use it or lose it... seals will harden and leak

 

Leave it alone. No need to "exercise" it.

And those of us who park it for the winter months (Nov-May like me) just use gummi or similar on the seals in the spring.

 

Mine does not get open for about the same time frame as Len does. Not as cold as him but it get cold here and seat will keep your bottom warm , heater can not keep you warm. Never had an issues since 2012. Lube up the seals 2 times a year and so far no issues.

 

Leave it alone. No need to "exercise" it.

And those of us who park it for the winter months (Nov-May like me) just use gummi or similar on the seals in the spring.

Hi guys, what seals should I be lubricating and is "gummi" the lubrication I should be using? never heard of it

 

i stand by my statement
Cold and freezing weather can cause problems in your hydraulic systems if they are not adequately prepared. When hydraulic equipment is exposed to cold temperatures, rubber components such as seals, fittings, mounts, and hoses can be seriously damaged during operation.

 

It would have been great that Challenger's engineers had remember that.

 

Move to central Florida. 🌴🌞🌴

 

Or SoCal!

 

see the main thread

gummi for seals - see the pics for what seals
lithium grease for hinges and joints

Spring is here~Gummi Pflege! Lube your seals/Lithium...

It's that time of year to pay special attention to your weather seals. I've not found anything that even comes close to Gummi Pflege for protecting them Buy here: https://www.nextzettusa.com/gummi-pflege-rubber-care-stick/ or Amazon...

www.slkworld.com

 

Thanks guys

 

There's a roof?

 

was an option
get data card

 

I'm fairly sure that the manual states it can be below minus -10C-15C if you intend to drive with the top down in Siberia.

But of course, in winter just try to operate it occasionally within moderate temperatures, such as inside a garage or similar.

I've operated mine in -5C to be honest.

 

So long as not iced and car warmed up I use my roof year round.
Hydraulic reservoir is in the rear of the cabin, so seals not frozen, cabin warmed up...happy days.

 

and 4 cylinders though are in the trunk... brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
and they have seals

 

Left them out of the equation on porpoise.

 

The Black Series R171 should be the only one without a drop top and with a fixed roof frame. 👽

 

he was being 'funny' about the roof

 

I put my car away from mid December to late April. I Gummi the seals, lube the hinge points, put fuel stabilizer in and fill the tank and pump the tires to about 48 psi before connecting my Battery Tender Jr and throwing the cover. Works fine for me.

 

5 degrees - Centigrade or Fahrenheit?
Five degrees centigrade is -15 Fahrenheit. That’s pretty cold.
5 degrees Fahrenheit is -15 centigrade. Which is really cold. I wonder what our Nordic members have to say about this - particularly those that use their cars as daily drivers with snow tyres?
Clearly -15c is not too cold to drive a car. I’ve driven at -20c regularly and I don’t remember having to change the hydraulic fluid for a different viscosity summer and winter; just had a thing that kept the engine block warm when the car was parked. (I might be quite wrong about this; my memory is not wonderful)

Plenty of Germany gets to -5c in the winter. What’s the viscosity rating for the hydraulic fluid in the pumps for the roof?
I think Mb are being careful and the issue is less to do with the hydraulics than the rubber seals cracking. Either way. I take the tack with my cheap as chips 171 200 that I will drive it every day, topless, unless the automatic wipers come on. I’m just back from the pub and it’s -3c outside. Seats and airscarf on, we were toasty. Roof down isn’t just for the sunshine. Come on, join the dark side. You know you want to.

 

Ditto - This is the 5th winter for my car and I use it with the roof down whenever the sun is shining.

Driving in the cold. I worked in Kazakstan for a few years. -20C was a good day in winter. The Suburbans we had didn’t have block heaters so we left the engines running all night!!

 

Owner's money, owner's car, owner's choice.

 

Two and a half hour drive at around +1° C the other day. Blue skies and smiles all around. No problem being cold, cabin/seats/air scarf get plenty warm enough. I had to turn them down! Couple of comments along the lines of "must be mad" and one guy asked me which butcher I used! 🤣

 

One of my favourite memories is seeing an oncoming 4x4, driver in ski wear (including hat and gloves) shaking his head at me (roof down, hoodie, baseball cap, no gloves etc) on a road with light snow/heavy frost.
They do not get that our heating system is designed for 5 seater cars, yet fitted to a two seater car. so, even roof down, cabin is cosy.

