Another R129 Roof Leak Topic

[Momo]

Posted this in the Tech forum, but no suggestions received... I have put the hardtop on a few days ago, and this problem is worsening. Three years ago there was no leak. Two years ago there were a couple of drops. Last year a bit more, and a rain shower yesterday produced more drips than last year. The only thing I did was to put a thin coating of bathroom silicone sealer on the rubber at the top of the windscreen pillar. No luck. Maybe I need lots more sealer.

-------- Original topic ----------

Yet another roof leak topic. I have searched for the subject in all forums, and my particular version of the question has not been answered... I'll go though the situation and ask the question, as I will be putting the hardtop on in a couple of weeks.

Situation: 1990 R129 500SL, which has never had any of the seal mods done.

Problem: There is a hardtop leak, just behind the join with the A pillar, in heavy rain, on the right side only. With the soft top, there are never any leaks in any conditions.

Potenitial conclusion: I have looked at the MB documentation on the seal replacements. It seems to mainly concern the sealing around the windscreen. Given that there are never any soft top leaks, this cannot be the issue. The issue must be the seal at the top of the A pillar or nearby. The leak is very small indeed. The rubber on the roof side appears to be very good condition.

So... is the correct solution to use some sort of vaseline or silicone-type seal to improve the join? Should the rubber seal be replaced? Is there a way of increasing the pressure on the seal just on that side to get a better join? Other ideas?

Momo