MercedesW208(CLK99 03)

CaseCoverLock/RearBowLockReplacement
andHydraulicFluidFlush

Becauseaconvertibleisonlycoolifthetopgoesdown.

Version1.0August9,2012

byjoetwa

Table of Contents
ToolsandParts
H d li Fl id LevelInspection
HydraulicFluid
L lI
ti
LeaksandCylinders
TopandCoverPositoning
FrontCarpeting(Top) Removal
TrunkLuggageScreen Relocation
Front Carpeting (Bottom) Removal
FrontCarpeting(Bottom)
BottomAngledPanel Removal
HydraulicPump
CaseCoverLock PanelRemoval
CaseCoverLock Removal
CaseCoverLock PreparationandInstallation

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1314
15

RearBowLock CarpetRemoval
RearBowLock TieWrapCut
RearBowLock Removal
Rear Bow Lock PreparationandMounting
RearBowLock
Preparation and Mounting
RearBowLock FinalInstallation

16
17
18
19
20

HydraulicFluid FlushandRefill
SystemTest

21
22

RearBowLock CarpetReassembly
CaseCoverLock PanelReinstall
BottomAngledPanel Reassembly
FrontCarpeting(Bottom) Reassembly
TrunkLuggageScreen Reassembly
TrunkLuggageScreen SpringReTension
FrontCarpeting(Top) Reassembly

23
24
25
26
27
28
29

TheTurtle

30

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Tools and Parts

Whileallthebelowtoolsandpartsarerecommended,threeofthemareoptional.Theseinclude:
1 ElectricDrill forfasterremovalof10mmhexbolts
2 Siphon forrecommendedcompletefluidflush
3 PlasticPanelRemovalTools foreasierremovalofcarpetplasticfasteners(aflathead
screwdriveralsoworks)

ElectricDrillwith
10mmsocket

Mercedes
HydraulicFluid
d l l d
000989910310
Febi Hydraulic
Fluid02615

MercedesManualTopTool
(iftophascompletelystopped)
2088990080

NOTE:Thisisthe
OnlyMercedes
ApprovedSubstitute

SlottedScrew
Driver

DONOTUSEANY
OTHERTYPEOFFLUID

Needle
NosePliers

2 Siphon

RazorKnife

ManualwrenchesWith10mm
socket

RearBowLock
Assembly

Smallfunnel

1Medium
TieWrap
PlasticPanel

CaseCoverLock
Assembly

Adjustable
Wrench

3 removaltools

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Hydraulic Fluid - Level Inspection

Althoughitisnotobvious,thereisasimplewaytoobserveyourconvertibletophydraulic
fluidlevel,directlyfromthetrunk.Thereisactuallyaportalthatyoucanlookthrough
with a flashlight thereiseventhebeginningsofthecutinthecarpet,similartothe
withaflashlight
there is even the beginnings of the cut in the carpet similar to the
openingforthehydraulicpumpreliefscrew(thatyouusetoraisethetopmanually) but
forsomereasonMercedesAutoworkersonlycut2ofthe3sidesneeded.Cutthebottom
withasmallrazorblade,andyouareinbusiness.

HydraulicPump
PressureRelief
Screw under here
Screwunderhere
Cutacrossbottom

Youcannowseethelevelwithaflashlight(lyingdownonyour
stomach).Note: Thispictureshowsthecorrectlevel,notthe
levelyoullprobablyfindifyouarehavingslow/nomovingtop
issues.Ifyourlevellooksfine,yourissueisprobablyNOTwith
thehydraulicfluidsystem,butprobablyarelayoraswitch.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Leaks and Cylinders

Ifyourhydraulicfluidislow,thereismostdefinitelyaleakinyoursystem somewhere.
Hydraulicfluiddoesevaporate,butataveryminisculerate.Themostcommonelements
that leak are the rear bow lock and/or the case cover lock and the specific instructions to
thatleakaretherearbowlockand/orthecasecoverlock,andthespecificinstructionsto
replacebothofthesepartsfollow.
WhilethepartsareavailabledirectlythroughMercedes,themosteconomicalwayto
procurethemisthroughacoreexchangeviaTopHydraulics.Tosimplifytheoperation
evenfurther,TopHydraulicswillshipyourebuiltcylinders,alreadymountedintheproper
lock assemblies (
lockassemblies(below),andchargeyoua$150refundablecoredepositforeach.
below) and charge you a $150 refundable core deposit for each
Simplyshipyouroldonesbackwhenyouaredone,andyoullgetyourrefund(provided
youdontdamagethemwhenremoving!).Thisisthewaytogoasitwillsaveyouhoursof
installationtime.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Top and Cover Positioning

Thefirststepnecessaryispreparingyourtopandtopcoversoitsinthecorrectpositionso
youcanworkonit,however,youFIRSTmustdothefollowingfromwithinyourtrunk,as
once you are underway access to your trunk through the boot will not be possible Note:
onceyouareunderway,accesstoyourtrunkthroughthebootwillnotbepossible.Note:
Thebelowinstructionsassumeyourtopisstillfunctioning(albeitslowly) ifyourtopis
notfunctioningatall,youmustfollowtheinstructionsintheMercedeshandbookfor
manualoperationviathespecialwrenchprocess.
1. Removeyourtrunkfloorliner putitinasafeplace.
2. Leavethetrunkluggagescreenfullydeployed/inplace/operationalasifyouwere
going to put the top down (it is easier to relocate from inside the top cover panel)
goingtoputthetopdown(itiseasiertorelocatefrominsidethetopcoverpanel).
3. Closethetrunk.
4. Manipulatesothattheconvertibletopandreartopcoverareinthesamepositions
asthebelowpicturedemonstrates dothisviathedashopen/closecontrol(orvia
themanualprocessoutlinedinthehandbook).

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Front Carpeting (Top) - Removal

Thefrontdecorativecarpetingisfastenedusingamultitudeofplasticfasteners the
smalleronespopup(useaplasticpanelremovaltool),thelargeronesunscrew(thereisa
threaded rod connected to the frame underneath)
threadedrodconnectedtotheframeunderneath).
Smallonespopup
andremove

Besuretoremove
bothparts

NOTE:Whileremoving,secureloop
endwithapapercliponeachsideso
thatitdoesntfullyretractintothe
edgeofthemeshwhileyouare
working.
LargerButtonOnes
Unscrew

Whenallfastenershavebeenremoved,simplypryupcarpet,andremovetoasecureplace
(likethehoodofthecar.)

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Trunk Luggage Screen - Relocation

Removing/relocatingthetrunkluggagescreenisaverysimplematter,andwhendonethis
waywillcontinuetomakecontactwiththeswitchintherailsothatyoucaneasilyperform
testing of the top when done Follow the steps in this order:
testingofthetopwhendone.Followthestepsinthisorder:
1.
1 Whileholdingthescreenbracket,removethesinglescrew peelupthebracketthat
willbealsofastenedtothecarviaasmallfabricpiecethatisgluedon.
2 Whileholdingthemiddleoftheshadesothatitdoesntspin,pulltheentireshade
2.
assemblytowardsyou,whichwillfreethefarsidefromitscorrespondingbracket.
3.
3 Lettheshaderetract(slowly)towardstherearofthecar,holdingthemiddlecylinder
withonehandandthebracketwiththeother
ith
h d d th b k t ith th th
l
leaveasshown
h
shouldjusthang
h ld j t h
thereunderitsowntension.
4 Removethefarsidebracketscrewandsimplyflipupoutofthewayslightly no
4.
needtoreleasethegluedfabriconthisside.

Becarefultonotlet
this end spin
thisend
spin ,releasing
releasing
springtension butifithappens,
dontpanic itseasilyremedied
duringthereinstallprocess.

2
3

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Front Carpeting (Bottom) - Removal

Theremainingbottomcarpetpieceisheldonlyinplaceby4singlepieceplasticpush
1
pins.Thetwosidepiecesconnectinmultipleplaces,butcanbemovedoutoftheway
2
be removing the large button on either side (unscrew) and then by folding the carpet back
beremovingthelargebuttononeitherside(unscrew)andthenbyfoldingthecarpetback
towardstherearofthecar.

