I stumbled upon this forum and am overjoyed that I have! I recently purchased a 1990 300 Te for work and it has most of the major issues taken care of. Now I am just taking care of the details. I am about to embark on replacing the tailgate shocks and I was wondering if there was any pointers I should know in advance. I ordered the Haynes 124 Manual from England and am awaiting its arrival but a little hands on info wouldn't hurt.
Thanks,
Jeff

RSBiomedical:
Out of curiosity (I don't recall this having been discussed before) I used the "search" button above for '300TE tailgate' key words, and only came up with the following thread from the archives:
Should I buy a 1988 300TE?
Not much on shocks, but othjer tailgate issues. I am sure someone with a 300TE will get back to you. The website http://www.************************ has an interesting catalog you can order that is specific to each series of MB, and has diagrams of the major systems. I have found the PartsShop prices to be better, however - about the best around from what I have purchased. I think that forum member "Michael" has a TE, but earlier than yours, so maybe the shock(s) are different. Good luck, and I hope you find this forum as addictive as the rest of us

(BTW, RSBiomedical = Research Scientist Biomedical?)

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

I did the search prior to my post and no dice. I no that most of these wagons need shock replacement at some time so it will probably be a good topic. I have the performance product book and the sketch is vague at best. Thanks for the help. I am a Biomedical Engineer so I usually think things through before I start turning screws so I was just fishing for info. When my manual comes I will proceed and let everybody know how it went.

RS Biomedical= Biomedical Equipment Safety Monitoring and repair.

Again this is one great forum!

[Edited by rsbiomedical on 01-28-2001 at 09:43 AM]

This is an my HoneyDo list. If I get to it first (don't count on it!) I will provide details/tips. One thing I would recommend to do at the dame time is to replace the rear washer hose.

Great idea! Man I am gaining great info every second here! I hope I can contribute as much! When I get my Haynes Manual I will e-mail the pages needed to you to make it a little easier. I wonder if anybody would be so kind to e-mail that section off one of those 124 CDs?

I'm replacing the pair on my 88 300TE this weekend. Bought them for $50/pair from 619-589-7278. Seemed to be the best price. p/n is 124-980-0164
Installation does not seem to be the most fun project, but do-able.

It is a fairly easy job. Remove the trim around the tailgate opening. Remove the "header" at the back of the headling (it has two tabs that slide into slots in the overhead). Pull out the plastic pins that anchor the headliner to the overhead. You should now be able to see the forward pivot pins. Bend back the locking tabs. Support the tailgate. The clips at the hinge end can be removed now and the pivots on both ends of the shock removed. Slide out the shock and reverse the process. I bought a used pair at a wrecking yard and was able to remove them in about ten minutes with a borrowed pair of cheapy pliers. Just look everything over carefully as you proceed and it should be clear on how the proceed.

I've replaced mine three times, but we use our rear hatch more than most people use their passenger door (I installed the third seat option and use it daily for my little kids). I've not done the job; left it to a tech. However, this most recent time I also replaced the hatch's wiring harnesses, as they were beginning to act a bit weird.

Good luck!

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"If God had meant for us to walk, why did he give us feet that fit car pedals?" Sir Sterling Moss

Michael
2014 E63S Estate
2006 SLK55
1995 E500
1986 Porsche 944 turbo

Thanks for bringing up the rear shock repairs. It's next on my list of projects for my 300TD.
After my wheel bearing job went pretty well, I'm ready to tackle another job. It looks like it will be very hard to access the shock pins. Does the tailgate "fall" off of the vehicle is not supported?

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1987 300TDT 165K MILES

No the hinges are still intact you just need to prop it up call the number posted above they are OEM shocks.

Well I received my 124 manual library and shocks on the same day so I preceded to complete the job! The manual really did not help much at all except for one point. The "special tool" is a coat hanger rounded to hold the hinge bolt and was a great help I am going to put together a FAQ for my contribution to this great site E-mail me if you have any questions in the meantime and I will give you my phone number and talk you through it. I did not take pictures so if anybody else embarks on this, that contribution would be great. I will give a few quick pointers.

1. when taking the trim off, the vertical piece with the light slides down for removal. There is a tab that goes under the window molding, don't worry its easy to get it back under there.

2. Once you got that the headliner pulls straight back just be sure to remove all the screws it has two screws at the forward end that can be overlooked.

3. Now this is where is can get freaky the soft vinyl has two pegs and remove them. THEN on the side there are little clips on the side get close to them and gently release them. I think there were 2.

4. you will see a square bolt with a locking tab, use needle nose pliers and bend them back then pull the bolt out. You have to move the tailgate up to take the tension off them so they will slide out. What I did because I was by myself is rigged a bungee cord to the ceiling (garage door track) of my garage and that way it took very little effort for one person to move it up and down. I put a backup piece of rope on it in case the bungee broke because that thing will break your legs. The clips at the hinge side remove fairly easily you can spin them using a hooked coat hanger to reach the tab to grab them with Hemo's.

5. Pull the shock out from the back side the headliner bow will flip down and you can pull them right out.

6. before inserting the new shocks make sure both ends are lined up to make inserting the bolts much easier put them in and attach the hinge end first. Using a hooked coat hanger the hold the bolt you can weasel your finger around the wire boot to push it through. There is a small egg shaped hole that you can move the shock around with the other hand to move it in to position. Now don't get discouraged the first bolt took me 15 minutes to fit and the other too 30 seconds IT CAN BE DONE. Once it is half way through pull the coat hanger with pliers and it will come unwrapped from the bolt. Then use Hemo's to replace the retaining clip. Put the end bolt in while moving the tailgate BY NOW YOU WILL BE LOVING THE BUNGEES.

7. My shock boots did not fit my new shocks perfectly so I used nylon wire ties to secure them.
8. Before putting it all back together check the wire harness in the roof to make sure you did not knock anything loose removing the shocks.

This is just a vague picture my faq will be much more technical and literate but hey I was in a hurry to write this. the whole thing took 1.75 hours and was actually a little fun. good luck and please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail and I will call you and verbally help you out!

[Edited by rsbiomedical on 02-06-2001 at 08:24 PM]