Sliding Sunroof Write Up: (W124, W126, W201, possibly others)

[lsmalley]

So I had a problem with my sliding sunroof not working. The sunroof would tilt and close, but would not slide back, however I could hear that something was sliding back when I went to open the roof, just not the roof. In order to gain access to the bolts to remove the roof you need to slide the roof all the way back, even if the roof isn't opening, the mechanism inside will probably slide back enough to give you clearance. Next you need a flat head screwdriver and pry down the front inner pannel to release 4 plastic pins. (Do not try to remove the inner panel by pulling it down into the car, it will not work). After you have released the plastic pins you will be able to slide the inner panel back to expose the inside of the outer panel. There are 4 bolts that need to be undone. If you push up on the rear of the outer panel it will lift up. Look over to the sides near the sliding rails and you will see 2 bolts on each side, not above, but these are slightly hidden. Once these bolts are undone, the outer roof can be pushed all the way up, but not realsed yet. This next step is not necessary to relaese the roof, but may make it easier. Next undo the 4 gold colored bolts at the front of the outer panels, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. This will release the guide arms from the outer panel. Now it will be a bit easier to wiggle the outer panel free and push it up and remove it. Once the outer panel is removed you can go to pull the inner panel all the way forward and remove it by taking it out. With the panels removed you now have access to the inner workings of the sunroof. In my case the two large mechanisms that slide along the sides broke in half. I think its made from aluminum. So I went to a junkyard yesterday and bought two and replaced them, now I have a functioning sunroof again.

[ps2cho]

Good info...mine just started making a creaking noise, so I figure it is impending rail failure. Good thing I stopped using it, since you said it needs to be able to go all the way back to access the first set of pins. I will keep that in mind going forward now.

I think I read that there are updated plastic rails that are stronger.

[lsmalley]

I almost forgot that if you need to remove the 2 sliding brackets that hold the sunroof up it is held together by 3 bolts on each side. I circled them in the second photo. If you remove the bolts on each side you can pull off the sections individually leaving only the part that is connected to the cable that goes to the motor. All bolts are 8mm. Also there is a plastic siding held in place on the lateral sides of the sunroof opening held in place by 3 Philip screws that need to come off before the side sections can be removed. The side sections also have these rubber sliders on parts of the guide sections that allow it to slide along the railing. May want to replace all of those while at it. I wasn't aware of them until I had the roof off and was reinstalling the new one, but luckily I had some that were in decent shape from the one I pulled. If anyone needs further help with trying to tackle this job pm me. Don't forget to lubricate the rails with grease when finished or in my case I just lubricated the rubber sliders.

[sunrays]

Would the instruction you posted work for a sliding (non-tilting) sunroof???

Thanks,
Raymond

[lsmalley]

Possibly, I'm not too sure.