Mercedes SL350, SL500, SL550, SL65 AMG R230 Roof Hinge Flap repair

[@gsxrzl5]

Hello, great work and good advise with the camera. very good manual to repair the flaps on my car.

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks so much! Glad you like the vid. Hope it helps.

[@paulandrews3638]

Very good video clear and concise without out the usual overinflated egos of other tubers Paul 20:42 20:42

[@autogaragelife]

Thank you very much! Glad to be helpful!👍

[@victornunez8322]

I had the same problem with my sl 500 until I met you in your post you told me everything I followed every step and wolo perfect thank you so very much my friend

[@autogaragelife]

No worries! Thanks for watching!

[@tokyo1469]

Same problem on mine… most issues on the R230 are literally a case of a quick search ….. job done … good informative videos like these are a God send👍

[@autogaragelife]

Thank you sir! Glad it helped!

[@grahamfairhurst3321]

Thanks Dave, that saved me a few £££! The hinge I bought from EBay slightly different as it did away with the spring, instead put a small weight on the underside of the flap, which helps it fall back down

[@autogaragelife]

Great glad to hear it! Drop the link to what you bought as I’m keen to see it incase I lose a spring!👍

[@petermcgibney]

Here I am again wishing you lived closer, I have exactly the same problem, my local dealer has said it will cost me 1575 euros to fix. 😮 thanks again for your fantastic video.

[@autogaragelife]

Thank you again. Yes I imagine they would price for the whole panel. No repairs like this in a dealership. Maybe an independent garage would give it a go?

[@Eric66MD]

Did this repair today. Probably bought the part 2 years ago… Was pretty easy. I didn’t put the hinge together before gluing it so getting the spring reinstalled was a bit of a hassle but with some persistence I figured out a method that worked. Didn’t have to worry about getting glue on the cover…

[@mmm-is9ro]

As far as the cost from MB I have this story from 2021. I went to the dealer to buy a liter of rear end fluid and asked the guy about this part. He found that one has to buy cover piece it's attached to and after looking into this for 45 minutes came out to the lobby and told me there were 2 part numbers. The original pn was $549, but he doubted we could get it as the new pn replaced it and with the car being so old, thought all the original parts would be gone, leaving the new one at $1459. He felt so bad about the price he gave the $40 liter of fluid for free (and no I did not buy the part)

[@paulblandy987]

Brilliant little video and very impressed 👍

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks Paul! It’s holding up pretty good so far!

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

Roof flap is the quintessential R230 repair.

[@autogaragelife]

It seems to be! Perhaps I should have started my video series with this repair!😁

[@MrMarco6900]

If you're in the US, ebay US has similar repair pieces, just search "Convertible Top Flap Replacement Hinge"

[@autogaragelife]

@MrMarco6900 thanks!👍 I need to go back to the US soon. Miss it! 😞

[@lloydphillips6282]

Thanks for your video, I have the same problem , but on the left side. I did not the 8mm socket nut being retightened in the reassembly. I would appreciate your comment on this. Thanks

[@autogaragelife]

Just the reverse of the removal. Make sure the plastic tab is seated properly then lightly tighten the nut. No need to remove the nut, just loosen it.

[@autogaragelife]

You can still do this repair if you are missing the spring! Should still work but flap won’t be as springy obviously😊

[@bigdog7813]

Greetings from Wisconsin. Thank you for the very informative video. I have to perform the same operation on the right side just as you did, however, I no longer have the flap, spring or rod (either lost in the wind or the original user didn't know what it was and threw it in the trash). Anyway, I was able to source the flap and related hinge bits from Octoclassic (thank you for the lead) and will attempt to find a suitable rod at the local hardware store. I'll also look for a spring, but the one needed seems to be very specific to this application. Thanks again for your help!

[@autogaragelife]

@@bigdog7813 thank you very much! Glad to help!

[@larslundin4757]

Jeesus, fantastic work, well done!👍

[@autogaragelife]

Thank you! Thanks for watching👍

[@LouisEvangelista007]

Nice video and repair! Well done!

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks very much👍 Common problem on these cars.

[@LouisEvangelista007]

@@autogaragelife yes for sure. I had no idea something like this existed. Mb wants $550 for entire piece which has the flap.

