Door check strap repair?
 

There is a VERY!? authoritative "SOURCE of MERCEDES" :) repairs on the internet who is posting videos on Mercedes repairs and selling parts. This very knowledgeable? person stood there in a clean shop smock talking about lack of lubrication and water damage for a door check strap, with an authoritative tone said, "These old door check straps are not repairable."

That's my understanding. Have you successfully repaired one - that lasted? They are a pita when they lock up. I grab spares when at the yard.

Door check strap.
 

I think that he may mean that the door check strap itself is not repairable. I have always had to get a new one and install it in place of the failed one.

I replaced three in my car when I got it. Would have been a PITA to try fixing the old ones, there was some rust, the springs were shot, one had one of the big steel balls out. The car came from a rainy zone. I found some at Bay Area boneyards off of more recent gasser 126s, lubed them a bit and they work splendid.

Unscrew the old one, put the new one in.

Paint the exposed portion for correctness if desired.

Ive seen some re-lube them, but the ones Ive bought have lube gooped in there already.

Ive never had one break and snag, they just seem to lose their ability to hold the door in place.

Not sure if that itself is repairable, and Ive never really looked into why it happens...

Yeah the door was stuck! in the opened position on the left side of the car while parked on the street.

I replace them, not rebuild them. You should be able to find new ones online.

I think that if a door check strap is not repairable due to lack of lubrication we, "here on the forum" are all in big trouble with these old cars.

It has nothing to do with lack of lubrication. If the strap is still functioning, add grease. It'll prolong its life.

Once it starts creaking and groaning, it's not long for this world. After it locks up, it's history. It has nothing to do with whether or not you can lubricate it, it has everything to do with corrosion and wear making it infeasible to repair. You can throw all the grease you want in there and it'll still jam up because the sliding surfaces are galled and rust is present internally.

For the amount of time and effort required just to pull the thing out, you're time and money ahead to just replace it. Especially if you're in a parking lot one day and the thing jams open. Super convenient to have to tear a door down to remove a jammed check strap.

I repaired all four check straps on my car but i dont know if yours are the same . You need a good vice to hold them in .Once the balls are out a good clean and polish plus grease up and then fit them back in to the bracket do a google on it you should find the repair the DIY i did.

Ken is a salesman.

126 Check strap repair - Mercedes-Benz Forum

Personally I would just replace them. Everything is repairable. It is a matter of time and money( if you can buy the parts). The shell can be reused for sure. The innards may not be available or costs more than the whole unit. One needs to know when to repair, when to let go.

This. Pretty much everything might be repairable if you have the extra vehicle/vehicles to drive while the one in question is out of commission. You can actually find needed parts, you have the money to buy what is needed, you have the skills to do the job.

It's a question of balance between having a life and spending your life repairing...

- Peter.

I agree and am more apt to replace any component if the OEM is available at a reasonable cost. I have a couple of the door straps which have been taken off my car due to them failing to hold the door stead. I may take a look at them someday if I get bored.

I completely agree that one should not expect to rebuild a check strap on a car that is used as a daily driver without having a proper replacement on hand in case it can't be repaired.

I replaced one. I took a goodnight look at the broken one - it wasn’t jammed, just didn’t hold at the positions. There would be no good way to repair it without considerable work and who knows how long repair would last. These are replaceable/disposable wear parts. That’s how the door system was designed.