2
LargerButtonOnes
Unscrew

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Bottom Angled Panel - Removal

10

Toremovethebottomangledpanel,youmustremoveALLofthegold10mmboltsfrom
theperimeter ofthepanel.Anelectricdrillwithabitadapterisusefulformostofthem,
but some bolts around the perimeter will require a box wrench to get access
butsomeboltsaroundtheperimeterwillrequireaboxwrenchtogetaccess.
Donotremovethe4interiorboltsfromthemid/rightsideofthepanelastheholdthey
Boseamplifierunderneath.Oncealltheboltsareremoved,youcancarefullyshiftthe
panelasshownbelow,exposingthepumpassembly.

Yourbestfriend

DONOTREMOVE

Shiftover

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Hydraulic Pump

11

Nowthatyouhaveaccesstothehydraulicpump,youcanrefillthefluidlevel(togetyour
topworkingintheinterim/helpidentifyyourleak),althoughthisisnotrequiredifyou
already know where your leak is or you are just proactively replacing your lock(s)
alreadyknowwhereyourleakis,oryouarejustproactivelyreplacingyourlock(s).
Beforeyoubeginthenextstepsofreplacingyourcasecoverlockorrearbowlock,its
importanttoreleasepressureinthesystembyturningastandardscrewdrivertwoturnsto
theleft(ifyouhaventalreadydonethisaspartofamanualprocess.)

Removeboltandrefillusingsmall
funnel(ifrequiredtohelpidentify
leaklocation)

Chancesareyourfluid
levellookslikethis:

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Case Cover Lock - Panel Removal

12

First,removethe4boltsholdingtheprotectivepaneloverthecasecoverlock place
panelinasafeplace.Ifyouhaveacasecoverlockleak,youwillnoticeitsomewherein
this area
thisarea.

Remove4bolts

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

13

Case Cover Lock - Removal

Usingtheneedlenosepliers,removethehydrauliclineclipsfrombothlinesandpullthe
linesfreeofthecasecoverlock makesureyoulabelwhichlinegoeswhere,although
they are easy to tell just by their length Separate the electrical connector as well
theyareeasytotelljustbytheirlength.Separatetheelectricalconnectoraswell.
PUTTHECLIPSSOMEWHERESAFEASYOUWILLREUSETHEMLATER.

Removeclips
withneedlenose
pliers

Pullouthydraulic
linesandleave
hanging

Unplug
connectorand
leavehanging

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Case Cover Lock - Removal

14

Unscrewboltsandcompletelyremovecasecoverlock putinasafeplace.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Case Cover Lock - Preparation & Installation

15

Partiallyslidethehydrauliclinelockingclipsontothebodyofthenewlockasshown its
mucheasiertodothisbeforeyoumountitonthecar.Remountthelockasshownbelow
and then reattach the hydraulic lines (just push in tight) and then use needle nose pliers to
andthenreattachthehydrauliclines(justpushintight)andthenuseneedlenosepliersto
firmlyslidetheclips,securingthehydrauliclinestothenewlock.Reconnectelectrical
connector.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Carpet Removal

16

Usingtheplasticpanelremovaltool,removealloftheplasticfasteners.Completely
removethecarpetandplacesomewheresafe.Therearbowlockassemblyisnoweasily
accessible Any leaks will be clearly visible
accessible.Anyleakswillbeclearlyvisible.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Tie Wrap Cut

17

Usingyourrazorknifeorwireclips,carefullycutthetiewrapholdingtheelectrical
connectortothebodyofthevalve.Unplugtheconnectorandcarefullyremovethefoam
rubber around the connector as you will reuse
rubberaroundtheconnectorasyouwillre
usethisonthenewassembly.
this on the new assembly

Unplug
connectorand
leavehanging

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Removal

18

ThehydrauliclineclipsremoveinthesamefashionastheTopCoverLock removethese.
PUTTHECLIPSSOMEWHERESAFEASYOUWILLREUSETHEMLATER.
C
Completelyremovetherearbowlockbyremovingthe4outerbolts.Donotloosenthe
l l
h
b l kb
i
h 4
b l
D
l
h
5th boltthatholdstheassemblyontotheTmount.

