Age old problem Boot leaks in Mercedes SL350 (2003). Help!!!

Calleva

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Hi
I've owned my Merc. since 2013 and like most owners have had my fair share of expenditure (£12,000 in 6 years) keeping it on the road. I am a female driver and don't do DIY on cars so I use a private specialist Merc. garage who have a good reputation for servicing and repairing the car however even they are struggling to fix the boot leak problem that I've had over the last month. At 16 years old I think they think my car is now going to have boot leaking as a issue that will never be 100% sorted unless I replace the rear window and all seals which will cost well over £1000.
This month it started leaking on the RHS under the C pillars that necessitated collecting the water in a plastic pot. I booked the car in having discussed the problem and the centre rear seal was replaced. The C pillar seals were not. The next day I opened the boot to find 1/8 inch water slopping around on the plastic sheet I installed to protect the boot pump- I've had 2 in 6 years! Clearly the problem was worse. Again the seal was removed and re-stuck and all the rubbers reconditioned. All was OK for 48 hours but now I have water coming into the LHS under the C pillar. Enough to dampen two hand towels overnight.This cannot go on and I feel my love affair with my car is coming to an end. The boot seals were reconditioned in 2014 and all has been OK until all this awful wet weather. So I've read the guidance posted by Television in 2005 but the how to photos are all out of focus and I can't see what he is doing. Can someone please post instructions what to do next and hopefully with some photos. I have an husband who is an engineer and with the right guidance I think we are going to tackle this ourselves as going back to a garage and paying several hundred pounds to NOT get a 100% fix is not an option and they did warn me that they could not guarantee a fix. I've ordered the locktite sealant and have also bought gummi pflege rubber conditioner. I wonder if we should buy new C pillar seals as well. Anyway whatever help you can give me would be appreciated. I even test drove an Audi TT Quattro at the weekend as a possible replacement that is how desperate I am. I simply cannot bear the thought of another £1000 on a pneumatic pump but I do love my SL350.
 

Philedge

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R230 SL500 2005(long gone but not forgotten)
Before you try to fix the leaks, suggest you do the following-
Get the car under cover if you can to stop any more water getting in and let things dry out before you start trying to seal things up.
Check that the mechanical key is opening the boot. See the owners manual.
Remove the bung from the bottom of the spare wheel well so you dong get a build up of water
Put a plastic sheet over the top of the PSE and roof pumps to shed any water past the pumps. Dont fully wrap the pump so that any damp in the pump can escape.
Check that the 4 drains across the back of the rear window are clear and draining properly
 
OP
C

Calleva

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Before you try to fix the leaks, suggest you do the following-
Get the car under cover if you can to stop any more water getting in and let things dry out before you start trying to seal things up.
Check that the mechanical key is opening the boot. See the owners manual.
Remove the bung from the bottom of the spare wheel well so you dong get a build up of water
Put a plastic sheet over the top of the PSE and roof pumps to shed any water past the pumps. Dont fully wrap the pump so that any damp in the pump can escape.
Check that the 4 drains across the back of the rear window are clear and draining properly

I know of the two drains in the metal side channels and I rod these regularly. If the other two drains that you refer to are the two rubber tubes that run under the back window seal how do I tell if the rubber drains are blocked and how do I clear them there does not appear to be any openings?
 
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Calleva

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Thanks the pictures are clearer if viewed on an iphone. The pictures in the original post are not great if viewed on a 27 inch computer monitor. I have found some videos on Youtube that are helpful but no one has shown how to remove the C pillar rubber seals can I assume that most people just clean and recondition the originals and then seal with loctite as per the posting by Television and never bother to actually replace them?

I am thinking of replacing my car with a newer SLC. Do these models have the same water ingress problems?
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
I have Television's SL he used to make the guide and it still has all the original seals as far as I'm aware (and no leaks).
In general seals rarely need replacing.

The SLC isn't known for leaks.
 

Philedge

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R230 SL500 2005(long gone but not forgotten)
I know of the two drains in the metal side channels and I rod these regularly. If the other two drains that you refer to are the two rubber tubes that run under the back window seal how do I tell if the rubber drains are blocked and how do I clear them there does not appear to be any openings?

Open the boot and trickle water down the window in the same way rain would run down it. If the drain tubes are blocked massage the tubes to work out the gunge in them
 


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