Here you go...this is the rebuilder I and scores of others use. $50@ for the rebuilds, $10 shipping, regardless of the number of cylinders, 3 yr warranty, fast turnaround (few days) and a good guy-

Mercedes Hydraulic Cylinder Rebuilder

Dennis Ficken
16285 S. Chester
Olathe, Ks 66062
(913) 544-4521

mercedescylinders@sbcglobal.net

Bob

 

Thanks for the info.

Called Dennis, but as luck would have it he can only rebuild one cylinder for me.
Have 5 total though. MB wants to get deep in your pocket for these things too. He said they changed the design on my model.

 

Here is a company that has received a lot of good press:

Top Hydraulics, Inc
www.tophydraulicsinc.com
90730 Southview Lane, Florence, Oregon 97439
541 902 3214

It looks like Top Hydraulics does all Mercedes hydraulic cylinders, and they use better seal material than Dennis Ficken.

 

and they use better seal material than Dennis Ficken

And you know this to be true? HOW? Please explain-

Bob

 

I was only trying to pass on what I read. Maybe I didn't make it clear enough by not repeating the qualifier in my previous statement. Of course I cannot know that Top Hydraulics' seals are better. I can only make a qualified assumption. I meant to imply that it looks like Top Hydraulics is using the better seals. I was going by what Top Hydraulics is writing in their posts on benzworld, after reading the following post by kstreufert in the thread I quoted before:

"Interesting. I thought that Dennis only warranted the repairs for 90 days. I sent him my main lift cylinders that were rebuild in 1/08 and paid to have them rebuilt again. I will have to check and see if they should have been covered under the three year warranty.

Dennis has always been very helpful and provided great service. However I am a little frustrated that the seals tend to fail as frequently as the original units from Mercedes. Has anyone used Klaus Witte with Top Hydraulics? He is apparently using a seal made from an enhanced polyurethane that has twice the service life. I found Klaus the other day in an attempt to solve my own personal disaster. The story begins when I sent my bow cylinders with my troublesome lift cylinders to Dennis for repair. In the process of reinstalling the left bow cylinder the micro switch was damaged (no question it was my fault). In an effort to avoid paying the $700+ dollars for a new cylinder (the micro switch is not sold seperately) I searched for a less expensive alternative. After doing some extensive searching I ordered an advanced replacement from Klaus with the knowledge that I would have to eat the core charge (this is where I should have asked if the switch came with the cylinder). When my cylinder arrived in the mail a couple of days later I discovered my latest mistake. When I explained my situation to Klaus he graciously replaced my damaged switch for just the cost of the original cylinder replacement. Thank you Klaus you made my day."

After my judgment was challenged in this thread here, I actually called Top Hydraulics today. The guy I talked to (Klaus) said that he has rebuilt a bunch of Dennis' cylinders, that he knows which grade of material Dennis is using, and that he is sure his seals will last longer.

Btw, Top Hydraulics' website has removal instructions for the SL cylinders posted as pdf's, and you can order online.

In any case, I think it is awesome to have two vendors available that will rebuild these cylinders for about a tenth of what MB would charge us for new ones. I have just ordered my rebuilds, so I can say this out loud now: I would have gladly paid several times what they are charging, since either one is offering a three year warranty. Not MB...

 

Then westernmb, essentially you're presenting conclusions contrary to facts...simply using heresay. You're posts sound more like infomercials than straight information as if you're an employee of lightouse or Klaus' best friend.

And the poster you cite that allegedly was charged for a 2nd rebuild during the warranty period, did you ever follow up with the guy to ask, "When you contacted Dennis, what did he say?" It is a fact that Dennis' warranty is void if anything other than MB/FEBI hydaulic fluid is used in a customer's system WITHOUT additives like Stop-Leak, etc. There's an extensive discussion about the science behnd this in the benzworld.org stickys in the 129 forum.

I'd prefer not to turn this into a 'my guy's better than your guy' thing, but please be as factual as you can when you post here, or anywhere else for that matter, and I'll do the same.

Bob

 

Presenting conclusions contrary to facts? No. There are no facts contradicting my conclusion.

Infomercial? I quoted someone’s post on benzworld, who sounded reasonable. He was writing about frequent failures, not only one. He even said that Dennis was always helpful and provided good service. The quote may have been lengthy, but I kept the rest short.


I am neither an employee of lighthouse, nor related, nor a friend. I was trying to help keithshoe who initially asked for contact info for Dennis, because he needed his CLK cylinders rebuilt. You passed on that contact info, and keithshoe reported that Dennis can do only one of the cylinders in his car.

Fact is, there is a vendor who can do the job for keithshoe, and it is not Dennis. Fact is, it appears that their seals are better than Dennis'. I don't know whether they really are better, and I made that clear. No need to turn me into the bad guy here. My conclusions are reasonable, and I did not present them as hard facts. From now on, I'll think twice about helping people with questions, though.

 

OK westernmb, let's try to introduce some calm clarity here...as Shakespeare wrote, 'Methinks he doth protest too much'.

Question, if not an infomercial, then why toward the end of your earlier reply
where you state your response purpose as...

I was only trying to pass on what I read.

do you throw in another commercial...

Btw, Top Hydraulics' website has removal instructions for the SL cylinders posted as pdf's, and you can order online.

Further, if you check with Karsten, the original poster whose seal rebuild had to be done twice and not covered by Dennis' warranty...The facts are these, Dennis puts in writing, usually on the order acknowledgement and or payment receipt that if he detects Stop-Leak or any other harmful additive, the warranty is voided unless the system is purged and the additive flushed. He (Dennis) has a means of testing the residual fluid in a cylinder for contaminants. This is a business policy he's had in effect for years. Again, please validate w/Karsten.

Again, from an earlier statement of yours, 'It looks like Top Hydraulics does all Mercedes hydraulic cylinders, and they use better seal material than Dennis Ficken.' Before I had my cylinders rebuilt 4 years ago, I asked Dennis what material he used for the seals. The best I could get out of him was 'enhanced polyurethane', which is NOT what MB used originally, and is what Klaus says he's using. I don't expect either of these guys to let trade secrets out and I'm no chemist, so enhanced polyurethane is the only answer available. But to claim my enhanced is better than your enhanced is irrelevant; I wouldn't care if they used silly-putty, as long as the warranty was good. Suggestion...write or call Dennis and ask him yourself.

Now about the infomercial comment...you just showed up the other day with a virtually blank profile and your only input to anything on this website is a commercial for lighthouse and you claim you joined a forum just to help out somebody...give me a break. Stick around and contribute worthwhile information that owners can use and please prove me wrong.

Bob

 

And I have the seals at $30 each if you want to rebuild the cylinders by yourself. Most seal replacements take only few minutes to do. In any case it is faster than two trips to the post office

So far, the first seals I replaced last for more than two years in LA, where top goes down and up few times a day

http://www.mbseals.com

You won't have to ship cylinders back and forth. Most leaking are locks and they are the easiest to rebuild. I have photo instructions just on the front page.

Good luck! Enjoy your car with the top off or on! It is fantastic either way.
I am a proud owner of E320 cabriolet. SL500 is driven by my daughter now. I had to fix the roof hydraulics on both cars. There is no escape from this!

 

Hallo, i need Dannis telephon number or e-mail adress. Can you help me?