I have an 82 300TD bought last summer. real nice shape but tailgate needs piston replacement. I am currently using an old broom handle to keep it up and while it may come in handy for fighting off housewives at the supermarket, I would rather have a tailgate that functions properly - so - If asnyone has done a replacement of these pistons please let me know how it went and any pointers.

Thanks!

I've replaced both of mine and it's any easy 30 minute job. I was told to replace both sides but you might get away with only doing one. The Haynes manual gives a good description of how to do it but you should be able to figure it out without that.
As best I remember here's how to do it:

Prop the gate open as far as possible. You will need to remove the trim around the top of the rear gate opening and also carefully peel back a small area of the headliner to remove the forward pivot bolts. These require a hex driver and will take some work to get out because MBZ used some form of Loctite to keep them tight. Once that's out, remove the rear end pivot which is easily accessable and withdraw the piston. You will need to fiddle to get the piston out but by moving the gate up and down slightly you will be able to get it out.

Installation is the reverse of above. I found attaching the front end first was easiest because I needed to wiggle the new piston some to get everything to line up. I'd recommend using loctite again on the forward pivot bolt so it won't work loose. The toughest part of this job is getting the front pivot bolts out. Make sure you have the right hex driver and you shouldn't have a problem. I'd also recommend doing one side at a time so you get at least a little "help" holding up the gate. Let me know how it goes.

LRG

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold