I removed the trim over the rear speakers to replace them in my 84 300TD and noticed something odd. These appear to be the bolts that hold the hatch struts in place. First pic is the driver side, second is the passenger side. I put a wrench on the bolt and it's tight, just doesn't look right. What's going on here?

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1984 300TD -- summer daily driver
Many others that aren't Mercedes...

If you look down the cavity where the hatch struts are can you tell if they're Mercedes or if they've been replaced? To me, it appears that someone cross threaded that thing in there and then said screw it, those were a pain to get in and it's tight enough.

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Old Blue - '83 240D 6 speed manual trans, OM648
Green Machine - 2001 Europa G500
'87 300SDL Bought on Peachparts
'02 E320 4matic wagon

Patchouli Wagon - 2004 E500 - SOLD
333k mile 97 BMW 750il V12. - SOLD
The Californian - 85 300TD - SOLD
Daily Super Sedan - 03 Audi S8 - SOLD
Family Truckster - 2012 VW Touareg TDI - SOLD

Given some of the questionable work done to this poor thing in the past, I have no doubt you've hit the nail on the head. I couldn't tell if the hatch struts were OEM or not, however when I open the hatch it flies up with ridiculous force like it's trying to come off the hinges... I have learned to keep a hand on the thing so it opens gently, but I don't think that's how OEM struts should work...

Since they look like a massive pain to deal with and it works... I'll leave it as a project for another day. I just finished removing the entire interior, cleaning everything, and putting it back together. That's enough work for now.

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1984 300TD -- summer daily driver
Many others that aren't Mercedes...

Supposedly they are a real pain to replace. I’m jealous, on my wagon I can’t let my wife shut the hatch and unless it’s hot out or the nose is pointing downhill a bit, I have to use a skinny 3/4 board to hold it up