Soft Top Doesn't Fit - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

shb · #1 02-27-2007, 11:16 AM

I bought an 87 560sl that had a new soft top installed. I can't get the top to latch at the front or the back simultaneously...it is as if it shrank in the wash. Any ideas? Do I need to wait for a warm day and park it in the sun to stretch the material?
shb

sublettd · #2 02-27-2007, 07:47 PM

It may be that you are not going about it correctly. You need to partially latch the rear before closing down the front. (Push the latch into the hole until it just catches.) Then latch the front down. After the front is latched closed go back and pull the lever for the rear latch forward into the locked position. If you are trying to latch the front above the visors first, the rear won't lock into place. If this isn't the problem then you may have a problem with the fit of the top. Hope this fixes the problem for you.

London380sl · #3 02-27-2007, 07:56 PM

I had the same problem when I changed my softtop. I could barely get it snapped into place. Follow sublettd instruction and you should be able to get it up. Leave it up for a week or two and the fabric will stretch a bit.

ScottinSoCal · #4 02-27-2007, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shb

I bought an 87 560sl that had a new soft top installed. I can't get the top to latch at the front or the back simultaneously...it is as if it shrank in the wash. Any ideas? Do I need to wait for a warm day and park it in the sun to stretch the material?
shb

You may be doing the same thing I tried when I first got my car. The owner's manual assumed I knew a lot more about it than I did, and maybe I didn't read it carefully enough.

The window crank looking thing is what tightens the soft top in place once it's latched. Put the top up and in place, make sure the small handle is in the locked position (about 2:00 if you were on the parcel shelf looking at it like a clock) and the window crank is at about 7:00. Push the rear bow down until you hear and feel it latch. The bottom of the soft top won't be snug against the car, and it shouldn't be yet. Then go to the front and get your front latches locked down so the front of the top is all installed. Reach into the back and crank the big handle clockwise until it meets the small handle at the 2:00 position. It may be tough - I just had a new top installed and it doesn't have as much give as the old rotten one did. Once you've got it up it might be a good idea to leave it up for a few days, just to get the canvas stretched back out. When I had the new top installed the installer told me to leave it up for two weeks.