About to replace the back seal on my 240d, and I noticed that the rear bow or whatever in the headliner is not connected on either side. You can feel the bow in the headliner, but when I push it up I don't know how it connects into the roof. I assume when I remove the rear window (I plan to cut the rubber and the old one out) I can pull the rear headliner loose, but do I need to have parts on hand for the headliner? What do the bows connect to on the roof?

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2000 C230 Kompressor "Frosty"

2007 PT Cruiser
2001 VW TDI Beetle
1999 Landrover Discovery II
1971 Corvette

Gone: 97 Cabrio, 83 240D, 93 VW Eurovan, 95 Volvo 850, 93 Chevy Astro Van, 77 VW Bus, 99 VW Jetta, 74 VW Bus

The W123 headliner bow rides in rubber bushings that press into the roof. Like everything else that's rubber in your car, its not as good as it once was. The bow has popped out of these probably semi-rotten rubber bushings. If you have some ingenuity, you will be able to plug them with something (silicone?) or substitute something else that is at hand. Or visit your local stealership for the perfect solution, if you wish. This won't be a big problem- I would worry more about securing the back edge of the headliner and getting the seal in.

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)