Boot lid springs retensioned-at last

[niveketak]

Since getting my 122S 7 years ago, the boot lid repeatedly refused to stay open and frequently clonked me on the head. It was clearly the two torsion rods that cross the boot between and beyond the hinges but I have tried and tried and tried all sorts of methods to retension them further back at the free end and failed every time. Oddly this morning I got up and decided whatever else happened today I would sort out the torsion rods.

Sudden inspiration struck and I managed to do both rods in 10 minutes.

Attached images show a similar diameter and shaped rod with a pair of oval jawed Vicegrips attached at an angle gripping the upright of the rod not the horizontal part. I levered the rod by pulling back the Vicegrips, levered the rod away from the housing with a flat blade screwdriver then as it released pulled back on the Vicegrips and moved it back into the second housing and released it. Voila easy as anything to do with the correct tool. There is a fair amount of tension in the two rods so care has to be taken but the boot lid now rises slowly with almost no effort and remains open regardless of the angle of the car. I hope this helps someone else to do the same thing without the need of some special tool and the cursing I have expelled over the last 7 years.