Another week of this and I don't promise it's not going in the yard with a sign on it!

1. We finally have a good, solid diagnosis on the sunroof, better than last time I asked. The pop-up function goes up - and down - perfectly, every time. The cable is not snagged, and the motor is working. When I push the switch to "open" or "roll backwards" or whatever you want to call it... I can hear the mechanism running back. It runs the length of the normal cycle and then stops. The sounds are just like always. When I close it, I hear the mechanism coming back up to close it and then it clunks into place like it always has. The only problem is that the roof doesn't move with it. Doesn't unlock and doesn't even twitch. Can't be pushed down by hand once the mechanism is retracted. So... the operator is working perfectly but the roof won't slide back with it.

What now? Everything hinges on getting it open and getting the liner off...

2. The 7-month-old rebuilt starter just hung up this morning - glowed it, hit the switch, and the engine turned over about three times and then the starter disengaged from the flywheel and kept running. Predictably, I had the wrong wrenches in the trunk for the battery post, and it ran for more than two minutes before I finally got it to stop with the hammer. Now, it won't do it again. It started perfectly twelve times this morning before I left for work (after the initial problem). How long before it goes out completely? i've got a lifetime warranty on that starter... but I'm also
moving out of the house to head to college on Friday... so I've got a very limited amount of time to do this in. No way to predict how long it'll hold together

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

The point of the rant, by the way, was to find out what the next step of my sunroof repair has to be. I want it working... I know it has to be opened to drop the cover off of it so you can get to the innards.. but there's GOT to be some way to get one open that won't move itself even a little bit open, I mean, you'd think that was the main reason people did have trouble with them. Any ideas?

"just seal it up" is not ideal...

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Can you open it manually, with the crank, if so your slip clutch may need adjusting.

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Dave
1983 300D Daily Driver

What does the crank do?

I thought it just bypassed the electric motor and pulled the same piece back? Is this not the case?

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

It does just operate the panel manually, but the motor has a clutch on it and if it is out of adjustment, your motor will operate but not with enough torque to move the panel.

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Dave
1983 300D Daily Driver

I will try. But if the sunroof were putting up so much resistance that the poorly adjusted clutches couldn't torque it back, then why can I hear the operating bar or whatever it is move all the way back to the back seats just like it's supposed to?

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

If the 300D's sunroof is like my 240D, there is a small clip at the front edge that secures the rod to a bracket on the sunroof. Perhaps this has broken? Do DIY search for sunroof conversion. Bruce has some good pictures of the brackets. Here's the link http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=185223&highlight=sunroof+conversion. Hope this helps.

John

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Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
2002 F250 powerstroke with Plantdrive WVO conversion
1983 300SD 190K miles ,sold
2006 E320 CDI

I recently rebuilt the sunroof on my 124 (the same as the 126 I believe) and did so without it being able to slide open. Mine would tilt halfway up only, and I managed to get it disassembled. It was tough but well worth it. Here's what I did:
-tilt open the roof
-gently pull the rear end of the liner away from the roof cover
-take a thin but sturdy pole (I used a broomstick) and shove it slowly between the liner and roof up to the front, where there are four snaps. The snaps are kind of tough but if you know where they are, just push them apart with the handle (I can dig up a photo that shows where the snaps are if you need it).
-close the roof
-use your hands to push the cover back ... this part was tough ... I had to do a lot of push and pull to get it far enough back ... you want to be able to get to the brackets in the attached photo (two screws hold them on to the cover on each the left and right sides ... you can see in the photo I have removed one screw from that side already).
-Lift off the roof (push it up from the inside then lift)
-pull the liner forward and lift it out ... be careful on this too ... it can be kind of stubborn and needs some "give and take".

I suspect you will see one or both lift arms are broken. Mine were both broken in half (I can show you a pic of the broken lift arms too ... I just have to resize the images). Or there could be something wrong with the transport bridge or the cable's connection to the transport bridge. I'd get the roof off and then report back about what you see. I do have more pictures ... of the transport bridge, the cable's connection to it, the lifts arms, slide rails, etc. Please let me know if you need to see them. I'd be glad to resize them, but I won't have time until tonight. Feel free to PM me if you want a clearer description ... it sounds like you have a similar problem to what I had.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

It sounds like the transport bridge is moving back sans the lift arms (or with part of them). I could definately be wrong but that was my experience. The best way to tell is take the cover off, run the switch and watch what happens. If you see the transport bridge move back and leave half of the arms behind, you know the arms are the problem. If the arms stay intact and everything zips back without the weight of the roof (or everything looks perfectly intact but nothing moves at all) ... then it could be the clutch issue. It's a pain to get the cover off, but not THAT bad, and probably worth its diagnostic value. In my case, it revealed the problem plain and clear and sent me in the right direction (with a LOT of help from forumites!).

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

More info on the 124 sunroof repair is here:

http://www.***************/forum/showthread.php?t=656

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Dave
Boise, ID
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