Rear Parcel Shelf Speaker Grill

[Seangbadee]

I pulled off my rear speaker grills to change out the speakers which had a lot of static. I ended up breaking the brittle plastic covers, but had a spare set which i got from BMI. Even though they were a different color, I refurbished them, but now I have difficulty placing them back in the car.
I believe someone out here has done this successfully.
Your help is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Seangbadee]

Pics

 

[maw1124]

Sorry I cannot help. Nice refurb job though. What speakers did you end up using?

maw

 

[Seangbadee]

Sorry I cannot help. Nice refurb job though. What speakers did you end up using?

maw

I pulled a pair of stock speakers from a junk car; I didn't want to upgrade anything.

 

[Jlaa]

I pulled a pair of stock speakers from a junk car; I didn't want to upgrade anything.

If you are referring to the stock rear speakers with the two tweeters, they aren't bad.

 

[Seangbadee]

If you are referring to the stock rear speakers with the two tweeters, they aren't bad.

Yes. I like the sound with the CM-2396, it has a lot more power than the BE1432 BE-1492.

 

[Seangbadee]

I decided to pull my C pillar trims today, just out of curiosity to see how to put the rear speaker grills back on.
I tried to remove the back seat out of the car only to discover that my rear head rests will not drop back down with the switch. I used manual vacuum and got them down and pulled the rear seat out.
After spending a few minutes staring at the rear parcel shelf, I discovered a way to put the rear grills back in place.
First you must place the rear grill tabs into their respective slots, gently push the grill rearward, pull the parcel shelf forward and upwards while gently pushing the front tabs downwards. Once they fall into place under the shelf, slide the front of the grill towards the C pillar until the lateral clip latches on to the parcel shelf.
Finally press the side with the 2 clips downwards into the parcel shelf, and if this is done properly, you will here a clicking sound.
If you did not break the cylindrical pin on the underside of the grill, you can now secure this from within the trunk with the respective clips.
It's really not difficult but does require some patience.

 

[linjam]

I pulled off my rear speaker grills to change out the speakers which had a lot of static. I ended up breaking the brittle plastic covers, but had a spare set which i got from BMI. Even though they were a different color, I refurbished them, but now I have difficulty placing them back in the car.
I believe someone out here has done this successfully.
Your help is appreciated.
Thanks

They look great, Seangbadee. Would you mind explaining further your refurbishing process, including the paint brand/code? I also have the gray interior. Some years back, someone claimed they could refurbish my sun yellowed speakers, but they chose a color that is way off. It looks quite obvious.

Thanks,

Jamie

 

[Seangbadee]

Jamie, thanks for appreciating my work. I did this 5 years ago in my 300E, and ended breaking up my grills because the plastic was brittle. A little bit of fibreglass work helped me get them.back together.
Fast forward 5 years, I decide to do this again in my E320. I got 2 cream/beige grills from a donor car,
and after removing the metal grills, I carefully roughened the surface up a bit using 120, 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I then applied (to cover and grill) 3 coats of paint, followed by 3 coats of clear

The clips that have to be removed to prevent the cylindrical post from breaking off are shown below

I hope this helps.

 

[gsxr]

FYI... looks like the left side gray speaker grille/cover may still be available new, 124-690-27-30-7101, ~$50:
https://www.mboemparts.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-covering-speaker-12469027307101

Unfortunately, MB Classic is indicating the right side is NLA.

 

[Seangbadee]

FYI... looks like the left side gray speaker grille/cover may still be available new, 124-690-27-30-7101, ~$50:
https://www.mboemparts.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-covering-speaker-12469027307101

Unfortunately, MB Classic is indicating the right side is NLA.

I didn't know they were still available! It's such a shame only one side is available, just like the lower control arms

 

[gsxr]

The only way to confirm would be to contact a dealer and have them check worldwide inventory, but it does appear that only 1 side is available, and there may only be a handful left. Most other colors have been NLA for a long time. Back in 2018 you could still get a pair of gray ones though.

Last I heard the LCA's were still available, but one side was erroneously showing NLA on the online dealer sites. You could still buy one from your local dealer, or MB Classic in SoCal, or anywhere else dealing with a real person instead of the internet. However, then number of right side LCA's (124-330-35-07) available was low, and appeared likely to sell out by summer 2020...

 

[LWB250]

I have an NOS pair of gray speaker grilles I got for my former 400E that I never installed. They were the last color available and both came out of Germany. Like gxsr, I'm hoarding parts.

