It broke again! $600 in parts two years ago, and yep the little tab that holds the headliner to it broke this morning. MB never could make a good tilt sunroof right until the later cars, these early ones are junk. All those cheap pot metal parts break and insted of being glass its got the headliner attached to it so their is lots of stress on the mechanism. Its the tilt feature thats death, if it wasn't for that it would be a pretty decent system. Everytime you use it, its like on the verge of breaking.The sunroof on my SD always worked, that was a simple design.

I'm going to fix it and than never use it again, but at least I will feel better because its fixed!

Tilt sunroof's are added to the list of things that MB can't figure out how to make well, window regulators, AC, and cruise control.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Amen to that one!

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

I am dead serious about this - On my next "build", I am going to weld the sunroof shut on my W201.

SteveM.

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'93 190E/D 2.5 Turbodiesel 5-speed (daily driver)
'87 190D 2.5 Turbo rustbucket - parts car
'84 Dodge Rampage diesel - Land Speed Record Holder
'13 Ram 2500 Diesel
'05 Toyota 4Runner

W123 how I love thee.

I can fix a busted W123 roof for about $100 and an hour’s time. Then there is the manual roof my 240D has.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

I'm sure a person can can fix SOME parts - but not ALL parts of the system that fast or that cheaply.

I had to come up with an "unconventional" fix for mine and as a result it stops about 1-1/2" short of opening all the way. If you know a better quick fix for it that would allow it to open all the way, I'd love to know more about it...

Here's the thread about mine and how I fixed it...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=223541#10

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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

True, I should have said "most" busted W123 sunroofs. Usually it's just the gear box, motor, or cable. Yours was an odd case with damage to the tube that runs above the headliner IIRC.

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

The early W126 had the same sunroof, they just slide.

I don't think you can get many parts for $100, unless they are used. I had to replace the slide mechanism on boths sides on mine and they were like $200 each. The early simpler ones are probably about 1/2 that.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Your memory is correct. However, although my problem isn't the most common type of issue, it is common enough that I was able to find a thread where another member had the same trouble with his. The link to his thread is included in the one I linked above.

Just an FYI bgkast, I wasn't trying to slam on you - just wanted to make others with sunroof issues who might read this thread aware that there are some issues that take more than an hour and/or $100 to fix. My "unconventional" repair didn't cost much (under 10 bucks) but it took considerably more than an hour to complete. In fact it took longer than that just to get it apart to where I could diagnose the real problem! Once I had it figured out, the actual repair only took a couple of hours - and that includes tracking down the two 1/4" cable clamps, modifying the saddles from the clamps to make a "block" clamp, and installing the new home-made clamping device around the cable shell.

If I had fixed it the "right" way (replaced the section of cable shell behind the roof bow) it would have taken a lot longer and cost a lot more - since I would almost certainly have had to remove the headliner - which would in turn require removing the rear window. Although I wish the clamp I made and installed didn't keep it from opening that last 1-1/2", for the difference in time and work that would be required to replace the cable shell, I'm willing to live with this solution for the time being.

So, like you said, MOST sunroof repairs on a W123 can be completed in an hour for under $100, but there are SOME that take a whole lot more time and/or money...

__________________
1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel
Silver blue paint over navy blue interior
2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise
99% original unmolested car
~210k miles on the clock

1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab
Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior
Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion
152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown

You mean the lift arms? Mine were only $140 each, from dealership ...

So what exactly was it that broke on yours this time? You mean one of those tabs up front?

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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)

Just don't use the tilt feature and it will be as reliable as the older ones.

In fifteen years of owning MBs with tilt roofs, we've never broken one.
Learned early on about the tilt, and NEVER use it.

Once you look at the mechanism, you understand why they are prone to failure.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

thank g-d for 70's simplicity. . .the ONLY problem Ive ever had with my 107 was the damn switch decided it didnt want to conduct electricity one morning on my way to work. . .I had to take it home and trade out for the Lexus that day as I didnt have time to f-ck with it or leave it open in the parking lot (Id have come back and some sonofab!tch woulda stolen my becker)

Oh. . and it doesent leak a d@mn drop of water. I wish I could say the same about my door seals. . .

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". . .back before accountants designed cars"

-Current Stable-
'78 MB 450SL-C 107.024.12.020783 #3840 <Kayleen>
'85 FORD F250 6.9L Diesel <Allison>
'98 Lexus ES300 <Rachel>
Long Gone...
'74 Chevy G10...........................'99 GMC Yukon 4X4
'83 Chevy Suburban 6.2 diesel .....'99 SAAB 9-5
'90 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS............. '01 Chevy Tahoe
'98 Nissan Altima .......................'02 MB ML320
'88 Chevy Suburban V2500 4X4 6.2 diesel

Please take plenty of pics when you do the repair.

Yep your right, I have to see what broke tomarrow. I think its the tab that holds the headliner.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200