 

We put ours in the garage for a few days with the roof down to help dry out the carpet. When I went to close it it took a couple of goes but it did go back thank goodness. I'd have thought be ok to open and close it occassionaly making sure the hinges etc are adequately lubricated

 

Without the engine running, doing that roof action sucks a LOT of battery juice and that's why it took "a couple of goes" while you ran down the battery

 

My manual says to operate the top mechanism only if "the outside temperature is above +5°F (-15°C)." These temperatures occur only every ten years or so where I live so they are not an issue. The top stays down all year when the car is moving, except when there is precipitation. This raises a question -- if I park somewhere when it is below +4 F, do I leave the top down? I suspect I would just raise to top before leaving the heated garage.

 

Hi there, thank you I was blind...and misread this. I thought it was +5°C but now I realize it's actually -15 so that's better. As it is about 3-5 degrees here at the moment.

 

My bottom temperature for top down motoring here is usually about 50°F. I still try and get the Garbage Scow out for a run at least once every 10 days. The monster sits in environmentally controlled garage, so about every 90 days I go over the seals with Gummi. Only takes about five minutes. If I don’t think I’ll be driving it for a couple of days I plug-in a battery tender. I have a Wi-Fi battery monitor, so I guess you could call me a little bit paranoid. If it is truly too unpleasant (high humidity clammy and cold) I usually drive the Tesla. Luckily, those conditions are only about 90 days out of the year.

 

If it’s not raining, my roof goes down! Absolutely do NOT take any advice from me though. I have no idea as to whether it’s good or bad for the car. I just like roof down driving!

 

I suspect the issue that Mercedes is concerned about is rubber weatherstripping being frozen and tearing if the roof is operated in extreme cold. I doubt that it is hydraulic seal related. I've been out on the freeway at 0c with the top down many times. With respect to the roof, my research showed that Mercedes rated it to a duty cycle of 800,000 actuations, if memory serves. I use it all the time. Often several times a day. My feeling is that it's much better to use it because it keeps the seals lubricated. Mind you, I've also been on the freeway in pissing down rain storms with the top down. It always amazes me how little water actually gets in the car in situations like that.

I mentioned it before, but I feel that the roof is similar to the front seal on an AC compressor. The front seal doesn't really seal the system and keep the refrigerant from leaking, it's the oil on the seal that keeps it from leaking. As such, if you shut your AC off for a protracted period it's not uncommon for the refrigerant to leak out. Where you often see this is in heavy-duty equipment (like excavators etc) that sit over the winter. The oil drips off the seal and refrigerant slowly escapes.

This is one reason the manufacturers turn the AC on in the defrost setting. It's better to defrost a window using dehumidified air (AC on) but it has the side benefit of running the AC in the colder months and keeping the seal lubricated.

In my mind, the roof circuit, viewed as a whole, comes down to 2 things, the brushes in the hydraulic pump motor (if it has brushes) and keeping the hydraulic seals lubricated. If the 800,000 duty cycle is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt it, my guess is that would be the only two things of concern. Just my .02c

As for storing the car, I'd have the roof and windows up, but that too would depend on location. A friend has a mint low mileage 3rd gen SLK. Just a beautiful car. He had no room at home for it over the winter so he put it at someone's place (sounded like a barn). Rats got in there and ate the wires. Apparently they had to pull the engine and transmission to repair the damage because they had to make a custom harness. He was told there were real problems getting a new harness from Mercedes... due to the issues in the Ukraine...

GM, Ford and Chrysler have used plastic loom on their wiring harnesses for years...ahem...cough...cough....

 

Hello, great question. It would seem that when possible, under safe operating conditions, there is benefit to exercising mechanical systems to allow parts to move and perform as intended through periodic use. Often when mechanical systems are idle, especially in colder climates, the forces of nature impact systems as such in a negative manner. An engine works best when in use. Operating the roof periodically seems to support the ability to keep parts from getting to comfortable in closed position and not allowing the joints to move and remain lubricatef (assuming all of the bearings and moving parts have been lubricated). Being born and raise in NY, i went through decades of winter with never having to winterize my snow blower - I would run it throughout the summer periodically when cutting the lawn…the engine never failed, good old rust was the driver for replacements. Much in the same manner folks have commented that leaving on the auto parking brake during the winter has led to seizing …

hope this helps!