Mercedes-Benz R129 Seat Removal Guide and Fix for 300SL, 320SL, 500SL
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- How to remove and fix the seat on R129 Mercedes 300SL, 320SL, 500SL, 600SL for years 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. This video includes a complete seat removal guide, including the removal of the leather seat cushion, seat back and plastic back covers.
In my 1992 SL, the seat back cover had broken away from the seatbelt plastic holder. To fix the problem I had to disassemble every part of the seat, which gave me an opportunity to clean and lubricate parts of the seat that you can only do while the seat is disassembled.
Update: it’s been about a year and the seat is still perfectly and solidly connected. An additional step is using the epoxy, together with a reinforcing strip of plastic/metal. This should make it even more solid, especially if you haven’t found the right epoxy.
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Disclaimer - The content of this video is available for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. I do my best to provide accurate and complete information, however, I assume no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from any of the information contained in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Handy Val, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Handy Val always recommends safe practices.
Man dude. You are a real desktop mechanic. But thanks for the video :D
Haha. Happy to help out, as much as I can.
After watching your video, I got brave enough for the second time to do this repair, one suggestion: instead of gluing the pieces together, I did get a piece of strong plastic and attached with screws on both sides, I guess it is an option, thanks for making the video
Sam - thank you. I’m happy you found the video helpful and that I provided that extra motivation to get it done. The extra step you suggest would make the seat bullet proof. Recently, I added commentary in the video description highlighting this extra step. Thanks for sharing.
Third time watching this DIY video and again I’ve learned even more! This WILL BE one of a few winter project(s) on my R129 for me - as both my seats require attention in ALL areas you instructed us on here. So thank you again Handy Val - as my library of all your videos is certainly my ‘go to’ instructional template on how to do it RIGHT. Blessings to you…
Thank you Mark. It’s a great winter project.
Did this on both seats over the weekend. Excellent instructions, thanks for posting.
Happy to help. Thanks for the high praise.
Hi. I guess you struggled to final install the bottom cushion last is because you first install the bottom cushion and screw it. Than you install the back seat cushion. I find this way easier.
After the video was shot, I realized the mistake I made. So, I added the correction screen. Thanks for the comment.
Btw. Great video. Tks for all those infos. The only think I rather prefer doing is to join the broken tab using a long plastic rod and screws instead of epoxi glue.
Thank you. Videos take time to make, so I appreciate the positive feedback. The epoxy is bullet proof, it’s still holding strong, even after a few years since the making of the video. But I agree, adding a plastic rod, or an aluminum strip with screws will make it bomb proof. It’s a good and smart idea to add the extra support and strength.
@@HandyVal I trully believe videos are difficult to make and time consuming. But I believe your r129 DIY series is by far the best series out there. tks for all those precious infos you share for free with us
@@cbj032 Thank you. Much appreciated.
Great work. I need to check the lever for tilting the seat. The seat will not tilt forward manually.
Nice video, and primes me up for fixing my loose back panel - which from what you show indicates I may have a screw dropped out at the top inside edge.
I'd add that when I repair plastic brackets like this I prefer to use a re-inforcing strip of thin aluminium - from a drinks can or similar. You can cut that so it fits right over the entire bracket, then glue it with your epoxy and when set drill the hole through for the screw.
Thanks Chris. These seats may be over-engineered but on the bright side they are accessible for repairs when needed.
The epoxy is very solid when cured, however if combined with a re-inforcing strip it would become bullet proof. Great idea and thanks for sharing it.
@@HandyVal yeah the problem i find with epoxy sometimes is it doesnt key well onto plastic, even when the plastic is roughed up a bit first with some emery or a wire brush
I haven’t had any problems with using that particular epoxy. However, I’m a big fan of doing something once and not doing it ever again. So I encourage this additional step of using some kind of reinforced strip. I will add it to the video description.
Exactly what I do. 5 days ago I used Liquid Nails "FUZE-IT MAX" to adhere a thin piece of metal (slim-jim thickness) to the POS thin plastic "retainer bar" on the door of my fridge. It was cracked the day before and before it broke completely I "FUZED IT". That is some seriously sticky stuff. Don't think it gets as hard as epoxy but better for fridge application in my opinion due to the temp and the slight flexibility/bendability of the retaining bar. The crack is still there because I knew epoxying the crack would last one week at best. For strength and this seat repair application JB WELD makes more sense. One additional hint: If someone (not you or anyone else reading this of course) happens to have screwed the head right through a hole (in plastic) epoxy a washer to the damaged plastic and voila- a reinforced forever hole just waiting for the screw to crank it down nice and tight.
thanks for the seat video! val as usual 5 stars!!!!!! a happy r129 owner!! keep them coming!!!
Thank you so much for your video. Following your detailed instructions, and for the love of my Mercedes SL 500, I finally got around to fixing the little broken piece. 👍
I’m happy the video helped. Love for the R129 is certainly needed when doing this type of fix. Thanks for your feedback.
Thank you so much for this beautiful video clip this is so well made and nicely described thanks again.
