I just bought a 98 SLK230 for a month and now the roof won't open at night time when the temperature is cooler. I am pretty sure it's the sticky pins above my head because when it opens during the day (after the grease is warmed up), the motor seems to have a hard time pulling the roof to the back when the pin is in. When the pins get pulled out the roof goes smoothly to the trunk. What do I need to do to make the pins or hooks not sticky again? Can I use WD40 or White grease?

 

its not gonna make any difference if you put wd or white grease,your problem sonds more lke the micro switches on both top of the piller,replaced no end of them,i am not sayin change them wat you need to do is to varify wat it needss and change the stuff its a diy they not bad to do.............diag by MB ONLY.....

 

As you said , white grease in fine. They are known to stick on the pins.
WD40 is only a short term fix as it dries up (parrafin base)

Lube all the hinges inc boot as well.

The rubber weatherstrip also sticks. Use a neutral rubber protector (not silicone)

The switches do go faulty. MB bulletins say to remove the plastic bellows off them 1st. Replace if still faulty.
Note: the switches normally go faulty when HOT not cold.

Bazzle

 

Any brand of neutral rubber protector you recommend? Do they come in the form of spray?

 

Be careful with white grease, it will permanently stain interior peices...Sounds like switches to me as I had similiar problem..

 

My top won't open on the 98 slk I just bought. The trunk lid goes up on the passenger side but gets stuck on the drivers side. Any thoughts?

 

It seems that the switches are a common problem. My 99 230 has had problems opening for the last 2 years and I was told by MB stealer it would cost 1K to replace. One fellow on the forum suggested that I make sure the trip lever unit is actually making good alignment contact to allow the relay process to send the message to the switches to go ahead and release. So, I reached up above the hydraulic pump unit, located the trip lever and jiggled it. That worked for me. Cost-$0 !!