I believe this is a tech question so I'll toss it out here....1990 300e ornament star logo thingy...I needed a new grille (due to rust which I still can't figure out) and stumbled upon a sweet, like new, one at a junk yard for $27. I swear I couldn't believe it. Anyway, the one that was on my car had a perfectly good star hood ornament thing. Well, I took it off the old grille (as would have to done anyway) but, then, decided to see how this damn thing was put together in the first place...BAD IDEA. so now I have an excellent grille on my 1990 300TE but no star..Question..I have all of the components.....9 of them altogether...the reassembly process is my actual question...has anyone ever taken the entire STAR logo thing apart (either intentionally or accidentally) and then put it back together?

I completely agree with you that taking apart an MB hood ornament is a very bad idea. Mine came apart one time when I removed it and I had a heck of a time trying to get it back together. I remember thinking to myself, "Why in the world would anyone make such a complex hood ornament?" Springs, hinges, etc. It was about 7 years ago, but it took me 2 days and about 9 hours total to re-assemble it. I don't remember exactly how I did it, but spend enough time looking at it and I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

I now have a new appreciation for MB hood ornaments whenever I see them. The average person would never suspect how complicated they are.

OK thanks, now I don't feel like so much the idiot, as actually mine did kind of come apart but not completely upon removal, then it came completely apart due to my 'repair' effort. But really, there are less moving parts on a Space Shuttle logo than this star thing...it's actually pretty cool, if it weren't so vexing.....I can see why, though, there is absolutely NO WAY to rip the star off the hood by hand..this thing is theft proof what with the bizzare spring loading and so forth. Only an idiot owner could cause this type of damage.......

I think yours comes off like my SD's did. The trick is to look at the bottom of the assy(through the hood,(underneath) and look to see if it merely twists(spring assy cover), 1/2 turn or so and then it pops out. NO REASON at all to disassemble. Good luck getting it back together.
Just spend the bucks to by a new one. I bought one off Ebay for about $30.00. Took the old one off and installed the new one in about 2 minutes. No hassle.

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1986 Euro 500SEC "RUF" 9:1CR, "Rose"
1985 Euro 500SEC Cabriolet AMG Widebody
1982 Euro 500SEL "Blue"
2001 Texas Heeler (Aussie/Queensland X) "Sulphie",
2012 Queensland Red Heeler "Squeak"
Best dogs I've ever had.

I think new price from the dealer is close to $30 (depends a little on the year/model).

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff