87 300 tdt hatch strut panel removal

What is the "trick" for lowering the plastic panel that hides access to the hatch struts? I've removed the four finishing screws on the lip of the panel and the screw on each side panel, but there seems to be a clip or tab holding tight. Too much pressure in the wrong direction is sure to snap something.
Any ideas are welcome, as my new struts are on the bench, awaiting installation!
Thanks
Steve

PS the search turns up mostly 123 model info

[Mick J]

Did this job a few months back.

If I remember right, there are 2 clips inside the panel and you have to slide it towards the back of the car to get it off them. Before you can do that you have to remove the screws holding the trim to the rear pillars and release the window rubber from those and the roof panel.

You then have to release the first wire hanger holding the roof cloth trim and also the clips for the luggage net to get at the front fixing for the dampers.

You will need someone to help by supporting the weight of the tailgate so the pins can be released.

Mick J,

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try this morning. I notice that you didn't mention any difficulty in removing the forward bolts on the struts themselves, so I'll approach the project with optimism.
Sincerely,
Steve

OK, tailgate strut job complete. total time including clean up 2.5 hrs. I didn't have a helper, so I used a very long stick to raise the hatch high enough to fully extend the struts. Any pressure on the struts will make it impossible to remove the pins at either end.
A couple of things I learned:

1. apply penetrating oil to the pins at the hinge end a few days
before starting. If your struts are really old, they will have
some corrosion on the end of the pin, making it very hard to
push the pin through the hinge. I had to tap the pin back into
the hinge with a long drift several times before it came out.
Getting the pins out took about an hour.

2. As the CD states, the struts(actually looks like a shock) is
removed in a forward direction, just make sure to detatch
the plastic clips holding the harness to the roof, one on the
left, two on the right.

3. to lower the headliner, start on one side, grip the headliner
and gently pull it backward and then down. Then detatch the
center mount, lastly, the remaining side. You will then see
two black rubber plugs holding the headliner up near the
quarter windows. gently pull those out. Then reach up behind
the headliner to the next steel speader and gently pull it down
a bit; it will stay down.

4. The CD doesn't mention this, but I found it easier to get the
plastic cover at the back of the headliner off by first removing
the left and right pillar covers. They come off by lifting up to
release the two plastic clips. The edges of all three plastic
panels tuck under the window rubber--pull carefully when
removing.

5. Before reassembly, wirebrush all four pins to remove any
burrs or debris. It will make your life much easier.

6. Lift the hatch high enough to slip the rear pins in first, then
put the clips on. Its tight ,but doable.

7. Lift the hatch higher than you might think to aign the
forward pins. This is where the helper comes in handy.
I didn't have one, so I used a long stick to raise the hatch
higher than necessary, then lowered it a little at a time
to get the end of the strut to align with the hole in the
body. The pins slip right in. Don't forget to re-bend the
securing tabs.
Not the easiest job, but with the bid from the dealer coming in at
nearly $600 parts and labor, I thought I'd give it a try.

Steve

[djankov]

I replaced the struts on my 87 300TD today. I had to use 3 chisels (progresively larger in size) to remove the pins from the back 2 hinges (+ WD40 of course). Most importantly, put these pins in first when installing the new struts, or else you will never line them up. The pins inside the car are much easier to line up.
I received 2 different brand struts from Febi and Stabilus. Stabilus looked exactly like the OEM, but they both fit.

1987 300D 186Km
1987 300TD 196Km
2001 CLK 430 Convertible 32Km

[SRHARVEY]

About six months ago I followed the directions in this thread and replaced the struts in our wagon. About a month ago one of them failed, of course the hatch would no longer stay up, etc. So I got a new set from the vendor and put them in today. Having installed one set I didn't look forward to any trouble with the second set, same directions, same vendor and parts, etc. We did learn a couple new things enroute to completing the job and I'll pass them along to add to this thread. I don't know if I did these extras on the first go-round or not but they were necessary today.

No trouble getting into the job or getting the old struts out. The first thing I did was check the "jaws" on the new struts and filed out burr left from drilling the hole. I also "miked" the jaw width and made certain it was the same as the original, you have no room to play around when working in there. I also Afused a light weight cord and tied the rubber wire harness that is next to the hinge as far out of the way as possible and then used a small clamp to hold the rubber "flap" up and out of the way. Doing this gives you a little more room and view to install the rear pin. Of course, don't forget to line up the holes at each end of the strut before you try installing it. It's easy to get the pins out but not so easy to get them in due to small working space. I used a pair of hemostats for the rear pin insertion, I could use the ratchet clamp to hold the pin and the "stats" were small enough to allow me to wriggle the pin around once I had it started in the strut jaw and trying to fish it into the hinge hole.

