2006 XLR convertible pump out?

[voodoocad]

New member, I was told the pump/motor was a discontinued part, no one could find one. Viewed the XLR forum for the first time and located one within 10 mns. Great help, thank you for that. Just purchased the pump/motor from top hydraulics. Dealership wants 2.6 hours to replace, sound reasonable. Would attempt to do it myself if not overly complicated. Looking for a recommendation there. Is there more to it then a quick swap out? I would like to understand why this happened in the first place. Had just completed the top down sequence when 5 mns later the pump/motor unit overheated severely, I was told the thermal temperature sensor cooked. Did it reengage or possibly not disengage during the normal sequence operation? Retain your old pump, send it back to top hydraulics for a $400 rebate. Thanks

 

[Fireduck69]

Top hyd has an installation video on YouTube. Watch it and determine your level of ability.

 

[voodoocad]

Considering the hydraulic lines I let the dealer handle it, also covered by warranty. New pump/motor in and works great. Dealership was impressed by the good condition all is well.

 

[LarryW143]

I followed this conversation with great interest, because an 04 XLR I recently purchased had some top issues. A couple of things were very beneficial. First was the hydraulic oil at $70.00++ a pint. Cadillac is very proud of that oil. I did a little research and found that Mercedes calls out the same oil. $10.00 a qt
second the pump leaks. I talked to Klaus at Top Hydraulics Sent the pump to them and they rebuilt it and it was back in a week. It’s pretty straight forward taking the pump out and reinstalling it, especially with TH videos. In the installation video Klaus confirmed that I was correct about the oil.
Once it was installed I noticed there was a leak in the left main cylinder. TH recommenced replacing all of them which I found reasonable they shipped all 8 of them. I watched each video a number of times and started with the easy ones. 4 went in no problem. Then the main lift both sides. First you have to be a contortionist to lay in that trunk. It took hours to figure out how to take it out but it came out. The right cylinder took less than an hour. The rest were easy at least by my standards
I can’t say enough good things about Klaus and Top Hydraulics’s. They’re a class act. It’s important that I say that I’ve been rebuilding cars since 1962. The XLR is the highest tech car I’ve ever worked on, but the mechanics are straight forward. Much prefer my early 60’s Deville convertibles but the XLR says something to my wife. She’s never been comfortable driving cruise ships.
I appreciate this forum. It gave me a direction to go with the problem.

 

[voodoocad]

Larry, you are correct top Hydraulics is top notch, even my technician marveled at condition of the pump considering it was a rebuild. I let the dealership handle the installation as they also warranty the work. Everything went smoothly, working good as new again. Glad you also had a good experience.

 

[long Tall Sally]

I have rebuilt the Mercedes sl pumps many times. Not that hard. I paid the pros at top hydraulics t odo mine and my customers. Top notch. I wish we could find a module company that does work as well as they do and could handle the top and suspension modules.

 

[LarryW143]

I asked Klaus whether they were doing any suspension work. He said they’re looking at it, but not as yet. Hopefully they’ll get into that.

 

[RonXLR]

I've had this problem as well for awhile. At first someone posted that I need a new battery. I had the batt checked and read fine. I went through all kinds of tests and experiments because I didn't believe the acual pump was bad.
You said that you can open the trunk with the fob. The pump works. The thermister could be bad, but I found that no matter what temp it was, the resistance was always the same. Did some test but I was still not convinced. Finally the guy that told me at the start that I need a new battery said, "Hey. You need a new battery". Mine was old and although it check ok, I put a new 640CCA battery in and now the top has gone up and down many times with no problems.
If you haven't already done so, you can hook up another battery via jumper cables to give the top more current. Start the car. If that works you'll need at least a 640 CCA battery.
This is probably the first step to figuring this problem out. I wish it had been my first step.

 

[voodoocad]

When mine went bad you could smell the burning plastic cooking to the point it burned my eyes. Nothing worked after that. The trunk would unlatch but not raise. Thermal sensor within the pump was the diagnosis. Battery was not the problem. Replaced the pump and works fine now.