[gnfnr2006]

Hey Everyone. Great site here, I'm enjoying it already.
About a month ago I bought a silver/tan 98 sl500 with 68K on it. The previous owner bought it 5 years earlier with 63K on it.

I've replaced 2 roof cylinders now at about 180 each with labor and there are more to go. The guy I got it from introduced me to the shop he was taking it to.. they said to replace all of them. My plan is to have them all removed for me and send them to Dennis Ficken for rebuild.

Any comments about this?

I am having 2 issues.

The transmission - After putting about 1000 miles on it, im noticing that just before I come to a stop the car wants to lunge forward just before I stop, I think its when its is shifting from second to first gear? And Im now noticing that when I get down on it off the line it has a shimmy and hesitation when it goes to shift into second...

Comments ??


AC - It was working fine, but now sometimes it will only blow cold when I turn the temp to the lowest setting. I noticed that the ambient temp sensor on under the odometer has been giving temps in the teens and 20's while its 80 degrees out and Im guessing that if I turn the AC to 70 and it thinks is 30 outside, then it will blow heat ??

Comments ??

Last thing is the front brakes. Any comments suggestions here? The rotors are still good so Im really only looking at doing pads.

Any other service items I should be looking at considering the age of the car?

hanks guys for the time you have already spent answering questions, posting diagrams and putting lists and links together. I REALLY appreciate it.

Chris

 

[Earthloc]

Dennis rebuilt three of my cylinders and they all work fine. He can also send you detail instructions on how to remove them. It's still a bitch, but you can do it. Larry

 

[Lighthouse]

How much for the labor???

Chris,

are you sure you paid about $250 for labor, just to replace the front lock cylinders? ($360 minus $110 for rebuilds with shipping)

Maybe not everyone can replace the main lifts and the bow extension cylinders, although I think that 90% of benzworld members would do just fine with that. (We keep upgrading the DIY instructions, which are in a step-by-step format; see bottom of page at www.tophydraulicsinc.com...)

Yet, the front locks are quite easy to replace (as are the other locks and the tonneau lift cylinders). It should take your shop less than an hour to do just the labor on the replacement of the front locks. (Of course they had to set up, wait for replacement parts, and test afterwards, but $250 is still a little steep). I can do it blindfolded in twenty minutes; have done it quite a few times already, though... Maybe I'm a little too cost conscious here, but you may want to find a shop with more reasonable rates.

You don't even have to take out the cylinders. Top Hydraulics gladly accepts the cylinders inside the locks, and re-installs the rebuilt cylinders into the locks (and so does Dennis, as far as I know). Top Hydraulics can ship cylinders or cylinders with locks up-front (slight upcharge and deposit on the cores required), so you can send your old cylinders back when you are done with the job! :thumbsup:

Benzworld members: $50/cylinder rebuild, or $70/cylinder up-front service, or $500 per full set rebuild, or $700 per full set up-front service. Flat shipping charge of $10 per order in the US.

Btw., we now do all MB top cylinders, but don't have up-front service yet on all cylinders for R170, R171, W208, and R230.

Hope this helps,

-Klaus

 

[SunGuy61]

Welcome Chris,
This is a big, friendly and helpful forum; good to see another Floridian join up!

Hey Everyone. Great site here, I'm enjoying it already.
About a month ago I bought a silver/tan 98 sl500 with 68K on it. The previous owner bought it 5 years earlier with 63K on it.

I've replaced 2 roof cylinders now at about 180 each with labor and there are more to go. The guy I got it from introduced me to the shop he was taking it to.. they said to replace all of them. My plan is to have them all removed for me and send them to Dennis Ficken for rebuild.

Any comments about this?

Wise choice

I am having 2 issues.

The transmission - After putting about 1000 miles on it, im noticing that just before I come to a stop the car wants to lunge forward just before I stop, I think its when its is shifting from second to first gear? And Im now noticing that when I get down on it off the line it has a shimmy and hesitation when it goes to shift into second...

Comments ??

I'd start with the simplest solution and move up if necessary, meaning, have the transmission serviced with new fluid and filter. Drive it for 50 miles or so and update us on performance or issues.


AC - It was working fine, but now sometimes it will only blow cold when I turn the temp to the lowest setting. I noticed that the ambient temp sensor on under the odometer has been giving temps in the teens and 20's while its 80 degrees out and Im guessing that if I turn the AC to 70 and it thinks is 30 outside, then it will blow heat ??

Comments ??

Look on the driver's side, front bumper slats and you should see the external temp sensor and a friction fit mount. The sensor can come loose and if you can reach up behind the mounting plate you'll probably find the sensor. Simply push the sensor tip through the hole in the mounting plate and you should get accurate temp reads and functioning CC

Last thing is the front brakes. Any comments suggestions here? The rotors are still good so Im really only looking at doing pads.

Investigate Akebono ceramic pads, great stopping capability and virtually no brake dust on the wheels. I'm not a fan of re-using the existing rotors, but many do. Just have it measured for spec and need for resurfacing before you install the pads.

Any other service items I should be looking at considering the age of the car?