After the struts were in I used a small screwdriver to work the plastic shield back under the rubber window trim strip, you can pop up the trim and work your way along.

Thanx to all the contributors on this and other threads, the site is a great help to MB owners doing some of their own work.

[ptempel]

I just completed this hatch strut R&R. The two most difficult parts were getting the rear strut pin in and folding the window rubber back over the plastic headliner. For the strut pin, I slid the strut back and inserted it first from the inside. The I twisted the strut and slid the pin out a bit just enough to get the end around the hatch holes. Then I used a small screwdriver to push the pin in from the side. This took a few attempts so can be frustrating. Take your time and take a short break of you need to. Another guy posted using a hemostat (thin pliers). Sounds like a good idea but I didn't have them.

For the rubber, get a thick coat hanger, cut it and make a small "U" at the end. Then use needle nose plyer to grab it before the headliner. Once you get the "U" part of the coat hanger under the lip, work your way down from front to back. Slide the coat hanger down a few mm and then twist it a little. Repeat this as many times needed to slide it all the way down from front to back to cover the entire lip of the headiner. It CAN be done. Now I just need to get the small plastic fasteners for the plastic cover at the top of the hatch. They seem to fall off eventually, though. Maybe MB should have used small screws like for the headliner over the struts.

[justinperkins]

The rear hatch job is so worth it and this page of people posting how simple it was should make you want to do it *right now*.

It took me about two hours on my 87, the key was to remove every piece of trim that was even slightly in the way. Take your time and make sure to slide those upper trim pieces on the left and right rear posts down, not straight out. I ended up breaking a clip (they're the same plastic clips that hold the door panels to the door. Nothing a little JB Weld can't fix, but now I have to wait a while before I put that trim back on.

When you pull the upper-center trim piece off, you'll also want to pull back the headliner a little bit. It's held in place by four plastic pins (towards the front, two on each side) and then a metal rod that goes through the rear edge of the headliner and slips over 3 metal tabs). The tailgate wiring will be lightly glued to the headliner, just delicately pull the wiring away from the headliner. I didn't bother re-gluing the wiring to the headliner, but some people may be a little more, uh, anal about that kind of stuff.

To pull the struts out, I first undid the rear clip, and pushed the out with a flat-head screwdriver and also used a pair of needle-nosed vise grips.

The pin towards the front of the car was pretty easy too (mine were not original), just grip the head of the pin with vise grips and wiggle it out (using a flat-head screwdriver as needed).

I pushed the old struts out towards the front of the car, as to leave the rubber boot in place. If you do this though, you've got to be careful not to rip your headliner, especially if you have the 3rd row seating (the upper seatbelt bolt makes it tight, but doable).

I then pushed the new struts in from the rear. It gets tight towards the end but if you lift the hatch as high as it will go (tricky when working by yourself, but doable) it will eventually get in place. You'll have to guide it a little by hand from the front.

Line up the rear c-clamp with the hatch and push the pin in with a pair of visegrips gripped to the pin head. Mine slipped right in no problem. To get the c-clip in place I gripped the side of the clip with one of those claw-extension tools (the kind you use to pick up dropped nuts and stuff in tight places) and just push it on and then delicately pulled the claw-tool away (being careful not to pull the clip off the pin). Then you can just push the remainder of the way with a flat-head screwdriver.

To get the front pin in, lift the hatch as high as it will go. You'll have to move it a little bit up and down as you line up the hole and push the pin through. Once it's in, tap it the rest of the way with a hammer and fold the safety tab back over.

Now just take your time putting your paneling and headliner back in place. To get the window rubber over the trim lips, get to flat-head screwdrivers and work it a small section at a time. Don't use a hooked ice-pick, you'll rip through the window seal before you know it (I did).

You're done. Enjoy a hatch that stays up without a broom handle. This job is waaay easier than people make it out to be, as long as you've got at least three hours (to be safe, but it only took me 2 hours) you should have no problem. Again, the key is to take your time and don't try and do the job without removing all the trim.