300 te trunk lid holder upers...

[Eliot]

1989 300te...It's 5 degrees here in NY and the rear lid will not stay up. I have to use a stick to keep it up .... Will putting new pistons in help? or do they all fail in cold weather? I would hate to invest the $$ to find that the lid still doesn't stay up.

[MikeTangas]

New rear hatch struts should fix you right up.

[WANT '71 280SEL]

They sell them at autozone. That's where I bought them for my mom's volvo wagon.
David

[Hazen]

Originally posted by Eliot
1989 300te...It's 5 degrees here in NY and the rear lid will not stay up. I have to use a stick to keep it up .... Will putting new pistons in help? or do they all fail in cold weather? I would hate to invest the $$ to find that the lid still doesn't stay up.

Eliot,

New gas pistons should do the trick. They are not difficult to replace, but they're not a walk in the park either. Buy the replacements here or at your dealer. The after market struts offered by mcparts stores do not last as long as the OE/OEM parts.

If you've got looong needle nose pliers, a magnet rod, and a means to prop up the very heavy tailgate (you do NOT want it to drop on you) or better yet suspend it from above, at full travel; you can do it yourself. The rear headliner must be detached and the plastic surrounds that hold it, of course. 'Bout an hour, hour and a half the first time. Buy some extra clips/pins just in case you lose them ;-)
Best regards,
Hazen Arnold
91 300TE 4Matic
134k mi.

[whutchens]

So in taking the rear headliner loose, do you just grip carefully under the rear edge and pop it loose?

[Hazen]

Originally posted by whutchens
So in taking the rear headliner loose, do you just grip carefully under the rear edge and pop it loose?

First remove the plastic surrounds including the big one that spans the back portion. IIRC, there are a few more screws that hold just the headliner. Should be obvious. There is a thwart/roof support that transverses the rear roof section near the rear of the roof. On this thwart are two or three sheet metal tabs that hook a batten in the headliner. The headliner can be removed from these tabs by judicious application of tension on the headliner and the tabs can be bent/rebent. I'm describing this from memory. A little patience and some "noggin' work" will get you through it without damaging anything.

It's a bit of a monkey puzzle. Do you have the MB 124 Model Service Manual CD? PDF's 72-360, 68-430, & 68-447 will help.
Best,
Hazen