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Tiny oil like substance drip on roof mechanism

23K views 71 replies 23 participants last post by  Avel Du 
#1 ·
Hi guys, wife just came back home, said "The roof is Leaking Passenger Side". Went out to find an oily residue where the roof meets the windscreen. definately oil and not water, but not alot at all. Leak is only visible inside not out









Any help or suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks
 
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#4 ·
And there is hydraulic cylinder in the windshield header which actuates the roof locks there; given where you are seeing the oil it is probably that actuator that is leaking (the seals eventually fail). Threads here for the brave on how to drill into the thing to renew the seals. I don't speak from experience; merely from reading about the topic here.
 
#5 ·
I had the same problem. It was a leaking lock cylinder. The cylinder is in the front middle of the roof and that is just where it leaks out. If you have a circular port in the center you can pop it off and look in with a flashlight. Look through the threads and you will know what to look for.

The seal is inexpensive to DIY if you have some moderate skills or the dealer can handle it. It is also easy to remove the headliner (search for procedure) and them the mechanism is all right there in front of you. I drove around like that for a couple of weeks fixing mine.

Best Wishes
 
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#9 ·
I have an '06 R171. The oil that leaked out of my cylinder didn't discolor the headliner at all. It just flowed around in the headliner until it found a way out, which for me was on the front right side.

It could be another component, but the most likely cause is the seal on the lock cylinder. It is a common problem and the rest of the roof hydraulic system is pretty well leak proof.

Search "lock cylinder"
 
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#15 ·
Ok big thanks to all so far.

Yes you were correct REB_TN_06 it is leaking from the lock cylinder and from the look of the underside of the head liner its run both ways but found its best escape on the passenger side, perhaps my tires are low on air that side :)



So just have to figure our the next step

I believe my son and i are slightly above layman mechanically skilled, we just completed a nightmare of a job, complete valve spring and seal replacement, on his 04 Infiniti G35, still that said, REB_TN_06, did you do your own and are there DIY's for it?

I read about drilling the seal out and replacing with an O ring

Thanks
 
#16 ·
If you have done that you can definitely DIY the lock cylinder. Buy an O ring off eBay and then look at the lock cylinder threads. You are correct it calls for drilling out the housing to get the lock ring out. I'm remote now but I can post the links later this week.
 
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#17 ·
Confirmation off Marty (shockwave technologies) R171 O ring kit

04 09 Mercedes SLK 280 350 SLK 55 AMG R171 Hydraulic Cylinder Roof Repair Kit | eBay

Lets get ready to rumble

PS. REB_TN_06, yes we did it, took 4 weekends working blind, making mistakes, making DOHC (internal spring) compression tools, figure timing chain etc etc etc. The compression tool alone from popular aftermarket performance guy was 300 bucks, drew it up on adode, made it with help from local welding company for $30 did all 24 valves perfect

i would like to make a complete DIY for newbies on this because it all seems to be bits and pieces around and about.

Advice on what i need to do to produce that would be appreciated
 
#26 ·
sharing same problem

Confirmation off Marty (shockwave technologies) R171 O ring kit

04 09 Mercedes SLK 280 350 SLK 55 AMG R171 Hydraulic Cylinder Roof Repair Kit | eBay

Lets get ready to rumble

PS. REB_TN_06, yes we did it, took 4 weekends working blind, making mistakes, making DOHC (internal spring) compression tools, figure timing chain etc etc etc. The compression tool alone from popular aftermarket performance guy was 300 bucks, drew it up on adode, made it with help from local welding company for $30 did all 24 valves perfect

i would like to make a complete DIY for newbies on this because it all seems to be bits and pieces around and about.

Advice on what i need to do to produce that would be appreciated

If you have a video or any technical advise that may assist me , since I will begin next weekend to install such o ring to cylinder and/or actuator.
 
#18 ·
OK its on its way

Meantime, to release the pressure on the piston i read in a post to just close the roof fully then open it and just as the piston unlatches/unlocks release the button and the piston should be easier to compress inward to its furthest point?
 
#20 · (Edited)
Gorhad,
As far as I can remember I took the cylinder off with the roof up and locked into position.

My Advice:
- Take a lot of pictures of the assembly before you start taking screws out. There will be paint showing the position of things, and you want to be able to put it back exactly as it was when it came apart.

- The O kit ring will have lots of instructions. They are very beneficial.

- You can't disconnect the hydraulic lines from the cylinder. They are an integral unit. Therefore you will need to drill and work on the cylinder while the hydraulic lines are still attached to the car. I detached everything as far as possible and was able to get the cylinder outside of the car to work on it. A portable workbench with a vise would be a great help. I didn't have one. On a related note you want to free up the lines to get as much travel to work as possible. Thus you will be disconnecting the feed and return line as far back along the roof as you can. I believe that they ran down the RH side of the roof. Once again, take pics so that you know how it all goes back together.

- Be very careful when working with the cylinder. The last thing you want to do is to either get dirt or metal shavings in the system or to scratch the piston. Flushing the cylinder out with a solvent and wrapping the piston with electrical tape are both excellent strategies. The hardest part for me was actually getting the retaining ring back into position. If I had it to do over again I would do what another user did and use a snap ring of the same size and snap ring pliers instead.

- Try and lose as little hydraulic fluid as you can. The system is self bleeding (doesn't matter if you get air into the line) and has a reservoir attached to the pump. I didn't even have to add any extra hydraulic fluid after the repair. If you do then the pump is behind the seat and there's a thread on here on how to get to it.

Here's the best picture on what you are getting ready to do with the cylinder, courtesy of SLKWorld member Sokoloff. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r170-slk-class/1638473-slk-top-cylinder-rebuild-guide-cut.html

Best Wishes,
 
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#28 ·
C RING and O Ring

Gorhad,
As far as I can remember I took the cylinder off with the roof up and locked into position.

My Advice:
- Take a lot of pictures of the assembly before you start taking screws out. There will be paint showing the position of things, and you want to be able to put it back exactly as it was when it came apart.

- The O kit ring will have lots of instructions. They are very beneficial.

- You can't disconnect the hydraulic lines from the cylinder. They are an integral unit. Therefore you will need to drill and work on the cylinder while the hydraulic lines are still attached to the car. I detached everything as far as possible and was able to get the cylinder outside of the car to work on it. A portable workbench with a vise would be a great help. I didn't have one. On a related note you want to free up the lines to get as much travel to work as possible. Thus you will be disconnecting the feed and return line as far back along the roof as you can. I believe that they ran down the RH side of the roof. Once again, take pics so that you know how it all goes back together.

- Be very careful when working with the cylinder. The last thing you want to do is to either get dirt or metal shavings in the system or to scratch the piston. Flushing the cylinder out with a solvent and wrapping the piston with electrical tape are both excellent strategies. The hardest part for me was actually getting the retaining ring back into position. If I had it to do over again I would do what another user did and use a snap ring of the same size and snap ring pliers instead.

- Try and lose as little hydraulic fluid as you can. The system is self bleeding (doesn't matter if you get air into the line) and has a reservoir attached to the pump. I didn't even have to add any extra hydraulic fluid after the repair. If you do then the pump is behind the seat and there's a thread on here on how to get to it.

Here's the best picture on what you are getting ready to do with the cylinder, courtesy of SLKWorld member Sokoloff. SLK Top Cylinder Rebuild Guide with Cut-Away Diagrams - Mercedes-Benz Forum

Best Wishes,

Waw it is great know about . Concerning the pictures of JMARKOA


I am confused with the C Ring and O Ring to be replaced from the Cylinder. The kit offered apparently mention the O Ring not the C Ring. How may acquire it?




Best Wilfredo from Puerto Rico
 
#21 ·
Hi guys ....just an update

Performed the dreaded repair today. All went very well...stripped her down as per the instructions that came with the kit from shockwave Technologies. The only problem i did encounter was when i was maneuvering the actuator back into position to put the 2 dowel pins back in (long and short one), remember they insert from the top (blind) and down, i unlocked both right and left roof latches because i wiggled the cross mechanisms a little too much trying to get my fat hands behind, so when i thought all was OK and tried it out nothing happened even the trunk would not open....Hah hah theres a limit switch on the right hand side where the latch mechanism engages....held the switch in with a tint blade screw driver, pressed the open/close button and voila all is OK....Im leaving the roof trim off for a few days just to make sure all is good.

Thanks to all i really appreciate your help
 
#22 ·
Heres a few pics of the OEM culprit









Again many thanks to all

PS, i didnt have to release pressure at pump or bleed system (its self bleeding)..Just closed the roof as normal, dismantle, do the job and reinstall

If anyone has any ???? just message me i am more than willing to help
 
#35 ·
Heres a few pics of the OEM culprit









Again many thanks to all

PS, i didnt have to release pressure at pump or bleed system (its self bleeding)..Just closed the roof as normal, dismantle, do the job and reinstall

If anyone has any ???? just message me i am more than willing to help

I will start to repair this week end. Just curious: Do I have to remove the headliner with the top open, then close, obviously without the headliner to repair the cylinder?. If I should not disconnect the oil line from the cylinder, is there any way to work there?. Is the other 5 cylinders using the same O ring, SINCE I HAVE 4 OF THEM.


I will take images of all procedure and placed in this forum for everybody use


Best


Wilfredo.
 
#24 ·
Happen to see this thread and I have the same problem. The oil traveled down the roof liner and dripped on passenger side. That cylinder in my car was dripping in the same spot. My son was going to replace the cylinder at first, but I found this. Thanks, a lot of good info here, I'll show this thread to him. Every time I go anywhere I put the roof up & down 2 to 3 times.
 
#29 ·
The repair kit includes only one seal -- the "piston rod seal" which is causing your leakage -- so you'll have to re-use all of your old parts other than this one seal.

Ideally it would make sense to proactively replace other seal and bushing while you have the cylinder apart, but the kit linked above only includes the one seal.
 
#30 ·
...so you're recommending buying two kits then.

Much like the 170, which experiences this often, this is likely to become a more common 171 problem.

Could our "experts" on the topic put their heads together, and put together a DIY post with fotos, diagrams, step by step....
 
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