PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

justinperkins · #8 02-25-2007, 06:01 PM

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.