Hardtop removal

Thanks for the help-I'm slowly learning how to use the computer and this site! I figured out how to do a site search and found the answers Hope it works. Thanks,
Don

[Marc-1]

It's important to have the owners manual for these cars. There's a goldmine of information in them which is PRICELESS!!
Don't be misled by Ebay sales... An owners manual for the 300SL / 500SL can be bought from MercedesUSA.com for 10 bucks!! I did it and it's original NOT a photo copy.

[PoynetteSL]

Just bought an '89 560SL. One owner, low milage without a sopt, with the hard top which hangs up on the "Safety Lever" release catch.

There is a picture of the rear bow locking pin on the top removal manual that came with the car showing the notch on the pin facing the passenger side.

It appears that the correct fix for the problem is to fix the safety lever cable after the top gets removed.

I'm still on the get the top removed without destroying paint or hardware stage.

[cbdo]

There are three ways you can do this.
1-With a bent screwdriver, straight screwdriver, or tool of choice, release the top, prop the back edge up almost as far as it will go, and pull the catch on the passenger's side of the car toward the side of the car to release its engagement with the pin from the top.
Often used but can be frustrating.

2-With at least one buddy, release the top and rotate it 90 degrees. This will move the cut on the pin out of engagement with the catch.
Often mentioned, but difficult; as the top rotates, it has to clear the rise on the top cover which strains the mechanism.

3-My own personal favorite: Block the top up as for #1, and with a narrow-nosed visegrip rotate the pin 90 degrees counterclockwise (side of the pin toward the back of the car moves to the driver's side of the car, for a left-hand-drive car).

After doing this, do a search on adjusting the top release. If it's working right, the small lever will pull the catch fully out of engagement with the pin and hold it there.

[Strife]

You may wonder, "why take the top off NOW?". Read on.

I've just released my hardtop after using method #3 above. I advice using a small vise-grip with curved jaws. I did attempt the "awl" method to no avail. I was simply not going to risk the "top twist" method.

My problems were multiple: Firstly, I was misled by an illustration in the service manual about the "32mm" height of the two catches that go into the chrome pillar tops. My top rattled there and I thought I would adjust them "by the book". I think this is supposed to be 32mm from the top of the nut to the bottom (as installed on the car) of the pin. If someone could measure the height of their (well-fitting) hardtop this way, it would help clear this up for me. The illustration looked to me like from the top of the nut to the top of the pin (as installed on the car).

With the pins too deep, the top was at an odd, half-installed angle and my top's pin got stuck, although I'm certain that I have my cable adjusted properly. With no way to put the top all the way on or take the top off, I was in trouble.

Making this additionally exciting was that I had just installed (with great difficulty) the ($160 for the part alone) stailnless steel top piece above the windshield, because my old one had been dented by 18 years of careless hardtop installations.

Also, I had installed all-new weather seals and I didn't trim the seal well at the top of the window and at the bottom of the vertical seal at the rear edge of the window. This is tricky and not really doable without the top mostly on. Cutting too much and you might as well have left the old seals on! With the seals as they were, the top would simply not have gone on even with the locating pins being at the correct "depth".