DoNotLoosen

Removeclips
withneedlenose
pliers

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Preparation and Mounting

19

YoumustnowremovethecopperTmountfromtheoldassemblybylooseningthesingle
boltandreattachittothenewassembly keepfairlyloosefornow.
Attach the new Rear Bow Lock on the Top Cover by first tightening the 4 outer screws then
AttachthenewRearBowLockontheTopCoverbyfirsttighteningthe4outerscrews,then
tightenthe5th screwasshownbelow.

NEW

OLD

Tightenlast

Tightenfirst(x4)

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Final Installation

20

Slidethehydraulicclipspartiallyontothevalvebodyusingneedlenosepliers,andthen
pushinthelinesfirmly.Securetheclips.Slidethefoamonasitwasbefore(Idamaged
mine slightly taking it off) and then reattach
mineslightlytakingitoff)andthenre
attachtheelectricalconnector.Completethe
the electrical connector Complete the
installationwithasingletiewrap(Ionlyhadwhite,butuseblackifyouareasticklerfor
detail.)
FirstPartially
slideclips

2
2
1

Secureclips
withneedle
nosepliers

thenfirmlyseat
Hydrauliclines

TieWrapas
shown

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Hydraulic Fluid - Flush and Refill

21

Unscrewthebrassreservoirscrewusinganadjustablewrench(putscrewsomewheresafe
whereyouwontloseitandwhereitcantfallintothetrunkunderthesparetire!)Using
the siphon (and any convenient small soda bottle) completely remove any remaining
thesiphon(andanyconvenientsmallsodabottle),completelyremoveanyremaining
hydraulicfluidfromthereservoir(andpleasedisposeofproperly.)
Note:Thefluidremovalstepisnotrequired,butitishighlyrecommendedasthefluidin
thesystemwillbeasoldasyourcar!Additionally,youshouldalsocheckthebottomofthe
reservoirforwaterorsmallparticles,astheyshouldalsobothberemoved Waterwill
ruin the OEM seals and small particles will wear out the system
ruintheOEMseals,andsmallparticleswillwearoutthesystem.
ReplacewithnewMercedesorFebi fluidasshowntotheverytopofthetopline.Replace
thebrassreservoirboltandtighten(butnottootightasthereservoirisplastic.)
NOTE:ifyouhaveeverusedStopLeaktypeproductsinyoursysteminthepast,you
shouldrepeatthefill/remove/fillprocedureseveraltimes,cyclingthetopatleast10times
(Seenextpage SystemTest).AllStopLeaktypeproductsarebadforthehydraulictop
system,andtheywilleventuallymakealltheOEMcylindersealsfail.

Removeboltandrefillusingsmall
funnelafterremovingoldfluid.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

System Test

22

First,tightenthescrewonthehydraulicpump2turnstotherighttoclosethesystem.
Next,makesuretheconvertibletopareaiscompletelyclearoftools,fasteners,etc.Start
the car and cycle through 510
thecarandcyclethrough5
10fullopen/closetopcycles.
full open/close top cycles
NOTE:Duetosomeairremaininginthesysteminitially,thefrontedgeoftheconvertible
topmayBANGdownonthetopofthewindshieldheaderwhenclosing,soyoumaywant
tocatchthetopwithyourlefthandasitcomesdown.Thiswillclearafterapproximately
10cyclesasairisautomaticallybledout(systemisselfbleeding.)
Youmayneedtocontinuetoaddhydraulicfluidduringtheprocess(remembertoturn
screwtothelefttoreleasepressurebeforeyouopenthereservoir)toensurethelevel
staysattheverytopline,asfluidcontinuestobepulledbackintothesystemandairis
returnedtothereservoir.

Tightenscrew 2
turnstotheright
beforeTesting

Removeboltandrefill
usingsmallfunnelas
needed.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Rear Bow Lock - Carpet Reassembly

23

Reinstalltherearbowlockcover,beingcarefultorefitthetwooutsideedgesofthecarpet
pieceunderneaththerubberedgeofthelid.Securewithalloftheplasticpushpinsyou
removed before
removedbefore.

