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  #1  
Old 01-23-2013, 11:23 PM
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Driver's door check strap mount repair question

All,

My car suffers from a broken check strap mount on the frame-side of the door. Every time I open the driver's door, I get a pop, pop sound and where the check strap mounts to the body of the car, there are obvious stress cracks. I think someone previously forced the door past the normal opening position and broke the internal mount to the body of the car.

My question is, can the mount be re-welded if I remove the fender? Also, is removing the fender a fool's errand or can I do this before I hire somebody with a welder? I want to rectify this issue before I have the car repainted in case imminent paint damage is to occur.

Any suggestions will be helpful.

Thanks!

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  #2  
Old 01-24-2013, 01:31 AM
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I had this happen on my 1980 W116 300SD. The mount on the body broke and someone had used rivets to repair it in the past, which did not hold up. Spot welding on a piece in good condition is best, but here is how I fixed mine with spare Mercedes screws:

My driver door has been annoying me and I noticed that the door holder arm bracket on the body came loose, despite a previous repair. Apparently a faulty door holder (check strap) in the past had broken the spot welds on the bracket and someone had repaired it by drilling holes and using rivets.


I removed the door holder and kick panel, which allowed me to reach inside to pull out the bracket. Apparently someone had drilled two smaller access holes above the large one.


This is what was left of the door holder:


The only rivets I had were aluminum, and I didn't think they would hold, so I bored the holes that had already been drilled and used a self-tapping screw from my assortment of spare Mercedes hardware to cut threads (probably came from a power window regulator).


After cutting threads in the bracket, I found four matching flathead countersunk screws (probably from door releases or window cranks) that had the same thread pitch as the self-tapping screw.
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles
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Old 01-24-2013, 01:32 AM
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I used the flathead screws because I didn't want them sticking out, and to aid in this, I used a larger drill bit to cut a bevel around the holes so that the screws could sink in. I'm not a fan of putting holes in things, but since they were already there, I might as well use them.


I am happy with the way the screws threaded in and fit. I think it will hold better than the rivets and should be as strong as the original spot welds.


Fortunately, I had a new old stock door holder.


It needed some polishing, and I added fresh synthetic grease.


I also had a set of four new door holder seals.
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles
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Old 01-24-2013, 01:32 AM
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Here it is in place. I put the seal in what I think is the correct orientation... am I right?


I don't think the door check bracket on the body is accessible through the fender--only from the inside of the cab. I hope this helps you!
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles
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  #5  
Old 01-24-2013, 08:25 AM
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There's a thread on here from 5 or 6 years ago showing a similar repair on a 123. I think it did involve welding if my memory serves me correctly.

Those check straps take a lot of effort to retract once the lubrication is lost in the balls, (the opposite of older adult males) and put a lot of stress on the body mount.
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  #6  
Old 01-24-2013, 08:59 AM
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At the Tech Get Together in 2007 in Mt. Vernon, Texas, Roy asked me to help someone with this same problem. I was under the impression that the shop had a welder, but they did not, and my welding equipment was about 70 miles away.

I don't remember exactly what it looked like, but I remember that I could have fixed it quickly if I would have had access to a grinder and welder.

The repair in the picture using screws, should work well. I would worry about afixing the hinge with those four small screws, but the check strap plate should hold well as shown in the pictured four screw repair.

My $0.02,

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