91 190e sunroof motor/cable
 

I just bought a 91 190e 2.3 and the sunroof doesn't work. The wires to the motor are cut off about 2" from the motor so I'm trying to get the motor out without breaking something else. I took off the front and rear mounting brackets but can't get the cables to come loose from the motor. I did a search and found refs to "take the cables off" but I can't get them off. It looks like they should slide out of a notch on the motor but nothing's happening. The cables are loose, they rotate in their slots. Do I have to take the gear off first? Thanks.

Can of worms

I wouldn't use the time , money , or energy for that project.

Spend it more wisely..you will have plenty of projects

When I had sunroof motor issues I removed the gear. Since I had a spare motor I used the best parts from both to perform the repair. The original gear had noticable wear. I replaced the cable too which was binding in the guide tube.

Did you have to take the motor gear off to get the cable off? Did you have to take the motor cable assy out of the car before seperating them? Thanks

It was a long time ago and trying to recall what I did. I purchased a new motor on eBay but it was incorrect for my car. I decided to use the parts from it to restore my original motor and did not perform the work as described in the manual. I do remember spending a good amouint of time in various positions in the trunk.

The cable was stuck in the guide tube so I removed the side plate from the motor and then removed the gear. With the gear out the cable was free to slide out from the motor or the motor could be removed by sliding it free from the cable.

With the motor removed I was able to pull the cable out. The cable was disconnected from the sunroof earlier. I cannot recall if the cable was pulled out from the trunk or from the sunroof.

Thanks, I'll take the gear bolt off and get the motor out that way. I'm always worried about breaking something when I do something new.