. Remove it carefully using your knowledge of mechanics

I personally used a knife to remove a lot of the area hiding from me

You will see the hydrollics one on each side that have a little, I suppose, Nipple, i guess you can call it, it looks like the male symbol, its pointing to the ground diagonally on the top of the hydrolics, You push those up, and have some on pick up one side of the hard top, Then same thing on the other side, It's easier on the right side to push it up, you need a wrench or something sterdy to push up with. then your hard top can be removed,


I also, found out how to put the hard top back on manually so let me tell you that, you could also put the soft top up manually if you wish

now, put your roll bar all the way up if you can, on teh passenger side theres a little Circle, that can be twisted, This will unlock the area your soft top comes out of, Now, you can put the soft top up manually, use the allan key to lock the front, and do the following


raise the area were the soft top is hidden
You will see that the locks in the back locks, are insde , kind of like, there able to be retacted a bit, well you need 2 people for this, have some one push up on the hydrolic in the back, and push the lock back in and release the hydrollic stop pushing up on it, it will stay locked like that, Now,

once you have done that for both sides, you can do 2 things

one put your soft top up
or 2 put your hard top up

either way you get the tops on the last back locks, and have some one push up on the hydrolic nipple in the trunk, push that side of the top down it will slip in, release the hydrolic, it is stabily on

doe the same to the other side, Lock the front with the allankey and you have your tops locked and secure! I know my hydrolics are fucked, So thats how i have to put my tops up in the summer.

 

It's a lot easier if you buy the correct wrench from Mercedes, as it has the 5mm allen key one end and the correct size spanner at the other for undoing the rear (trunk) latches. Then you don't have to cut anything in the boot, just pop the front locks (hidden behind the sun visors, under two round grommets), open the trunk, insert the other end of said wrench through the gap where the boot hinges go and release the rear latches. The wrench should go in at an upward angle and once locked onto the latch you lift the end of the wrench up. Opposite instructions to refit.

 

Hi Stuart,
I would not cut the trim panels.
Yes, I do use the wrench.
But I think Isaak is, on something good.
If you have a stuck hard top to remove.
He describes how to do it.
Lets not forget he is only seventeen.
Regards.
aam.

 

Isaac: you da' man!

I also, found out how to put the hard top back on manually so let me tell you that, you could also put the soft top up manually if you wish

Isaac
I found loads of info on how to get the roof locked at the front but even the Mercedes Owner's manual said t was not possible to lock the rear portion in place manually. Wrong - your points gave me the rough idea which I fiddled with for awhile et voila! Anyway, I will write it up c/w photos but thought it would be good to note here that it's possible, as you have said, to have a fully locked soft or hard roof manually

Thanks for the tips!

Cheers

Alan

 

Manual Roof Closure Pics

My 1997 SL500 users manual (extract attached) gives one details of how to manually lift the soft top but:

a) fails to mention how to install the hard top; and
b) specifically says "The rear section of the soft top cannot be locked during manual operation".

Kudos to Isaac for finding out the soft and hard top can be locked.

In my case the soft top was down and I could not raise it - there is a major hydraulic leak in the passenger main cylinder plus I've spotted a couple of smaller leaks in some of the other smaller cylinders. The main one is obviously causing the problem with a serious leak at the front of the rear passenger wheel. I'm not going to repair this myself due to time and it’s my daily driver, so I needed to drive the car to the garage - in the meanwhile I needed to use it for a week, prior to going away for 2 weeks on business, hence needed a car with a roof on it for a week.

The stages to close the soft top are as follows:

1. Open the rear compartment and gently pulled the roof closed. I stood on the rear seats and pulled gently to ensure it moved centrally (to avoid eccentric loading).
2. Lock down front part of roof using a hex key in the holes behind the sun visors (see pic)
3. Remove interior panel within boot / truck (see pic) - there are 6 or 7 of these and then one can pull the trim forward to get at the latch mechanism. I didn't fully remove this to make it easier to replace.
4. Locate the piece of metal (see "metal tab" in pics) and move (up I think, but only moves one way). It's on a spring so difficult to move. It's easy to do one side at a time, if by yourself but I suppose you could do both sides at once, but it's not essential.
5. Whilst lifting the metal tab, lean around, close rear hatch and push rear portion of roof down into the hole. If you cannot push the roof down then you haven't released the mechanism via the metal tab. If it's released the tab at the bottom of the soft top should go into the whole easily.
6. Let go of metal tab and push down hard on the bottom of the soft top - you will hear it click when it is seated correctly. If you lift up the apron at the bottom of the roof and only the apron moves then it's locked correctly. If it lives too much then it's not locked properly hence push roof down again (with some force until you get a click)
7. Repeat 5 & 6 on opposite side
8. Replace trim in boot / truck and voila - done!

