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SL Convertible Top Hydraulic Malfunction

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20K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Jakebythelake  
J
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

I have a 2003 SL 500 and have noticed hydraulic fluid leaking right above my passenger side window now for about a week. Today when I went to close my convertible top the rear hatch opened about six inches and is COMPLETELY STUCK! My roll bar is retracted 90 percent in the downward position as well. When I push the buttons to activate the roll bar and/or top I hear nothing but silence.... wooohooo!!! :-( Now my top is stuck down and I have valuables in my trunk that are hopelessly trapped!!! I've been told so far that there is no manual release and that the only way to be able to move it manually is to release or drain the hydraulic fluid in order to allow it to move. Does anyone have a diagram on the componets for the system? Where do I access the lines to release the fluid? Please help!

Best regards,
Disgruntled SL Owner
 
E
#2 ·
Obviously you have a leaking cylinder valve in the front latch area. There are several of such cylinders involved in the vario roof operation. The system has probably leaked to the point where the hydraulic pump is now empty. Hence it is unable to lift any of the components. Needless to say, you should have taken care of this on first notice, or at least stopped operating the roof till the issue is fixed. Hopefully the roof hydraulic pump has not fried itself for lack of fluid.

Here are some articles that may help. One shows how to close the top manually and the other is a diagnosis article that could help provide a general overview of the vario roof:
 

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J
#3 ·
Thank you so much for your help. I was able to access the trunk finally using the spare key in the trunk. Where do I add more fluid to the system? Can I use the same Pentosin hydraulic fluid that I use for the ABC pump or do I need to get something different?

Best regards,
Jakebythelake
 
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