I noticed that the wood around the outer position left and right side was deforming and disintegrating and found water coming in around this area.

I stripped the sunroof drain area and see that the drain and rubber were absolutely perfect , leak must be somewhere else.

Is there a possibility that water drains inside the 2 vents to the inside somehow?

Martin

Can you post picture .

I'll post a picture later.

I was gluing the layers of disintegrated wood back but of course I want to find the problem.

What are the most common leak points in a W126 if the sun roof is ruled out and not the culprit?


I think if could be that the glass itself might leak around the edge where it is glued or sealed to the frame.

Or there might be corrosion below the windshield where the water is collected and drained away.

Is there a chance that a rust hole there might bring water to the area I was mentioning.


Martin

Here are the pictures of the left and right ventilation where it was wet and damaged the wood. The grills are removed in the picture and the wood restored.
Below the left side vent outlet the water did collect in the gray tray (below the P- brake)... tray was full of water!
Another picture of the sun roof with parts removed... It looks like new up there!
And I tested the sunroof drains. Seem to work perfectly fine.

Martin

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Is there water in the side vent or just in that area around the vent?

If the sunroof drains are clear and donīt leak, I would next check the windshield, although most of the time a windshield leak will have a slight amount of condensation somewhere on the bottom or side.

__________________

Don't Chrome them; polish them

Now I got the first evidence of the water leak. It was raining a lot today and I saw it dripping on the steering wheel right from above the steering wheel. It was dripping off the edge if sheet metal/roof frame.
I still have the 'sky' surround removed to see the sunroof drains and I keep it open so I can see where water is coming in if it does.... AND IT DID.
I think that rain was coming in there before and was then drained by the cover underneath to the left and right side pillar and was going down the pillars and found its way to the vent outlets and below.... I slowly understand.

So now I know where the water is coming from on the inside but I still don't know exactly where it is passing through from outside to inside.

Here is the question: Do I need to remove the aluminum surround from the outside ? I guess Yes.
I see the smaller cover plate that connects the 2 trim sides. I can slide this aside...
How can the 2 aluminum trim pieces be removed without damage? Are there special clips?

What would be the correct measures to reseal the glass? The leak point must be around the top edge of the glass...that seems to be a safe bet.


Martin