Whilst I did not try it the rear latches with the hard top, I think the same approach would work equally well with the hard top to lock it down.

Regards

Alan

 

I used your document to remove the hardtop. Extremely grateful for your knowledge and post.

While placing the hardtop on my 2000 SL500, it latched onto the front and wouldn't release. Back section was not in place and off 1/2 inch. I noticed the hydraulic leak at this point. A Mercedes dealer stated to have it towed to the shop and they would clear the codes to release it. The Panorama Top would not have made it in one piece during the tow; bouncing up and down. Mercedes was contacted, as well, and provided no information but to retry the soft/hard top button. I used your information in reverse order to pop the front latches. Then repositioned the hard top and used the button to lock it.

Again, can't thank you enough, especially for the pictures.
Robert C. Bruns

 

To lock the rear of the RST

To lock the rear of the RST it was brought to my attention that the following MPEG shows two people locking the rear of the soft at the very end of the file. So if you want to advance the showing to about the last 30 seconds please do so at R129F7.mpeg Top removal and replacement.

 

HOW TO MANUAL OPEN 99 SL500 SOFT TOP

So i have searched for the past few hours and cant seem to find if there is a way to manually open the soft top. I cant get it to open from the control and the passenger side upper corner of the windshield is leaking fluid. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

So i have searched for the past few hours and cant seem to find if there is a way to manually open the soft top. I cant get it to open from the control and the passenger side upper corner of the windshield is leaking fluid. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Lowering and raising the RST (roadster soft top) manually are actually very simple and straight forward procedures. With a bit of practice I have managed to lower and raise the soft top both in about 5 minutes all together. Note that you will need the MB soft top wrench as mentioned.

Detailed instructions with photos as well as illustrations from the owner's manual can be found if you look under the the above blue sticky thread titled as Please read useful Archived Topics before posting a new thread. Then scroll down to R129 soft top 'Hydraulic System' ultimate thread. Click on that topic and you will find the threads you see below which covers the procedures.

• soft top manual lift tool
  
• How to remove the hard top and put the RST(roadster soft top) up manually
  
• Manually locking the soft top front and rear.

 

Instruction is in your owner's manual.

 

Soft top

Hi,

Take your owners manual and look at the pertinent pages. If you don't have a manual, then get one from the Archived Topics and the beginning of the 129 section.

Make sure the roll bar is down.

1. To release the soft top, I would open the trunk and release the two attaching points- right side and then left. Now, you can partially lift the top from the car.

2. Now release the center two attaching points. This releases the cover and you can see where the top is stored. You'll be able to see the various cylinders as well- what fun!

3. Now, release the front two attaching points on the top of the windshield.

The way the top works (normally), is the top cover goes all they way up, and then the top goes into the cavity. Then the cover comes down. You now are ready to install the hardtop.

You'll probably will encounter resistance. You may have to force it- turn the car off, then turn it on (per instructions on how to lower the top in the manual) and then "help" the top down. Push! It's a heavy top, but once done, it isn't that hard. You'll see that it is fairly easy to do.

I have found that the center two attaching points don't lock when the top goes down- so be careful when you are cruising at 150 mph.

Peter C. Sessler

 

MY 95 and up: Manual rear RST lock release

It is often believed that the rear locks (for soft top or hard top) on model years '95 and up cannot be released and locked manually. Not true!

The release and lock lever is not quite as accessible as in model years '90-'94, but it does not take much. Pull back the corner of the front panel in the trunk (pull out some tabs first, of course), locate the small lever on the lock, and use a 10-mm open wrench or your MB soft top tool from the tool kit. Photos are attached on the bottom.

Moving the lever up releases the lock; moving it down fastens it.

The MB parts catalogue indicates that the newer style locks are used starting from chassis number 97252, which would be a '94. I find that to be untrue, as my '94 SL600 is past S/N 100,000 and still has the old style locks...

This lever does not quite have the range of the old one, and it takes some navigation around the fuel tank fill pipe on the right side, but it does the job!