I figure they'll be worth far more than I paid in another five years or so.

Dan

 

[Seangbadee]

I have an NOS pair of gray speaker grilles I got for my former 400E that I never installed. They were the last color available and both came out of Germany. Like gxsr, I'm hoarding parts.

I figure they'll be worth far more than I paid in another five years or so.

Dan

Thank God for parts hoarders

 

[gerryvz]

The problem with hoarding parts is that eventually, one gets too old and can no longer use the parts. That results in a parts hoard fire-sale.

 

[Seangbadee]

 

[Jlaa]

The problem with hoarding parts is that eventually, one gets too old and can no longer use the parts. That results in a parts hoard fire-sale.

C’mon, let’s be true to ourselves. The value in hoarding is not limited to the physical utility of using the part when required. There is immense psychological value in hoarding - it is a way to put one’s mind at ease - i.e. “IF I ever wanted to replace the headlight lenses on my car six times over in the course of 6x600,000 = 3,600,000 miles, I could do so, and therefore I sleep well at night” - @Glen

 

[gerryvz]

C’mon, let’s be true to ourselves. The value in hoarding is not limited to the physical utility of using the part when required. There is immense psychological value in hoarding - it is a way to put one’s mind at ease - i.e. “IF I ever wanted to replace the headlight lenses on my car six times over in the course of 6x600,000 = 3,600,000 miles, I could do so, and therefore I sleep well at night” - @Glen

This ought to send Jenny, @jftu105 and @gsxr into spasms of MAF hoarding paranoia ...

 

[gsxr]

Your next job, Gerry, is to actually test all those spare MAF's with your new SDS to verify the readings are accurate across varying RPM's. Should keep you busy for an afternoon when the ol' engine is back together!

 

[gerryvz]

Funny, I was planning to do exactly that when things get back together and I can just throw the new MAFs in one by one to test them (or stack one on the top of the stock MAF). Send any rejects to @jftu105 ?

 

[LWB250]

The problem with hoarding parts is that eventually, one gets too old and can no longer use the parts. That results in a parts hoard fire-sale.

Either that or the family has to unload everything and will only do so in a single lot. I've seen that occur on more than one occasion when a hoarder bites the big one, and in most of them the family wants stupid money because the hoarder plied them with claims of how much all that stuff was worth when they were alive because they were either mental about the stuff or were trying to justify it to the family.

Sort of like when dear old Dad kicks it and Mom tries to sell his beloved 1975 450SL. "But he always said it was worth $50,000! That's what I want to sell it for."

 

[Kyiv]

Either that or the family has to unload everything and will only do so in a single lot. I've seen that occur on more than one occasion when a hoarder bites the big one, and in most of them the family wants stupid money because the hoarder plied them with claims of how much all that stuff was worth when they were alive because they were either mental about the stuff or were trying to justify it to the family.

Sort of like when dear old Dad kicks it and Mom tries to sell his beloved 1975 450SL. "But he always said it was worth $50,000! That's what I want to sell it for."

View attachment 100264

Give up those greay speaker covers for nothing. I demand!

 

[northNH]

My parts car still has an intact gray pair in situ,
You’re welcome to ‘em, just gotta’ come take ‘em off yourself.
I’m unhoarding...

 

[gerryvz]

I’m unhoarding...

Wow ! No kidding ! Sharing the wealth !

 

[linjam]

Jamie, thanks for appreciating my work. I did this 5 years ago in my 300E, and ended breaking up my grills because the plastic was brittle. A little bit of fibreglass work helped me get them.back together.
Fast forward 5 years, I decide to do this again in my E320. I got 2 cream/beige grills from a donor car,View attachment 100059
and after removing the metal grills, View attachment 100061 I carefully roughened the surface up a bit using 120, 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I then applied (to cover and grill) 3 coats of paint, followed by 3 coats of clearView attachment 100070
View attachment 100062View attachment 100063View attachment 100064
The clips that have to be removed to prevent the cylindrical post from breaking off are shown below
View attachment 100065
I hope this helps.

Thanks, seangbadee. Did you find the “granite” color to be a perfect match?

Jamie

 

[Seangbadee]

Funny, I was planning to do exactly that when things get back together and I can just throw the new MAFs in one by one to test them (or stack one on the top of the stock MAF). Send any rejects to @jftu105 ?

Thanks, seangbadee. Did you find the “granite” color to be a perfect match?

Jamie

Surprisingly perfect!