79 300TD sunroof seal replacement... help. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

vstech · #1 11-06-2006, 07:18 PM

I have been searching for an hour for info, tons of members have written up sunroof seals changed...
Hey, how did you get to the back sunroof seal? I just got a set of seals from phil, but I cannot figure out how to get to the back one. do I have to remove the entire headliner?
also, on the side seals/guides, how do you get the back screw out? it appears to be at an angle, making it impossible to remove... maybe I am missing something. take down the interior panel while the roof is closed... hmm just pondering here. I have all the side screws out, and I have partially removed the side seals, if I have to close the roof, it is gonna be difficult.
John
_____
ps, it's raining...

babyjames · #2 11-06-2006, 11:21 PM

There are some phillips-head screws pointing straight up. Pull those out, and one of the chrome pieces comes off; the inner, I think. That's all that holds the sunroof in. Take out the sunroof portion of the headliner (clips at front; remove upwards), slide the roof forward, push up from inside, and it just lifts right out. The writeup on this procedure in the FSM is dead-nuts.

Jay.

rs899 · #3 11-07-2006, 07:29 AM

babayjames has it right. You have to remove the panel to fit the new rear seal. The front seal is a *****. Don't go there if you don't need to.

Rick

vstech · #4 11-07-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs899

babayjames has it right. You have to remove the panel to fit the new rear seal. The front seal is a *****. Don't go there if you don't need to.

Rick

well, it is all cracked and leaking, not to mention it allows the roof to hit the opening, causing rust along the edge of both the sunroof and the opening. I have already pulled out the front seal, and I am going to sand the rust off and spray some primer down before putting the new seal back on. the old one looks like it was glued in, should I glue the new one in too?

John

James L · #5 11-07-2006, 09:40 AM

front sunroof seal - I am curious also, for my 1984, I have ordered 3 brands; Meyle, CRP and OE from the dealer. The dealer one fits the best but still is not staying in the groove around the middle. I even took the wind deflector and plastic holding clips out. I have strecthed it to try to help get in the grooves, but it is still floopy in the middle. Sunroof stays closed against it to help mold it in place. May end up glueing...what glue? 3M or black windshield sealant?

mercedesource.com has a sunroof booklet I may end up getting to see if they shed any light on this front seal.

vstech · #6 11-07-2006, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James L

front sunroof seal - I am curious also, for my 1984, I have ordered 3 brands; Meyle, CRP and OE from the dealer. The dealer one fits the best but still is not staying in the groove around the middle. I even took the wind deflector and plastic holding clips out. I have strecthed it to try to help get in the grooves, but it is still floopy in the middle. Sunroof stays closed against it to help mold it in place. May end up glueing...what glue? 3M or black windshield sealant?

mercedesource.com has a sunroof booklet I may end up getting to see if they shed any light on this front seal.

my old one was glued in with what appears to be yellow 3m weatherstrip adhesive
John

aaronkobi · #7 03-25-2008, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babyjames

Take out the sunroof portion of the headliner (clips at front; remove upwards)

Could somebody please go into further detail about the removal of the sunroof panel headliner? I'm about to remove mine tonight to get the sunroof out (in order to access the rear seal) and don't want to damage anything.

280EZRider · #8 03-26-2008, 11:29 PM

The front seal, when installed at the factory, is glued to the bottom metal channel, which is actually part of the sunroof frame. Then the frame is mounted to the car's top from below. So if you take you car to a dealer for replacement of the seal, they will remove the headliner, drop the sunroof frame, and replace the seal w/o all the pushing and jamming of the seal. But this is going to be bloody expensive.

I found that once the top of the seal is installed, the bottom part is installed easier in 2 steps. The first step up to the last ridge on the bottom of the seal. The last is to lift the seal enough to push the final ridge in and over the metal channel w/o tearing it. Also, do it when the ambient temperature is nice and warm, keeping the rubber soft & plyable.

aaronkobi · #9 03-26-2008, 11:43 AM

Nevermind, I figured it out, pretty easy.

Got the back seal and side fuzz strips installed... everything looks good, but now my sunroof won't close all the way! Grrrr!!!!

I think I probably need to loosen the side rails again and push the fuzz strips in further so they don't protrude as much. Anybody with a similar experience?

Dee8go · #10 03-26-2008, 11:46 AM

It seems that when we tried to get mine to fit right, we adjusted the tension on the locking arms (at the back of the SR), so they pushed harder towards the outside edges. It took some playing around with it and mine still is not perfect, but at least it doesn't seem to be leaking anymore.

aaronkobi · #11 03-26-2008, 11:01 PM

Whew... About 8 hours, 5 paint gouges and 10 fits of fury later, I finished all 4 sunroof seals and got everything to line up correctly. Never want to deal with that again...