Hope this helps,

-Klaus

 

how to put on the hard top manually

All the hdraulic fluid ran out and now my soft top won't go up or down. Could someone tell me how to put on the hard top using the wrench tool. I have tried to put the hard top on but I'm not sure what part of the top locks down first, the front first or the rear.

 

Could someone tell me how to put on the hard top using the wrench tool.

I have tried to put the hard top on but I'm not sure what part of the top locks down first, the front first or the rear.

I find it much more easier to lock down the front latches first and then the rear latches after.
Otherwise you will have difficulty locking down the front latches if you lock the rear first.

Detailed step by step instructions with DIY photos, MB illustrations are archived the Blue Stickies.
There is also a video that shows you how to manually lock down the rear latches.

 

Locking the rear

Mr. Clifton, that is a beautiful collection of MB videos!

bondxxx3, could you add some more info to your avatar, such as your car model and location? It helps us help you better.

The manual locking process is straightforward, as shown in the video, if you have a '90-'94. Check out the following thread for later models:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1574147-quick-softtop-question.html. On late models, you can manually push the rear of the soft top down and use the emergency lever to pull the locks down, but the final locking is best done with the hydraulic system. However, this thread started with the manual procedure, and ahmorris created an excellent summary on how to do this on '95+ models.

If your rear lock cylinders are leaking, you might have a problem with keeping the rear locked on later models, since the '95+ rear locks do not always provide a positive lock without the cylinders holding their liquid when the mechanism is compromised, which happens frequently...

-Klaus

 

I have removed the hard top on my 1992 sl500 but do not know how to pop up the bow shaped cover manually that is on top of the soft top roof. I have the roof tool and have no problem removing the hard top. I have drivien the car convertible and whenit rains i am in big trouble. I had these kids laughing at me since i sitting at a red light and rain coming down on me.......long day. Thank you

 

Procedure for putting up the soft top manually is in your Owner's Manual.

 

Soft Top Manual Locking....HELP!

Winters is here, close her up! - my ‘95 SL320 Ragtop wouldn’t fully complete the opening sequence: After 3 careful cycles, the opening sequence completed thru Locking down Front Corners and stowing the Storage Cover......but would NOT close & lock down the Rear Ragtop corners. Inspection shows the ‘Lockdown Pins’ are still inplace, blocking the Rear Section corners fully closing and being locked down. Can these pins be “manually opened” and then closed, to lock down the Rear Section? Ops. Manual on ‘Manual Raising’ doesn’t help. [BTW, in the Spring, I will rebuild & lube the whole system - am a Cert. Acft. Mechanic]. ThanX 'n Havva Merry Christmas

 

both rear latches locked down

Winters is here, close her up! - my ‘95 SL320 Ragtop wouldn’t fully complete the opening sequence: After 3 careful cycles, the opening sequence completed thru Locking down Front Corners and stowing the Storage Cover......but would NOT close & lock down the Rear Ragtop corners. Inspection shows the ‘Lockdown Pins’ are still inplace, blocking the Rear Section corners fully closing and being locked down. Can these pins be “manually opened” and then closed, to lock down the Rear Section? Ops. Manual on ‘Manual Raising’ doesn’t help. [BTW, in the Spring, I will rebuild & lube the whole system - am a Cert. Acft. Mechanic]. ThanX 'n Havva Merry Christmas

Willyinnv,

it appears that the two "rear locks" are stuck in the down position without the prongs from the soft top or hard top in them, right?

This normally happens only when people try to put on or remove the hard top, because the flexible prongs in the rear of the hardtop can leave the rear locks in an undefined state if the hydraulic cycle on the rear locks does not get completed. An explanation of how it likely came to this is posted in the following thread: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1592024-1995-roadster-soft-top-rst-rear.html

Please check out post #6 in this thread to remedy the situation you have with both rear latches being in the down position: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1608418-soft-top-hydraulics-totally-dead-i.html.

Lastly, if you are planning on rebuilding all the cylinders yourself, please consider not reinventing the wheel. Top Hydraulics offers the best service at an excellent price, based on our volume. There is a lot of difference between doing a job that potentially ruins one or more of your $6k worth of cylinders (you might do just fine as a skilled mechanic, but you might end up like the vast majority of people who inflict damage where they didn't expect it), one that works okay for a while with seals that will fall apart again soon, or our rebuilds that have used the correct tools and the best seals available...

Hope this helps,

-Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

 

About manual locking...

