Now I get to learn about the sun roof and drain
 

I put the 84 SD back together, drove it around the block and noticed that the headliner is full of water. It drains down the C-Pillar when going around the corner.

The car has been out in the weather with the front jacked up and on stands. Rear wheels were on the ground during the past several weeks. The sun roof works fine. I just opened and closed it.

This is a new occurrence since I was working on the engine and the sun roof was closed during the process. Is there an easy way to suck the water out of the headliner so it doesn't flood the interior?

Am I correct in assuming the sunroof drains are blocked?

Yeah, your sunroof drains are blocked.
To suck it out, get a mightyvac and the fluid aspirator that is an accessory. Or you could always make yourself a vacuum suction reservoir out of a mason jar or some other rigid bottle that you can seal.

As for the drains, you are going to need to unclog them somehow. I've found that getting maybe 8 feet of bicycle brake cable housing and peeling the plastic casing off the last few inches then unspiraling the housing, makes a great "drain snake." Just like the ones folks use to unclog drains but for the drain holes in your car. You'll want to open up the housing with pliers and a vise, enough so the spiral end can snag stuff and either push it through or pull it out.

Snake it down the front, side and rear pillars.

Good luck!

Phil Forrest

I've also heard that weed wacker line works great to unclogged the drains....

I pulled the headliner & disconnected the rubber drain lines and blew air through. All seemed fine. I had to move onto other things so didn't get to run any water through. I will later.

I've seen new seals that go around the roof. I'll track them down. The head liner is old. Does anyone know of a good source for new headliners?

I'm always amazed at how precise Mercedes is. The headliner easily disassembled 1 piece at a time exactly as described in the FSM.

I'll take the seats in to be refurbished. It will be nice to have a reworked interior.

Headliner source???

One source...probably not cheap....there sometimes are a few on eBay..

Seat Upholstery, Carpet Sets, Converitble Tops, Headliners, Door Panels and Rubber Seals for Mercedes Benz W123 Sedans from World Upholstery & Trim

unless your sunroof is contacting metal, and causing rust, it's pointless to replace the sunroof felts, and gaskets. they do little to keep water out. all they do is guide the sunroof into position. the DRAINS are key to keeping water out of the car.

the easiest way to get a good headliner is to pull one from a junkyard. same with seats.

if the pan is clear and the drains are as well, then you will not have any more trouble with water intrusion in the sunroof area.

Not to be a thread jacker....but are the drains all visible from the sunroof track area? Does anyone perhaps have a picture? My expectations of what they should look like may be off....but I'm not seeing them. I do have crappy eyes so I work with a magnifying glass on the pics and then with location in mind take the magnifier out and start working on finding stuff in the car.

I could not see the drains with the roof installed. They are hidden under the headliner. My headliner had to come down anyway and the drains are on each corner going into at least 1/2" rubber hoses that go down the pillars and out.

You may be able to get to them from underneath and blow air or run a wire up. See some youtube cautions about pulling the correct fasteners if you decide to remove the sun roof. Remove the wrong screws and you will be adjusting the roof.

There are pics of the drain with the headliner removed. I didn't understand where they were until I had my car as reference. They are simply hoses running down the A & C pillars.

Like many I understand the drain lines run down.

Where the hell do they physically exit to expel anything coming down them ????

I guess I look under the car for what appears to be a drain :). Today I looked at the wallet drain....called an R4 compressor that is dragging...

if you look in the VERY front corners of the sunroof pan, you will see you will see a hole approximately 12mm in diameter. the rear pan has them also, but it's above the c pillar because the sunroof pan is big enough to hold the sunroof in the open position...

anyway, the front drains exit above the driver and passenger door hinges, and the rear exit in front of the rear tires, I think... they may exit in the c pillar molding vents... I know the TD rear does...

You can see them in the trunk if you pull the liner. I would try using air from underneath the car to clear them without a lot of disassembly. I'll post pics before reinstalling headliner.

I love these cars. They come apart so cleanly once you understand. Besides, what other manufacturer gives grease fittings for the door hinges? It amazes me how even when given the system, so many owners choose to neglect.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/207158-found-good-sunroof-drain-cleaner.html#post1757953

Besides www.worldupholstery.com there is also www.gahh.com


One problem with using junk yard upholstery is they may look good on the top side, but the cloth backing has rotted.



Charlie

Not just junkyard upholstery, mine in my car is the same way.....all the untreated horsehair padding held moister and fell apart.....causing everything not vinyl to disintegrate...and my upholstery was mint....now I can't attach the vinyl seat skins to the springs....

That Horse Hair they used (or what ever it is) has really deteriorated especially the rear seat back. it is like crumbled burnt toast. I had the seat out to replace the Shocks. there is no support to the seat back.
I also noticed at how rusty the seat springs/frame to the back portion is.

I found a seat back out of (I think) a 84 300D, a light creamy color. the HH padding is in good shape. soon as I clean the MB Tex. it is going in the 240.
yeah I know it won`t match the tan seat in the rest of the car. but it is a ways to go for the Pebble Beach Concourse show. :D

The seat bottom however is in nice shape, it has a molded foam and not the Horse Hair.

Charlie