Hydraulic Cylinder Roof Repair Kit Compatible With 03-11 Mercedes SL500 SL550 SL55 SL65 R230

Kit works well. Solved my issue pretty easily. It's been quite a while now (like 2 years) and it is holding good.

After watching a few videos on failed cylinder in the roof locking mechanism of the R230, I bought this kit. It takes some time to get to the cylinder and drill it out in order to access the 25 cent rubber grommet, but well worth it and problem solved! Saved $2000 in repair bills! Thank you!

I was able to fix the leaky cylinder in my 16-year-old SL (which I bought cheap last year) for under $50 - compared to the $1,000+ I was quoted at the repair shop. The instructions included were excellent, and there’s no more leak! FYI - where the instructions suggest drilling a small hole: do it! A 1/16 bit is perfect; just take your time and be patient.

My Mercedes SL500 rood hydraulic cylinder failed. This product fixed it within an hour and I saved thousands of dollars. Read the instructions carefully, have the correct tools and it less than 2 hour job

Followed the directions. Not easy but the instructions were on point and it’s fixed.When I first received it I laughed but after giving it some thought and buying an Oring from the dealer and the price I paid... worth the investment.Scale of difficulty: 4But it will take two people to manage getting to roof open and sit in place for the repair.Easy trick... take a basketball/ soccer ball deflate it. And use that to hold the roof

I was able to repair the cylinder in my SL500 with this O ring. The plastic pic that came with the kit was useless though. Need a steel pic to remove the C clamp. So you are basically paying $10 for an O ring. But the O ring is an exact fit. I also had to buy another O ring to replace the piston seal since it had flattened and dried out. It would be helpful if the kit also included that O ring.

It arrived on time and got the job done.

2003 SL500 which I love but sure enough the wrinkled door seal and gushes of oil all over my passengers started recently. A quick search brought up a poultice of posts and a torrent of youtubes all bemoaning the OEM locking cylinder seal. This product looked to be the way to go especially as my mechanics were adamant they "wont touch" convertible roofs!The kit, my replacement fluid and giant syringe with pipe (bought separately) duly arrived. The first thing i noticed - the metal (not plastic) pick tool was straight, thought it would be bent. Also there was ONE tool...the picture shows one tool but the instructions show several picks with different tips.....Ill assume just the one is the inclusion. Everything else needed was at hand.Instructions and the online videos were very clear on propping the roof (definitely needed, mine instantly fell before I got the broom handle in the first time) and how to remove the headliner. Getting the torx30 screws out was tough - needed a ratchet handle for those. Pin clips were surprisingly easy as the first one pinged off into oblivion, but luckily the SL is a small car and was quickly found. Then the fun started....the C ring from hell!Dont even try to bypass the drilling instructions as I could not fathom any way to get that clip out without potentially some hifalutin tool which i didnt have. I will make one complaint about the drilling instructions - it says the hole must be precisely 0.1" from the top. Last time i checked inches were in 16ths or 32nds so it would be very helpful if they actually specified either mm or how many 16ths rather than a decimal which causes confusion. So with hole drilled i set about trying to get that ring out. To say it was a nightmare does too much credit to nightmares. Eventually a combination of pushing a torx15 bit through the hole and picking away with my straight pick supplied (not the hook one referenced) got it out. Then the cylinder just popped out, this was not stubborn at all and not sure why the instructions say you have to secure the cylinder in a vise or similar (none of the online vids show a vice) and neither the videos or the instructions really go into enough detail on just how bad it is to remove this c ring. Oh and putting it back is also terrible.So heres the bit that was disappointing. I removed the OEM blue seal, totally destroyed as predicted and slid the o ring on. Unlike in the videos this required very little stretching. I waited the recommended few minutes and noted that there was a fair bit of "give" in the new o ring and it was sliding up and down without too much effort. Unlike the OEM part it was not sliding freely if you held the cylinder vertically, but you can see its not exactly snug either. Of course theres a large disclaimer that if it does slide too much its been overstretched.....well I can be 100% confident that this did not happen. It was definitely snugger than the OEM but I was worried it would still leak.By this time Id come way too far to get another ring or anything, so I put everything back again, had the torture of the C ring, then a successful test with everything back to normal since there was actually a full tank of hydraulic fluid now. Then a fairly fiddly reinstall of the headliner.....always with those car clips! So even though my o ring seems a little loose still, so far so good....and I know exactly how to tackle it next time!Yes a long review but in summary the good:- extensive clear instructions, mostly- pick tool although straight was very helpful- along with youtube vids its a straightforward but fiddly process - per other reviews patience patience patience grasshopper!The not so good- O ring that might have been a bit loose in spec. I did NOT overstretch it in any way.- hole drilling in decimal inches......- recommendation for 2 people would be good for headliner removal and reinstallation as well as the C ring - one to push through the hole and the other to pick it out- instructions on how to reinstall the C ring would also be helpful- clarify whether the kit is meant to be one pick or several, and if just one should it be straight or a hook?I no doubt sound pedantic but there is no question this is a great option for inexpensively repairing a car that can definitely be a money pit. Dont get me started on the "consumers battery" fiasco, the ABC suspension (my car often sags and has to be reinflated before driving!) or the check engine light coming on and off....but i still love it, and now it wont be raining oil on the passenger!