So here’s what I have to say about R129 top cylinders: 1.) There are numerous suppliers of “kits” on eBay and elsewhere for seal replacement. While this allegedly is a simple job, as Floyd mentioned, even the slightest scratch on the chrome plated cylinder rods can permanently ruin them. That and there’s no telling how long the seals will last. This should be a once in a ownership job, ideally, and in my opinion, justifies the complete rebuild of the cylinders by a competent firm such as Top Hydraulics, who guarantees their work *and* provides excellent support. Not only that, but some components, such as the top locks in the top of the windshield frame, are easily damaged if you attempt to disassemble them, and also require careful alignment when reassembling for them to work correctly. Top Hydraulics aligns and adjusts them when they rebuild them, cutting down the time it takes to get everything working again after reassembly. Sure, it’s easily $800 (or more) for a complete cylinder rebuild depending on the model, but it cuts to the potential for future issues down to almost nothing. Not only that, but if you goof up a cylinder, you’re buying a new one, which will cost you more than what a rebuild of the complete set costs.
2.) R&R is an unpleasant job, mainly because you have to disassemble the back section of the interior. Other than that, it’s just a brute force, time consuming job that requires a lot of arm scratching gyrations to get to everything. Again, Top Hydraulics provides some really good documentation on R&R of the cylinders and what to watch out for, as there are some microswitches on the top frame that are critical to proper operation that are easily damaged or goofed up when R&R’ing if you’re not careful. It takes all of a day to remove and another day to install. Again, it’s a lot of R&R that you can’t shortcut, you just have to take your time and do it properly. It’s not difficult nor does it require special tools, it just takes time. -D > On Apr 14, 2022, at 10:00 AM, Buggered Benzmail via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > My car had a package of o-rings for the top zylinders in the trunk which > suggests the top is inop. I have had the hardtop off once but have not tried > to raise the soft top. From what I read it is not hard to replace the > o-rings, you just have to be careful not to scratch the metal and to get them > in right. I think Dan said he did the R&R in like 10-12 hr. A lot of the time > is pulling and replacing panels. > > Sent from my iPad > >> On Apr 14, 2022, at 9:55 AM, mitch--- via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> >> wrote: >> >> On 2022-04-14 09:44, Jim Cathey via Mercedes wrote: >>> I hope one of these never comes my way, I'd be tempted. >>> It seems doubtful that these cylinders would be all that much >>> harder to deal with, individually, than was the rear strut in >>> the 560 SEL. See: >>> http://formicapeak.com/~jimc/SELlog.html#21Dec2010 >>> <http://formicapeak.com/~jimc/SELlog.html#21Dec2010> >>> I spent $9 on parts for it. That was 12 years ago, and it's >>> still holding up. (Not getting driven a lot, though.) >> >> Somebody in the comments claimed that the parts to reseal the little latch >> cylinders in the windshield header were $2/per cylinder. >> >> Hey Dan, was the weezurd's estimate of 10-11 hours to R&R all the cylinders >> reasonable, or can it be done quicker than that? >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