Refitcarpetpieceunderneath
rubberedge bothsides.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Case Cover Lock - Panel Reinstall

24

Reinstalltheprotectivepaneloverthecasecoverlockandtightenthe4bolts.

Reinstall4bolts

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Bottom Angled Panel - Reassembly

25

CarefullyrepositionthebottomangledpanelbackinplaceandthenreinstallALLofthe
gold10mmboltsaroundtheperimeter ofthepanel.

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Front Carpeting (Bottom) - Reassembly

26

Foldthetwosidecarpetpiecesbackinplaceoverthethreadedpostsandreinstallthe2
largerbuttonsbyscrewingontobothsidesofcar,andthenreinstallthebottomcarpet
1
piece 2 using the 4 single piece plastic push pins
pieceusingthe4singlepieceplasticpushpins.

1
LargerButtonOnes
S
Screwbackon
b k
threadedposts

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Trunk Luggage Screen - Reassembly

27

Reinstallthetrunkluggagescreenbyfollowingthesesteps(Note:Thisiseasiertodowith
twopeopleoneithersidetoensurethescreendoesntunroll,losingspringtension) If
the screen unravels
thescreen
unravels abitandyoulosespringtension,donotpanic,justfollowthesteps
a bit and you lose spring tension do not panic just follow the steps
onthenextpage.
1.
1 Flipthefarsidebracketbackdownandreinstallthebolt.Besuretohavetheother
sidebracket/boltnearyousoyoucaneasilyreachitlater.
2 Slowlyclosethescreentowardsthefrontofthecar,holdingthebracketandthe
2.
middleofthescreen.
33. Reinsertthefarendofthescreenintothefarbracket,makingsurethespindleis
R i
t th f
d f th
i t th f b k t
ki
th
i dl i
wellseated.
4.
4 Fitthecloseendbracketbackoverthespindle,andreattachthebolt,pressingdown
onthefabrictohelpreglueittotheframerail.

3
2

2
4

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Trunk Luggage Screen - Spring Re-Tension

28

Ifyouhavelostspringtensioninyourluggagescreenduringtherelocation/reinstallation
process,followthesestepstogetitback Note:Thisisatwopersonactivity!
1.
1
2
2.

33.

4.
4

Withsomeoneholdingthefarside,fromthedriversside,pushinonthespindlehub,
thiswillpushouttheoppositeside.
Ifyoupullitoutfartheryouwillseeaspiralspring,butthisisnotrequired,andit
makesslidingitbackindifficult(havetojiggleit),sojustleaveitoutjustfarenough
soyoucanturnitfreely(asshowninstep1.)
Turntheplasticendcounterclockwise ifyourspringisfullyreleased,youwillneed
toturnitabout15fullturns.Becarefulnottoovertightenasyourisksnappingthe
spring.
Whenyouaredonetightening,alignthematchinggrooveintotheslotonthemetal
tubetolockthescreenbackinplace.Completeprocessasshownonpreviouspage.

3
2

4
Alignplasticgroovewith
slotandslidebackin
Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

Front Carpeting (Top) - Reassembly

29

Refitthetopcarpetinplace,aligningitalongthetopedgeandovereachofthethreaded
rods.Reinstalltheplasticpushpinsandlargerbuttoncaps.Dontforgettorefittheelastic
loops on the side mesh before you insert the last 2 push pins
loopsonthesidemeshbeforeyouinsertthelast2pushpins.

LargerButtonOnes
Screwbackon
threadedposts

NOTE:Remembertorefit
theelasticloops

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.

The Turtle

30

Althoughithasabsolutelynothingtodowiththerepair,Iwantedtomentiontheturtle.
O
Ononeofmymultipletripstothelocalhardwarestore(thistimetobuyafunnelthatfit
f
li l i
h l lh d
( hi i
b
f
l h fi
thehydraulicreservoir IactuallytooktheToolsandPartsphotographonpage3AFTERI
wasdone),aturtleactuallycrossedtheroadinfrontofme.Tookabout5minutesforhim
(her?)togetacross.
Iassumeitwasgoodluck!

Use as a guideline only apply common sense, be careful and wear protective gear!
Top Hydraulics, Inc. is not responsible or liable for personal injury or material damage.