Has anyone seen a hydraulic fluid leak arount the driver's side sun visor area? It seems
to leak only a small amount. Any ideas???

 

are you using the hardtop or soft top when you see it?

 

Thanks for the reply.. Not sure when it appears, just took the Hard Top off the season
so maybe from that. Do the top latches work differently for the two tops?

 

You know, I have the exact same thing happening with my 1995 SL320, except it is on the passenger side. Very annoying. Anyone got a fix, or even a clue. Happens with both hardtop and softtop in use.

 

I just finished making a repair on my 91 SL with the same problem.

The hydraulic fluid is coming from the top latch. There is one located on both the driver and passenger side. I bought a used one on Ebay for $200. The dealer list price on those is about $350. I don't know how much they charge to install them. They are easy to get to and it doesn't take much effort to change the unit with the right tools. With the top open (convertible) or the hard top removed, remove the the screws that hold the black plastic trim around each top lock. After both trim pieces are removed -- remove the top trim which covers the top of the windshield by moving the cover toward the interior of the car. Once this piece is removed you will be able to see the the hydraulic lines and the lock mechanism for both sides. I actually wiped the area clean of all hydraulic fluid, wrapped a small amount of paper towel around each hydraulic line where it is attached to the lock, and raised the roof. I wanted to check to make sure one of the lines had not worked itself loose. That was not the case when I discovered a large amount of fluid pooling under the lock and both pieces of paper towels completely dry. There are (3) torque type screws holding the unit into the top of the windshield frame and two hydraulic lines held in place by slip retension clips. (It's amazing how that clip works -- but it does) Mercedes recommends you buy plastic plugs to seal the lines while you change the unit. They cost around $.35 each. This might not be needed if you make the change quickly. Once you have removed the screws, simply pull on the retension clips with a pair of pliers and the lines will be free to be removed from the lock mechanism. Hooking them back up is almost as easy, just make sure you have them lined up right and push the retension clip back in. The clip will not go all the way in if you don't have the lines positioned properly. Put everything back in -- in reverse order and you should be ok. The whole procedure probably took me about 30 minutes. It could be less or more for you depending upon your techinical skill level. Mine is just average. I had the replacement part before I attempted to remove the defective lock and had opened up the top cover several times trying to make sure the lock was the problem. I've taken the top cover off several times after to make sure I had no leaks. Even if you try to clean up hydraulic fluid left from the first leaking lock, there will probably be some you won't be able to get to and you may see that fluid work itself out within a day or two. I had this happen so I opened the cover back up to make sure the new lock wasn't leaking. Now, everything seems to be OK and I have no leaks.
Good Luck!

 

MY 94 SL600 HAS THE SAME SYMPTOMS

WE SHOULD KEEEP THIS REPLY ON THIS SITES

THANKS whawki

 

This is what You all need
$150 shipped in US!

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I noticed the same problem with my '99 and started to disassemble, only to find the exact problem. I just joined to forum to see if this was a problem for others and was excited to see the posting. Thanks for the tips! Once I make the replacement, though, is there any need to have additional hydraulic fluid added? If so, where is this done? Currently, my roll bar and top will not move and I'm not sure if it's due to a lack of pressure in the line (is it even a pressurized line?). Just to mention, I'm not the mechanical type, just good at taking things apart (and hopefully getting them back together with a minimal number of pieces left over!).

 

I went to the dealer this morning and purchased a new vacuum cylinder (the big silver piece on the end in V12's photo) and a quart of the hydraulic fluid. I couldn't find this stuff on the internet and the car was already apart so I needed to get it back together asap. Anyway, the cylinder set me back $248 and the fluid another $35 (wow!). Anyway, $300 and and two hours later the top and rollbar are working just fine!

It's probably only a 30 minute job if you don't lose any of the pieces on the ground like I did. I started to take apart the whole assembly in V12's photo and dropped a tiny lock washer that took a while to find. Anyway, that was not necessary. All in all, it was a relatively simple task. I wasn't familiar on how to take off the upholstered cover so I just took my time and did some wiggling. To take off the cover there are two screws on each side (one in the rubber seal and one hidden underneath). Besides that, a little wiggling will remove the top and expose the cylinder. My leaking one was over the driver side. I appreciate everyone's comments as I know it saved me several hundred $$ in labor. I hope my comments help out as well.

Thanks.

 

HELLO I KNOW 100% WHAT IS WRONG IN YOUR CAR, ITS A AUTO SHUT HYDULIC, WHICH IS OVER YOUR SUN VISOR, ITS HOOK UP WITH 3 BOLTS & 2 PIPES, THAT IS A PROBLEM YOU ARE GETTING OIL ON YOUR SEAT, ITS VERY HARD TO REPAIR JUST BUY NEW OR USED, & CHANGE IT, WANT TO BUY ONE I CAN GET ONE FOR YOU, THANKS, I HAVE ONE IN STOCK TODAY FOR $200 ITS LIKE NEW, ANY ONE WANT PLEASE TELL ME ASAP PLEASE THANKS

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