Anyone ever repair sun visors

[jcd]

I have a W123 1977 300D. The passenger sunvisor won't stay up. The vinyl cover is in great shape.

It doesn't appear that you can access the "hinge" without ripping the vinyl off. Before I try to find a replacement, has anyone experimented with this type of repair.

[tcane]

I found an exact pair of replacement visors on eBay for $22 including S&H. I don't see how someone can repair them for less, unless you do it yourself, but then the problem of resealing the vinyl would be an issue since it looks to me the vinyl would have to be cut to gain access to the inner mechanism. It seems the passenger side visor fails more often than the driver's side, probably because the driver's side is used more so the locking mechanism operates easily. Adsit sells used visors, the most recent price list had prices of like $90 each. A junk yard is another option, but I looked at several in my area to no avail. You may have better luck at junkyards in your area, especially ones that specialize in M-B/foreign parts. eBay is probably your best choice, but it can take a while for an auction that has your particular visor shows up (I recall looking for 4-5 weeks for mine). You can use velcro to hold the visor up until you find a replacement.

Good Luck!
Tom

[jcd]

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH, so you're the guy who beat me out on ebay. congrats,

I figured that was the case, however, given the inventiveness of this group, I figured that someone had determined how to do it. I'll keep looking on ebay.

Thanks

JCD

[jerryb]

There is a screw to tighten the hinge, and another to tighten the swivel. The screw to keep it from flopping down is a slot head that is in the open, the other one is a phillips to tighten the ball socket and you have to remove the windshield trim to find it.
Jerryb

[tcane]

Jerryb:

I looked at my visors and there are not any screws that can tighten the hinge or swivel. My visors are the plain-Jane-type with only a small mirror in the passenger visor. What kind of visors do you have (the ones with a light and/or the mini vanity) and what year/model is your Benz? I had to replace the passenger side visor because the interior part came apart/disintegrated on the rod (its made out of cardboard or masonite, or some other material). So tightening screws won't help me, but others may want to know about these screws and what style of visors have them.

JCD:

I bought my visors on eBay in November. If you were bidding on them also - Oh Well! I know that I have been outbid numerous times and this time I was willing to pay more than you bid. I'll keep your need for visors in mind if I come across any. You're looking for what color (the ones I bought are Palimino/light brown) and which one do you want or both (both makes it easier to keep matching colors)? How much are you willing to pay?

Tom

[jcd]

Color is palomino, and no hard feelings on the e-bay auction...may the best man win.

I would like both visors, so they match. And I'm not sure what I'm willing to pay, other than at least $1 more than you paid on the auction.

Thanks again.

[tcane]

JCD:

OK, I'll keep a look out for a pair of visors for you when I go looking for parts, but it is uncertain when I will be going again since I don't need anything now. I'll let you know the next time I go scrounging for parts to see if you still need them. When I was looking before buying them on eBay I found places specializing in M-B used parts wanted $20-$30 each for visors and other junkyards less like $5-$10. I would only want the price I pay for the visors plus S&H cost - is that OK with you?

Tom

[michael rybikowsky]

Wow velcro what a great idea.Two places on my80 450 sl that bspeake cheap are the sunvisors and the sound of the trunk lid shuting.Talk about tinny I am going to get my velcro right now thanks michael

[tcane]

Michael:

I used 1/2" wide velcro strips and now know I should have used wider strips (like 1"). Also, I cut the length too short (as I recall, the velcro came in a 3 foot length) and the velcro eventually pulled loose because of the weight of the visor, bumps in the road, heat from the summer sun, etc. I would suggest cutting the strips almost the full length of the visor and also run a strip on each end. I used isopropyl alcohol to clean the area where the strips were attached to help the adhesive on the velcro adhere well (you can try something else, the alcohol did not harm the area cleaned). Then, I used a baseball bat to keep pressure on the visor in the closed position to give the adhesive enough time to fully adhere to the roof and visor. As I recall, the instructions with the velcro called for a 24 hour period before using the velcro to allow the adhesive enough time to fully set - that's why I used a baseball bat with a few pieces of cardboard to put enough pressure on the visor to allow the adhesive to set. I had a short bat (substitute what you have available - 2x2, 2x4, golf club, broom handle, etc., etc.) and put it on the seat with a few pieces of cardboard between the bat and the visor to get good pressure and also spread the contact a bit (or flat wood, a paperback book, etc., etc.).

Another member wrote about attaching a lining (like sound soak or Dyna Mat, carpet, or soemthing else) to the trunk lid resulting in a solid sound/feel when the lid was closed.

Good Luck!
Tom

[jcd]

I appreciate the offer. Add a personal handling fee for yourself of a Starbucks, or in TX a 6 pack of Lonestar and you have a deal.

JCD

[blackestate]

I have a 300sd, that the sun visors will not stay up on. Does the comment about the screws to tighten them apply, or is there another option?