[@autogaragelife]

I know its a shocking amount of money. Merc don’t sell the small flap separately but other places do. Quite an easy repair for little money.

[@Naturebycarter]

Very informative thanks . How where you operating the top while not being in the car

[@autogaragelife]

Thank you! Do you mean at roughly 18:00 when I test it?

[@johnlynchpersonaltraining9918]

Hi . Thanks for the great video. Good advice . Looks like you are in Ayr by the scenery. I am in Gourock. I have a 2004 sl350 and l have some similar issues plus some other ones. Not enough to change my opinion that it is a great drive and lovely car. Would be interesting if l could have a chat about some things with you personally,as unlike me you seem pretty good at prob solving when it comes to these.

[@autogaragelife]

Hi John. Good guess! Yes in Ayr. Please message me through facebook if you want to chat. Just setup a facebook page the other day and it’s linked via the about page on my channel here. Would love to help.👍

[@johnlynchpersonaltraining9918]

@@autogaragelife found you and left message( story) 😜

[@4Frischlinge]

I had the same problem on my SL55 and I made metal hinges… and repaired my little flaps. I made a couple of more hinges for friends in the German SL R230 club. You can find the manual and hinges when you search for kleine-klappe

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks, to be honest your hinges look better than the plastic ones. Mine have held up but yours look more robust. Do you sell them and ship to uk?

[@4Frischlinge]

@@autogaragelife yes, I sent two of the repair sets already to the UK... (and some to France, USA, Japan - it is a hassel with the tax declaration :-) (sorry for the late answer but the forwarding of my gmail's to my reguar account got stuck somehow)

[@danielboutros2648]

Hello, do you have a link directly to see this? Have this issue on my SL now.

[@4Frischlinge]

@@danielboutros2648 in Pontarlier

[@autogaragelife]

@@danielboutros2648 there is a link in the video description 👍

[@garylang998]

Does anybody do this in South yorkshire England I have the hinges

[@autogaragelife]

No idea I’m afraid but any mechanic should be capable.

[@ck-one4172]

Very good video. I brought it off eBay but it didn't come with the spring or rod. Do you think i could find similar replacements at a hardware store??

[@autogaragelife]

Unfortunately they don’t come with any hardware so if you have lost the flap you will have to source a new spring and rod. They are very small so a look on the web may help in the first instance.

[@larryhouse8109]

When I order the plastic piece to repair the hinge flap on eBay what do I call the plastic piece

[@autogaragelife]

I’ve got links to both pieces in the video description. You can see the full names of each via those links

[@1bluesmanj]

Great video - Thank you! The part from your link shows it to be "off white" but yours looks to be black. Wouldn't black be better?

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks. Despite the photo on ebay mine came as black. I bought a couple just incase👍

[@dariuszsarek2727]

Very helpful 👍 thanks but I don’t see a link to eBay unfortunately

[@autogaragelife]

Thanks. There are 2 links in the video description.

[@dariuszsarek2727]

Now I see 😁, thank you so much

[@antoniolanas481]

Thanks, very good explanation

[@autogaragelife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ironhide3732]

How long do you think this solution will last? It's not going to break anytime soon do you think?

[@autogaragelife]

It’s lasted 235 days since I uploaded the video. Tops been up and down many times. Best estimate I can give.

[@Shadow456376]

Still going strong?

[@Eric66MD]

@@Shadow456376 the replacement piece is much much sturdier than stock. I don’t see a reason that it will ever break

[@commasNculture]

Will not having them effect to working of the roof at all

[@autogaragelife]

Not at all, just doesn’t look right with the top down.

[@matimati3530]

Just thank you

[@autogaragelife]

You are welcome 👍

[@kageyme8109]

You'll be kept very busy as an Sl owner !! Especially with the roof

[@autogaragelife]

Yes I will but love it👍

[@kageyme8109]

@@autogaragelife They are great , I've had mine years . Like most had the usual PSE problems , but all sortable !! You should put that video on the R230 forums

[@autogaragelife]

@@kageyme8109 thanks. I have posted links on 3 facebook groups but not any forums (unless that’s what you mean?)

[@kageyme8109]

@@autogaragelife I'm meant Facebook 😀

[@khunchai43]

Roof Hinge Flap broke all the time, poor quality plastic. Same problems for the rest of the vehicle.