Can anyone tell me what the tensioner system is for the trunk lid of a 2000 C-230 Kompressor? Is it tensioner rods (similar to some of American autos) or is it a shock absorber type piston arrangement? Have not removed any of trim to begin project. Trunk lid has no tension on it and full weight of lid is there when opening and closing.

That car has a spring on each hinge.

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
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Yep, and the piece of metal that holds the spring broke (on both sides) on my car, it looked like metal fatigue failure.

I noticed in the EPC that there is apparently a "bolt-on" replacement piece that upgrades the strength of metal plate that holds the spring but at something like $40 per side I passed.

Its easy to fix if you have welding equipment available.

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My thanks to M.B.DOC and Tim Freeh for the good information.

Arfito

Did yours break on the trunk lid hinge or on the point where the spring attaches to the rear fender? Mine snapped along one of the trunk lid hinges.

What does the replacement piece look like?

One side on my 2000 C280 broke also, metal fatigue. IIRC it broke on the arm part not the fender.

Since there are plenty of holes around there, I fashioned an extension to the spring, a short piece of STIFF wire with hooks on both ends. You need to experiment a bit to get the right bends so it doesn't unhook itself when you close the lid. Be careful here! Also on my first try I didn't have it hooked in the right place and this resulted in an annoying rattle but my second try is working just fine.

glenmore
1991 300CE
2000 C280

Mine also failed on the hinge, well at least where the spring attaches to the hinge. It's interesting to note that, so far, this has only happened to MY 2000 year cars. I wonder if they changed something in the last year of the W202?

I didn't buy the replacement piece but from the EPC it looked like a bolt-on piece that mounted to the old hinge than extended/supported spring support "ear".

From what I could see it would have fixed my problem but at $40 per side it was about 6X more than I was willing to pay for a what is essentially a sheet metal 90 degree bracket that I'm guessing cost about $1 to make.

I used a small piece of L shaped steel as a backing plate and re-welded my old "ear" in place - works fine.

__________________
98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (123k)
13 GLK250 (135k)
06 E320CDI (323K)
16 C300 (62K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)

Purchased the OEM Mercedes repair kit which comes with 2 brackets and 4 hexhead bolts and 4 self-locking nuts. Installed only the R side as it was side with the "metal-fatigued" broken bracket. Repair including partial removal of R rear trunk compartment trim took less than 30 minutes. Although the bracket kit was pricey at $78.00 list from Mercedes, it made a very nice repair.