85 280 TE SW Trunk Won't Stay Open
 

Hello,
This is my cherry popping post to these forums. (First Post)
I have had a 1985 Mercedes Station Wagon 280 TE (Euro Speced out), I have fixed many problems on this car ranging from the hydraulic system to the flasher relay and power windows. Now I am on to my next big projects which are fixing the trunk so that it stays open (not as easy as I thought) and replacing my distributor caps.

I have one blank rod that connects intoa circle that goes into the top of the car, I am guessing that this is the rod that keeps it up. But it will not come out. In the next few days I will completely taking off the trunk and figuring out how this works. If there is anybody who knows anything about trunk repair please feel free to give me some advice.

My questions:

First off do these trunks stay open? Im hoping they do.

Is this black rod the controller of cars ability to keep the trunk open?

Thanks in advance.
Johnny Zone

just order a new strut for at least one side. when you see the strut it may become obvious how it comes out. it is not hard. there is no repair, it is a wear item much like a shock absorber.

tom w

Unlike most wagons, the struts on the rear tailgate of Mercedes wagons (or least on S123s and S124s) are well hidden from view within the rear ceiling.

They usually fail after a few years and is a good idea to replace both struts (on each side of the gate). When new, the struts can hold the door open without any problem.