Since some folks might find this thread just by googling "soft top manual locking" or "hard top manual locking", I will add the following link that offers a lot more details about options on locking the system with or without cylinders in place: http://tophydraulicsinc.com/maunuallockhardtop.pdf

I am also adding a pic below that shows the location of all cylinders in your car. Click on it for better resolution, or go to our website for a crisp version - we have these diagrams for most MB convertibles (currently including R129, R170 SLK, W208 CLK, W209 CLK).

-Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

 

Klaus: Mucho Thanx for your quick answer! I also found insight on this problem in the Benzworld Forum entry of: pressalire, 03/06/11 "Quick Softtop Ques". Yes, in the Spring I will utilize you guys for the cylinder rebuilds. I'll just do the removal & reinstall.

 

rewards

Yes, in the Spring I will utilize you guys for the cylinder rebuilds. I'll just do the removal & reinstall.

Most folks with average-person wrenching skills take about a day to take out all cylinders and a day to put everything back together. It is already very rewarding for you when you have done all of that by yourself, and when you realize you have saved way over $1k in labor charges, compared to letting the dealer do it, and on average $1k compared to an indy...

Please let us know how the unlatching of the rear locks worked out.

-Klaus

klaus@tophydraulicsinc.com

 

Addendum: Mucho ThanX for the above info! She's fixed! I cycled the top 4 times, with the ENGINE RUNNING [HIGHER VOLTAGE 14vdc vs. 12vdc on Bat.], and with access to the pump, cycled in new Fibi. 02615 Hyd. Fluid [old stuff did look dark & crappy]. Fully opened and completely closed and locked beautifully.

 

R129 Manual Top Operation

I have been in the market for a R129 for quite sometime. It seems as though that problems with the soft operation are quite common.

Sellers always dismiss the repairs as minor(yet they have no intention of fixing the problem) & have informed me that they use the top manually.

How is it possible to use the top manually? Aren't the locking mechanism controlled by the system that controls the top?

Will operating the top manually do any additional damage to the system & it's components?

Is it possible to secure the hard top once the system is experiencing problems or has failed?

 

Fixing the soft top can be easy...

ostkurve,

welcome to the forum! Hope you will find exactly what you are looking for. I will paste in some comments below, regarding manual soft top operation and fixing the automatic top.

It seems as though that problems with the soft operation are quite common.

True, but it is something you can likely take care of yourself, and it should last you many years if done right. You found the right place to educate yourself about the system. Once all hydraulic cylinders have new and better seals, and once they are all installed correctly, you will find that it feels great to pull or push that red button and know that the top will do exactly what you want it to do.

Sellers always dismiss the repairs as minor(yet they have no intention of fixing the problem) & have informed me that they use the top manually.

It could be as simple as having to upgrade a couple of front lock cylinders or finding a corroded fuse. Most likely, though, a used R129 with the owner operating the top manually (in disgrace ), needs most or all hydraulic cylinders upgraded. It takes less than $600 for the full upgrade service, plus a weekend of your time for removal and installation of the cylinders. There are detailed DIYs for the process at DIY Instructions - Top Hydraulics, Inc.

How is it possible to use the top manually? Aren't the locking mechanism controlled by the system that controls the top?

There is an emergency procedure for manual operation, and it is described in the owner's manual. Check out the stickies, and you will find a link to download a manual... It is a little trickier to perform the manual operation on model years mid'95 and younger. Please see additional info on manual locking at http://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/maunuallockhardtop.pdf.

Will operating the top manually do any additional damage to the system & it's components?

In the long run, manual operation will wear out your five or six locks a lot faster, the trim pieces around the access point to the locks will likely wear out or break, the canvas can get caught in the storage cover hinges, and there is some special risk on model years '90-'92 that some cylinder shafts will get damaged permanently by manual operation. (Top Hydraulics can take care of damaged shafts, as well, but you don't really want to pay for replacement shafts...)

Is it possible to secure the hard top once the system is experiencing problems or has failed?

No problem. I wouldn't buy a Mercedes convertible without the intention of getting the top operational again.

yes
Yes
Yes
and Yes

Just show them how much Dealers charge to fix the problem and use it to beat down the price.

Yes!

Klaus

Top Hydraulics | Rebuilt Convertible Top Hydraulic Cylinders - Top Hydraulics, Inc

 

yes
Yes
Yes
and Yes

Just show them how much Dealers charge to fix the problem and use it to beat down the price.

