Sunroof restoration

[Denis]

Hello fellows

I need tips on this. My sunroof works normally but it has two bugs :

1 - It closes with difficulty when it starts to close, a light pull with the fingers and it starts moving well after it has closed about 10 cm.

2 - There is a strange "rattle" over small bumps : it is a metallic vibration sound that makes the sound of a vibration of a stiff metal part -annoying 

Anybody know what this is all about 

Suggestions for restoration is welcome !

Denis

Paris, France

[The Warden]

Offhand, it sounds to me like the rails need to be re-greased. I have the difficult-closing issue on both my 116 and my 123, although on my two, it's more inconsistent.

I was told that you shuold ONLY use Mercedes sunroof grease; regular wheel bearing grease will damage things.

I'd love to hear about the best way to apply it on the 116 chassis, though...and woudl also like to hear a bit baout how to adjust the height of the sunroof; the rear of mine sits a bit too tall and I have to physically push it down to get it to open...

[Des]

I had a simiar issue on my W123 sunroof, it would open fine but refused to close unless you put your hand on it and helped it along with a gentle push.

Once the motor was pulled apart and greased it works fine.
My understanding with these sunroofs is that the need the special MB grease, the rails need to be cleaned out and lubricated when the car is serviced.

There is also a steel cable that runs from the roof to the motor in the boot, I'd imagine this needs to be lubricated, although I'm not sure how you would check it.

If you have the original toolkit for your car you will also have a special wrench that can be put in the motor, located on the left hand side in the boot and closed in the event the motor fails.

[The Warden]

If you have the original toolkit for your car you will also have a special wrench that can be put in the motor, located on the left hand side in the boot and closed in the event the motor fails.

If it comes down to it, you should be able to use the lug wrench as well...although the length of the wrench can be an issue, it's better than nothing

[Tomi]

1 - It closes with difficulty when it starts to close, a light pull with the fingers and it starts moving well after it has closed about 10 cm.

2 - There is a strange "rattle" over small bumps : it is a metallic vibration sound that makes the sound of a vibration of a stiff metal part -annoying 

1- you need to get the rails greased also from the back. For this you will have to invent a tool. When greasing the rails take the top cover of the rails out, only few screws to open which you see on the top sides when the roof is open.

2- you will have to take the sunroof upholstery from the sunroof bottom out to diagnose were it comes from. That is quite easy when you have the roof 75 % opened and pull the upholstery down from the front and the front pins will pop out from the front edge, then just pull it frontwards and out of the car thru the sunroof opening.

regards, Tomi

[Captain Spalding]

Hello fellows

I need tips on this. My sunroof works normally but it has two bugs :

1 - It closes with difficulty when it starts to close, a light pull with the fingers and it starts moving well after it has closed about 10 cm.

2 - There is a strange "rattle" over small bumps : it is a metallic vibration sound that makes the sound of a vibration of a stiff metal part -annoying 

Hi Denis,

There is a decent article on sunroof rehab here.

There is also a kit you can buy from MercedesSource.com which includes a manual specific to the task as well as the special grease and tools for cleaning all the tough-to-reach places, including the inside of the sunroof cable tube.

Go to the site, and then do a search (in the search field at the top) for item number MRG-GENPSR.

[OzBenzHead]

Cap'n S:  Many thanks for those links - most helpful. Although I sorted out my sunroof last year, I'm sure it'll need re-sorting in the future. Also good to see someone's taken on board such projects as the production of manuals (other than the dreaded Haynes brand!). That guy's stuff looks promising.