Okay there is enough confusion that I suggest you check Google. I just entered repairing 123 Mercedes hood hinges.

I will suggest that it is a pin that has a shoulder. That entered from the outside. That in your case the retaining clip may have failed and the pin may have gone back through the hinge bushing and inner fender or whatever hole being lost in the process.


At the same time I have some concerns as the pin and sheet metal around mine tore out of the body. In your case perhaps they missed welding the shoulder of the pin to the outside of the inner fender hole. Or perhaps the weld failed. I also do not think you are dealing with an earlier repair.

There also seems to have been some confusion back in 2012 when this issue was also discussed back them on this site now on google as well. At least there are some pictures and information on Google that may help clarify things for you and others.

This thread was starting to get a little wild. Ken also has some videos that may help you there. There seems to be no bolt as such anyways in the original situation. I can imagine a situation where if you can gain access to the back of that hole. Sliding the right size and length bolt through so that the hood bushing rides on the non threaded portion and washers and a locknut to hold the hinge in alignment might be done. I just do not know if you can access that backside with the fender on.

I am assuming you have not found a clip or the pin or anything there that looks like one. You just may have a really odd failure in that area at least in comparison to the one some of us are all too familiar with. You just cannot weld a nut or bolt to the surface as that would displace the hood hinge sideways. Plus you might loose alignment support. I also do not think there is enough material in thickness to install a heli coil either so you could use a bolt. Yet there may be.

At least your description is reasonable under the situation you saw to imagine there is just a bolt missing. Where a pin with a groove for the clip and a shoulder at the other end of the pin is instead. You will see the clip on the other sides hinge point.

After a nights sleep I thought cutting a flap in the metal to get a bolt in from the backside might be workable. Then bend the flap back into place and weld it. You have to probe that hole to find out if there is enough space back there or if it can be accessable with the fender on in some way. If not the flap you cut and bend out will have to contain the hole. That way you could also tack weld the bolt head on the backside.. One way or another this is one of those things that has to be repaired.

My function on this site is not to drive people over the edge or out of their minds. . I figure they were already well underway already and my contribution just gave them the final push.