on my 96 sl320 the hydraulic cylinders got a leak. dont have the money to get it fixed right now. i want to put my top up but the latches in the rear will not lock. how can i get these to lock so that the top seals from the rear
pressalire
Latches will work without hydraulic system.
when you manually do the top, the hex key will do the front. the back, u need that size 10mm wrench to lock it down. there are 2 different positions. Make sure they are both ALL THE WAY UP before trying to lock the rear. once they are up, put the softtop down. On one side, lock it down to THE FIRST NOTCH only. go to the otherside, and do the first notch ony for that side. Next, go back to the first side, press down on the latch, and press down on the hardtop same time. (get a friend to help it might make it easier.)
with a little strength it will lock on the second level. do the same for the other side.
when you manually do the top, the hex key will do the front. the back, u need that size 10mm wrench to lock it down. there are 2 different positions. Make sure they are both ALL THE WAY UP before trying to lock the rear. once they are up, put the softtop down. On one side, lock it down to THE FIRST NOTCH only. go to the otherside, and do the first notch ony for that side. Next, go back to the first side, press down on the latch, and press down on the hardtop same time. (get a friend to help it might make it easier.)
with a little strength it will lock on the second level. do the same for the other side.
turn knobs? there is nothing you should be turning in the rear.
the lever lifts up and down. where the lever is painted red. make the soft top up so u can completely unlock it. try pushing it down in the little holes. Now press the lever down with the 10mm wrench you have. does it click once u pull it down a little? once both sides click/lock. pull the lever further down. have your wife/gf/friend/whoever push down on the top. while they are doing that, use ur muscle and press down on the lever again. it should lock.
Do exactly as me or the manual say. Just start from scratch....
the lever lifts up and down. where the lever is painted red. make the soft top up so u can completely unlock it. try pushing it down in the little holes. Now press the lever down with the 10mm wrench you have. does it click once u pull it down a little? once both sides click/lock. pull the lever further down. have your wife/gf/friend/whoever push down on the top. while they are doing that, use ur muscle and press down on the lever again. it should lock.
Do exactly as me or the manual say. Just start from scratch....
Rear locks really stuck?
Make sure the ignition is off when you try to move the locks. I assume you are doing that, since you were able to lock the front locks manually.
Your avatar says you have a '96.
The rear locks on your model are different from the ones on earlier models. The hidden lever on these locks provides hardly any leverage, and is meant only to unlock or lock the mechanism, as opposed to actually pulling the locks down.
Assuming your locks are open, you need to move the lever up while pushing externally (with the soft top, for example) onto the lock, in order to 'unlock' it from the open position. Normally, this would be done by the hydraulic cylinder pulling down.
Then, push down on the top until the latch hopefully goes all the way down. You can help the last part of that movement with the 10-mm wrench pushing down on the lever.
The photos below are from a previous post of mine, describing how to access the emergency lever.
Hope this helps,
-Klaus
Make sure the ignition is off when you try to move the locks. I assume you are doing that, since you were able to lock the front locks manually.
Your avatar says you have a '96.
The rear locks on your model are different from the ones on earlier models. The hidden lever on these locks provides hardly any leverage, and is meant only to unlock or lock the mechanism, as opposed to actually pulling the locks down.
Assuming your locks are open, you need to move the lever up while pushing externally (with the soft top, for example) onto the lock, in order to 'unlock' it from the open position. Normally, this would be done by the hydraulic cylinder pulling down.
Then, push down on the top until the latch hopefully goes all the way down. You can help the last part of that movement with the 10-mm wrench pushing down on the lever.
The photos below are from a previous post of mine, describing how to access the emergency lever.
Hope this helps,
-Klaus
Attachments
Softtop Rear Locking
I too have to wait a bit to get my left rear leaking locking cylinder fixed on my 99 SL500; however I can raise and lower the soft top with no problem hydraulically, except the left rear softtop latch will not lock because of a leaking locking cylinder(according to my Indy). It initially gets pulled down all the way but them snaps back up about an inch. Did the procedure described in your thread work for you and do you know if I can manually just lock the left side after the hyds have locked everthing else normally and if so can I then hydraulically unlock and lower the top normally?
I too have to wait a bit to get my left rear leaking locking cylinder fixed on my 99 SL500; however I can raise and lower the soft top with no problem hydraulically, except the left rear softtop latch will not lock because of a leaking locking cylinder(according to my Indy). It initially gets pulled down all the way but them snaps back up about an inch. Did the procedure described in your thread work for you and do you know if I can manually just lock the left side after the hyds have locked everthing else normally and if so can I then hydraulically unlock and lower the top normally?
positive lock on rear locks only with working cylinder
tlwev,
the rear lock on your model will indeed not stay in the locked position with a significantly leaking cylinder. As I mentioned before, the locking mechanism is different from early models. I did not get into more detail, because it went beyond the scope of the first question. While the lever on your rear lock is an emergency release, and it can be used to pull down the lock during its final range of travel, the lock needs a working cylinder to stay locked.
One can close the lock manually, and then a valved off cylinder normally keeps it locked. However, if the cup seal in that cylinder does not seal even under low pressure (the tension from the soft top will create low pressure in that cylinder), then the tension on the soft top will pull the piston rod out of the cylinder even when it is valved off by the system - the rear of your top pops up again...
The rear locks are not difficult to remove. Note the numbers stamped on the hydraulic lines for re-connection. You can just take the two rear locks out, put them in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, and we'll turn them around in a day for you. Your BenzWorld price is $110 including shipping, and the cylinders will be truly better than new. I'm talking about doing both locks, because with the left cylinder being in such bad shape, it is extremely likely that the right one would blow as soon as you fix the left one. Here are the step-by-step instructions for the removal: http://tophydraulicsinc.com/R129 Rear Locking Cylinder Removal.pdf
tlwev,
the rear lock on your model will indeed not stay in the locked position with a significantly leaking cylinder. As I mentioned before, the locking mechanism is different from early models. I did not get into more detail, because it went beyond the scope of the first question. While the lever on your rear lock is an emergency release, and it can be used to pull down the lock during its final range of travel, the lock needs a working cylinder to stay locked.
One can close the lock manually, and then a valved off cylinder normally keeps it locked. However, if the cup seal in that cylinder does not seal even under low pressure (the tension from the soft top will create low pressure in that cylinder), then the tension on the soft top will pull the piston rod out of the cylinder even when it is valved off by the system - the rear of your top pops up again...
The rear locks are not difficult to remove. Note the numbers stamped on the hydraulic lines for re-connection. You can just take the two rear locks out, put them in a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box, and we'll turn them around in a day for you. Your BenzWorld price is $110 including shipping, and the cylinders will be truly better than new. I'm talking about doing both locks, because with the left cylinder being in such bad shape, it is extremely likely that the right one would blow as soon as you fix the left one. Here are the step-by-step instructions for the removal: http://tophydraulicsinc.com/R129 Rear Locking Cylinder Removal.pdf
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