Hi All
Does anyone know if there is a method of adjusting the tailgate hinges on S211 Estate?
The tailgate on my car never seemed to sit right in the body opening when closed. I did a bit of adjustment myself where the actual hinges bolt onto the tailgate which made it a bit better but basically the whole tailgate needs shifting over a few mm so it sits centrally. I also previously made it sit much better in its locked position by adjusting the lock keep plate so that the force of the electric lock pulled it over. My lock failed a few days ago and I think the failure was probably a lot to do with the strain applied by pulling the tailgate over as such. I have just fitted a new replacement lock (All £287 worth!!!!). Fitting the lock was easy and saved me over £200 for MB to do it but I don't want the new lock having to take as much strain and would like to adjust the tailgate, which would solve it for good.
There is a single bolt visible that attaches each hinge to the car roof. I partially undid both bolts but can't get the taligate to shift at all. I found a pic on ebay of someone selling some secondhand hinges and it appears there are 2 lugs that protrude out of the back of the hinge. The picture is not very clear and these lugs could even be threaded. There isn't room to feel around the back to determine what's going on and I think its double skinned anyway. I would have thought there must be some form of adjustment. The only other thing I can think of is to remove the headlining which isn't an attractive option especially if it makes no difference! I removed the rear roof mounted speaker to see if I could see anything but no joy.
So has anyone done such a job and can shed some light, hopefully I'm just being a bit dense!!??
Thanks
Does anyone know if there is a method of adjusting the tailgate hinges on S211 Estate?
The tailgate on my car never seemed to sit right in the body opening when closed. I did a bit of adjustment myself where the actual hinges bolt onto the tailgate which made it a bit better but basically the whole tailgate needs shifting over a few mm so it sits centrally. I also previously made it sit much better in its locked position by adjusting the lock keep plate so that the force of the electric lock pulled it over. My lock failed a few days ago and I think the failure was probably a lot to do with the strain applied by pulling the tailgate over as such. I have just fitted a new replacement lock (All £287 worth!!!!). Fitting the lock was easy and saved me over £200 for MB to do it but I don't want the new lock having to take as much strain and would like to adjust the tailgate, which would solve it for good.
There is a single bolt visible that attaches each hinge to the car roof. I partially undid both bolts but can't get the taligate to shift at all. I found a pic on ebay of someone selling some secondhand hinges and it appears there are 2 lugs that protrude out of the back of the hinge. The picture is not very clear and these lugs could even be threaded. There isn't room to feel around the back to determine what's going on and I think its double skinned anyway. I would have thought there must be some form of adjustment. The only other thing I can think of is to remove the headlining which isn't an attractive option especially if it makes no difference! I removed the rear roof mounted speaker to see if I could see anything but no joy.
So has anyone done such a job and can shed some light, hopefully I'm just being a bit dense!!??
Thanks
