w211 boot / tailgate issue. feature or fault?

[guydewdney]

Done some trawling but not quite sure.

open boot. Give healthy shove upwards. Lip gets to about chest or head level. Stays there. Push up, it stays wherever its put. No auto boot feature.

so, i thouht this showed low gas rams so i replaced them with "good used" ones. Yet it does the same.

the replacement ones have a slightly different part number, and one has written on it "multi stop". With this installed it seemed to 'lock' in place and 'crack' slightly when i tried to move its 80% or whatever open point. I removed this ram and am running with one old and one new ram, and its still the same. I chose tw rams both with external springs. Still ig doesn't open from the bottom.

good news, i can now change a ram in five mins flat..


so, s211 owners, what does your boot do?

 

[selphy]

Sadly you've wasted your money buying used gas struts. After a couple of years they all loose pressure. Same on all estate cars where the struts are mounted in the headlining (Volvo V70, BMW 5 Tourer, etc.).

I fitted new ones and they're very powerful. Tailgate lifts quickly even in very cold weather. Only thing is you need more force to close it.

See here:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/bodywork/182039-s211-tailgate-strut-replacement-notes.html