 

Cannot Secure hardtop manually

1993 500SL-Experiencing a problem securing the two trunk latches for the hardtop manually with the two-sided MB top tool. The soft top goes up/down manually with no problems, but I can't seem to lock down and secure the hardtop. The manual levers (it goes all the way down but the top doesn't snap/lock into place) does not cinch down. I'm operating the top manually because the hydraulics are shot. Spent $1000 replacing O-rings and had mechanic install thoose that were a problem at the time. Since then other cylinders must have gone bad. I just could not justify the money necessary. Since then (2 years ago) I've been simply using the tool to secure it manually.

It is the original hard top, and I was previously able to latch it down manually. Strange because I'm able to secure the softtop, but not the hard top. I've owned this '93 500SL since 2005, so I've been through some challenges with it, but this one takes the cake...Any ideas would be appreciated. Aloha & thank you!

 

The top is not designed for long term manual operation

I can't seem to lock down and secure the hardtop. The manual levers (it goes all the way down but the top doesn't snap/lock into place) does not cinch down.
...
It is the original hard top, and I was previously able to latch it down manually. Strange because I'm able to secure the softtop, but not the hard top.

GageOahu,

What a shame that you feel forced to operate your top manually!

The hard top is generally harder to lock down manually in the rear than the soft top, because it has a tighter fit in the rear. It could be that your Hawaiian climate has made the weatherstripping on the hard top harder, or the rear locks are wearing out from continued emergency use, which they were not designed for. (Do the locks feel like they are a bit wobbly or have more play when moving the levers?)

In the first case, you could try putting shims under the rear prongs of the hard top until the rear locks are able to secure the hard top. Please mark the original position of the prongs, as they will slide around once you loosen them to accommodate shims.

In the latter case, you could still try the shims and get some replacement locks on eBay. We can also sell you some good used ones.

Please keep the forum posted!

I'm operating the top manually because the hydraulics are shot. Spent $1000 replacing O-rings and had mechanic install thoose that were a problem at the time. Since then other cylinders must have gone bad. I just could not justify the money necessary. Since then (2 years ago) I've been simply using the tool to secure it manually.

In most cases, getting seals replaced by some mechanic ends up being very expensive, as that usually doesn't work out, and it is very easy to ruin especially the more expensive cylinders. See http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1592184-soft-top-closing-problem.html, where ulflei's seal replacement was actually done by two different outfits with a pretty good reputation.

It is our experience that all original cylinders will fail in short order once you find the first leaks in the rear. Do you think your original cylinders got damaged when someone replaced seals in them? If not, then fixing the remaining cylinders following our DIY removal guides might be a fairly inexpensive undertaking, and save you the cost of replacing any or all of the six locks in the long run. Even if your mechanic scratched the shafts on the cylinders they were working on, those cylinders can still be salvaged - Top Hydraulics manufactures replacement shafts.

Klaus

Top Hydraulics | Rebuilt Convertible Top Hydraulic Cylinders - Top Hydraulics, Inc

 

Fix the Hydralics

Wow, $1000 for two cylinders and labor, must have a high cost of living in Oahu.

There are a couple of cylinder rebuilders that are regularly referenced in these forums, and I'm sure one of them will reply here to your questions.

The real solution is to replace all your cylinders with rebuilt units, the $1000 you already spent would have bought them all, and then some...

Here is a link to a Benzworld Sponsor with a good reputation in top hardware, and I'm sure they will respond to your questions when they see your post.

Top Hydraulics | Rebuilt Convertible Top Hydraulic Cylinders - Top Hydraulics, Inc

Good Luck

PS: why do you need a hard top in Oahu, isn't it convertable weather year round?

 

Three possible, until Klaus comes on and solves the issues for you
The 10 mm open end wrench that comes with the tool kit is the correct tool for the latch down, however the tac-weld on the flange you reposition with the wrench may have broken, so that the open end of the spanner does not engage the lever.
The metal prong that goes into the hole on the back deck of the benz may not align with the locking structure.
The locking structure may be in a "closed" position, unable to latch any prong that is in its channel.
Aloha and good luck

 

R129 SL Manual Hardtop R&R Help!

Today I manually removed the hardtop, once I put it back on, I could tell on e it sits down all the way that it doesn't lock itself.. I am able to lift it from the back. I don't know what to do..


Also, beeping noise won't stop..

 

...I could tell on e it sits down all the way that it doesn't lock itself...

you lost me there