Albert. Thank you. I appreciate the great feedback. It encourages me to make more videos. More videos are on the way!
Das war mir eine große Hilfe. Hab vielen Dank für deine hilfreichen Tipps und Videos.
Vielen Danke! Thank you.
Thank you! very detailed/informative. The gears in my head rest are broken/cracked and need to be replaced and this is most of what needs to be done to get to them. One question why did you disconnect the battery?
As a safety precaution, I disconnect the battery because of the air bags. We don't want to accidently trigger them.
@@HandyVal Right! Thanks again
Very good information!!👍👍Thanks a lot for this video !
Thank you. My pleasure. Happy to help. I love the R129 😍
@@HandyVal 👍👍Fantastic car!! I'have bought a SL 500 for four weeks! I have to do a lot of work ,but IT doesn't matter!It's really a Fantastic car! Best regards Holger from Northern Germany near Bremen
3:18 in my SL from 1998 it's T20
Thank you for the comment and clarification for the facelift cars. Much appreciated.
@@HandyVal No problem 😉 Greetings from Poland 🇵🇱
Good video, I was looking for information about this! Thank you so much! Greetings from México!
Thank you.
Great video man. I haven’t had this issue with mine but I know what to do now if I do! 👌🏾
Thanks for the compliment! 🙏🏼
Legend, thank you
You’re most welcome. Thank you.
Another video that I saw , the guy used a piece of plastic and spliced the piece together which I think is a better idea. I’ve used JB weld before and on some soft plastics it doesn’t work as good.
Thanks. It has been well over one year now, and the epoxy is holding up fine. However, I think this additional step of using a spliced piece of plastic or metal will make it bullet proof. I include this additional step in the video description. Thanks for sharing. It's good that we share as much as we can with the R129 community. Every little bit helps.
Val… let me ask this. What is your opinion about ERG systems in those euro engines? I live in Brazil and cars that old are NOT gov regulated. I was thinking in deleting my erg system. Hey…. Is this an DIY ideia for another r129 series video? Best regards.
I'm in North America, and most cars came with EGR because of the tough emission controls in California. For economies of scale, most, if not all cars into North America came with the EGR. Deleting the EGR is an option, but I wouldn't try it as it can cause performance issues, as the EGR will work in tandem with other parts of the car. Thanks for the DIY - I think it would be a good video.
I want to know how many days it stayed fixed. Fixed both of mine… both currently broken again.
The seat fix from the video was completed exactly 3 years ago…and the bond is as good as ever. I’ve never had to redo it since. The next level of fix is to use a small strip of plastic or metal, which is then glued and screwed into the seat plastic - this will make it bomb proof. What type of bond/glue did you use? I’ve had great experience with JB Weld on this fix and many other fixes. It’s even fixed a hair line crack on a metal coolant pipe…and still going strong after a few years.
Thank you
Life saver!
Great video!
val, could you make a video on the r129 convt top or maybe plastic rear window replacement???
I recently made a CZcams video on cleaning and waterproofing the convertible top. The plastic rear window replacement is tricky to do as a DIY because of the stitching.
Hello Handy Val. How do I remove the mobile phone from my 95 SL 500 and do you know where I can find the Bowden/Cable for my 95 SL 500
I don’t have a lot of experience removing the mobile phone, so I can’t help here - but I think you should keep it… it’s cool even though it’s not usable. The Bowden cable, which is really part of the accelerator cable is in the engine compartment, driver side, closer to the windshield than the front grill. Engine cover/filter cover once removed provide good access. Just look for what looks like a much thicker bike brake cable. I hope this helps.
Hi Val. I tried to remove the seat back cushions today but they really did not want to come out. Any tips please?
There are a two things to confirm - you need to first dislodge the seat bottom (to provide the clearance to push the seat back cushion down) and you need to remove the three screws at the bottom from the backside (as those three screws hold the seat back cushion to the seat frame). I assume you did these two steps already. Order matters before you move to the next step.
Now try this: Pull the bottom (not the top) of the seat back cushion towards the front of the car, as it may still be stuck with the metal parts where the three screws were connected. I suspect this is your problem. It should wiggle a bit from the bottom now. And now you use your body weight to push seat back cushion down. It needs to clear about 1.5 inches (4 cm). You can see the metal guides on the seat back cushion at 2:54 of the video. This should do it. Let me know. Keep me updated.
@@HandyVal Thanks Val. Yup, rear three screws removed. And I have lifted the seat base. (I have heated seats so do not want to remove the base completely).
Guess the back cushion just needs some force downwards? Right?
That's right. The back cushion needs to be pushed down. But before pushing down, pull the back cushion from the bottom to try to disconnect the back cushion from the seat frame (this is an extra step if your seat is stuck) and then push down from the top of the back cushion. At that point, as you're pushing down it should come undone.
@@HandyVal Great. Thanks again. I will have another go tomorrow. 👍
Is it the same in a 1997 model??
The seats in 1996 and afterwards are different. I think there’s a lot of similarities but it won’t be exactly as shown in the video.
@@HandyVal 👍🏻
Thanks