This is the second installment of the Stupid Question Series where I put a video on YouTube to ask a stupid question about my Mercedes in the hopes to fix it. Thank you all of your help with episode #01 where we found the parts to fix my Leaky Washerfluid Reservoir issue.

Episode number two asks the following questions:

1. What parts are broken here in the sunroof
2. How do I get into the sunroof to fix it!

I loved the sunroof in this car and am willing to get in there and fix these broken parts if affordable and plausible.

There are two videos for this (be sure to click HD) part one and part two, I made two to use the best one but they both give you some different perspectives. Flip Mino unfortunately has no focus the vents (that do not work ironically lol) are in focus.

1. Mercedes 1987 300TD | Stupid Question Series | EP#02 Part 1
2. Mercedes 1987 300TD | Stupid Question Series | EP#02 Part 2

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'87 300TD Estate (Panzer Wagon, Sold)
'95 E320 Estate (Sabertooth, Sold)
'94 E500 (Stark 1, For Sale)
'04 VW GTI (Rhino, Sold)
'12 VW GTI Autobahn (Shadow)

Thanks for posting the videos. That's really helpful.

I wish I had better news. Although there are a couple of good threads here by people who have actually repaired the sunroof themselves, it is not easy, special tools are necessary (or at least very nice) and the parts are expensive. I can't find the link that I want but it's on this forum somewhere. maybe someone else has the link.

The early W124 cars were among the first Mercedes to get the slide/tilt sunroof. Unfortunately, the design was flawed and breakage was common. As the cars get older, parts start to become harder to get. Expensive to begin with, they get more expensive as they become scarcer ("How much am I bid?" says the factory). Also as time passes, mechanics who have had experience repairing these things are getting harder to find.

Based on my own experience, I advise getting the sunroof closed so that it's weatherproof and leave it alone after that. I was lucky in that the local dealer owed me a favor and overhauled my '87 sunroof for the cost of the parts. Even with a 15% MBCA discount, I still spent over $1000 because so many of the parts were damaged or destroyed.

It is possible that this experience has made me too negative but I would fail in my duty if I didn't warn you that this is one of the larger cans of worms.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I agree with you, I'd rather have my sunroof working than my A/C if I had to choose, ... but I live in Michigan and use the sunroof 10months/year.

Not sure where you're located, but if you're near SW Michigan, I have a complete '87 300D sunroof assembly in the shop to look at.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

@Jeremy5848 - Wow $1000 just in parts, that is nuts! I had to admit it appears that there are really only one or two maybe 5 at the most parts broken on this side; maybe I can get a better video with the parts in focus and make a part three so we can get even more detail. Thanks for the helpful tips though!

Although they were the first generation of this style sunroof when they are working they work really well; I was impressed with the mechanics even if it was slower than newer models I felt that kept less stress on the parts and I drive slow so it fit the bill well.

@babymog - I live in New Jersey so it is ehh yeah I could use it probably 6-7 months out of the year I'd say.

There are things that are DIY on these cars are there are somethings I would not DIY (Like rear wheel bearings) so I was just trying to get a feel of how well people knew about fixing these.

Thanks for your experiences!

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'87 300TD Estate (Panzer Wagon, Sold)
'95 E320 Estate (Sabertooth, Sold)
'94 E500 (Stark 1, For Sale)
'04 VW GTI (Rhino, Sold)
'12 VW GTI Autobahn (Shadow)

Dave did a write up here.

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1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI


Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss

That's the one, thanks! Best DIY W124 sunroof repair article I have ever seen.

One thing I forgot to mention, Mercedes redesigned the sliding/pop-up sunroof for later models and also made many of the redesigned parts available for the older 124s. So, if you can replace your broken parts with new ones, they may not break again.

The other thing is to clean and grease the rails every year or so using the proper Mercedes grease, available in small quantities from Phil at FastLane.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970