I would change oil/filter, flush/refill the radiator with either MB Branded coolant or MB approved alternate, both engine air filters, the cabin filter, windshield wiper blade & check the rest of the fluids and top off where necessary. Consider flushing the hydraulic fluid when you have the cylinders rebuilt with either MB branded, or FEBI-Bilstein p/n 02615. Starting your ownership knowing what you've got in the car will at least give you piece of mind
hanks guys for the time you have already spent answering questions, posting diagrams and putting lists and links together. I REALLY appreciate it.

Chris

Most important, drive it, enjoy it, and have fun with it, these are great cars!

Bob

 

[gnfnr2006]

Welcome Chris,
This is a big, friendly and helpful forum; good to see another Floridian join up!



Most important, drive it, enjoy it, and have fun with it, these are great cars!

Bob

Bob -thanks for the reply. Re: trans service- would you drain and fill or do an actual flush?
Chris

 

[jimmy9299]

check the vacum lines that go to tranny i had same prob both lines were burn

 

[SunGuy61]

Chris,

Since you met the previous owner's tech, he can probably best answer what's in the transmission currently and the last time, if ever, it was changed. If you can't determine the actual content or age of the existing fluid, paranoid me would flush it, including the lines to the transmission cooler and the cooler itself. Then refill with the proper fluid.

As jimmy9299 points out, there are vacuum and electronics that should be checked out while the car's on the lift.

Bob

 

[mountie55]

I was told brake rotors are not to be serviced, but changed. I paid at around cost, $65 per , for German made.

Make sure the little sensors are changed on the caliper. ($10? for a pair...about a 2" length wire between ends/plugs) Even though, it appears as if 2 sensors attach to the caliper, only one is used.

( I believe the second sensor 'hole' is for another option I did not have- I don't have the specifics)

This info is based on my experience with my '93 year.

 

[usak]

You replaced roof cylinders at $180.00 ea ? Did you do the labor yourself? I just replaced the drivers side front at $800.00 several months ago, and now the left one is leaking. Any other members know about this?
Shannon

 

[RKH]

You replaced roof cylinders at $180.00 ea ? Did you do the labor yourself? I just replaced the drivers side front at $800.00 several months ago, and now the left one is leaking. Any other members know about this?
Shannon

Sending the Dealer's kids to College is not cheap.

 

[gnfnr2006]

You replaced roof cylinders at $180.00 ea ? Did you do the labor yourself? I just replaced the drivers side front at $800.00 several months ago, and now the left one is leaking. Any other members know about this?
Shannon

Shannon I paid 180 approximate for labor and (1) cylinder. Now that I know I can get my cyliner rebuilt for about $55.00 or do an exchange for about $75.00 apiece, all further repairs will be much cheaper.

I think I can do the labor myself from reading all the how-to's.

If you cannot do it yourself, you should be able to find an independent MB mechanic to replace the cylinders for much much less than the dealership. I was quoted about 680 for the labor on the 10 I have remaining, if I choose to get them all done at once.

Shannon you need be aware of this thread as well: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r129-sl-class/1307426-r129-soft-top-hydraulic-system-ultimate.html

 

[Poundy]

I didn't think the outside temp gauge had anything to do with the A/C function. Can anybody comment?

 

[SunGuy61]

I didn't think the outside temp gauge had anything to do with the A/C function. Can anybody comment?

In the early years of the model, the outside temp sensor/guage was independent of the climate control system. Sometime in the mid to later 90's, the temp sensor was connected via serial port to the CAN (network) perhaps to support the Climate Control feature of air recirculation- from my '99 owners manual...

Air Recirculation
This mode can be selected to
temporarily reduce the entry of
annoying odors or dust into the
vehicle's interior.
Outside air is not supplied to the
car's interior.
To select, press button.
To cancel, press button again.
The system will automatically
switch from recirculated air to fresh
air
• after approx. 5 minutes at
outside temperatures below
approx. 40°F (6°C),
• after approx. 20 minutes, at
outside temperatures above
approx. 40°F (5°C),
• after approx. 5 minutes, if button
is pressed.
If the windows should fog up from
the inside, switch from recirculated
air back to fresh air,
At high outside temperatures, the
system automatically engages the
recirculated air mode thereby
increasing the cooling capacity
performance, switching to partially
fresh air within 20 minutes.

In other words, this feature wouldn't work as described unless the system overall 'knows' the outside temperature.

Aside from this, when my own outside temp began constantly displaying -32 degrees, the AC would not work. The cause was a previous owner had removed the front bumper for painting and in the process broke the wires connecting the sensor to the CAN and had spliced them to effect repair and closed circuit. In my case, the splice was poorly done and moislure got in and shorted the signaling. After re-splicing the wiring with weatherproof shielding, the outside temp was back to normal readings and the AC worked as designed.

Bob

 

[gnfnr2006]

Aside from this, when my own outside temp began constantly displaying -32 degrees, the AC would not work. The cause was a previous owner had removed the front bumper for painting and in the process broke the wires connecting the sensor to the CAN and had spliced them to effect repair and closed circuit. In my case, the splice was poorly done and moislure got in and shorted the signaling. After re-splicing the wiring with weatherproof shielding, the outside temp was back to normal readings and the AC worked as designed.

Bob

Bob after locating the sensor I unplugged the connector from the back of it. A bunch of water dripped out. I plugged it back in and so far the temp reading has been accurate and the AC has worked just fine.
Thanks!