W126 Mercedes Sliding Roof Repair and Maintenance Part 1 - Removal of the Sliding Roof

/ @impalamansgarage
In this video series we will be troubleshooting poor performance
of the sliding roof in our W126 300SD. In part one we remove
the sliding roof head liner and top panel and do some investigation
along the way.

[@drywaller12345]

Magnificent video. I finally got my 126 on the spit and working on the underbody coating removal. I've totally removed all the components incl the loom......my worry is that I'll never be able to recall what goes where. But Impalaman is my only resource.....Many thanks Bill

[@ronstjohn6780]

Thumbs up for the MSU t-shirt….

[@h.v.g7882]

Wel, if done the sunroof of my Mercedes-Benz w126 300sd 1981. Barley moving. And it was the old grease. It was completely dried out.
Taking apart the motor cleaned out the old grease cleaned the cable 👌 and the tracks. And the sunroof slides as new.
Before you can remove the sunroof motor. You have te take out te cable. That's really easy, press te button forward. And help the cable a little bit til you can pull it out be hand. And then you can remove the motor.
And yes inside the motor is some sort of clutch. The wil slip of the is to much resistance. To prevent any damage to the sunroof.

[@amirmehrabanstudent8002]

Glad I discovered you man. I got an '86 420SEL and the sunroof has never worked. It doesn't even open when you push the switch, no motor buzzing, no noise, nothing. Checked the fuse and it was not burned out. Could it be the sunroof motor? I heard it was in the trunk on the side but never quite figured it out. Would love to seek some advice. Also, where can I find a new engine to swap? Lifters are all worn out and ticking, misfiring, ... etc.

[@ImpalamansGarage]

I would check for power at the motor first. Remove the wiring harness from the motor and connect a test light (or volt meter) to the green wire while someone presses the open button. The wiring harness can be seen in part 2 here:. th-cam.com/video/1f5FjgccVzE/w-d-xo.html Also check for power when pressing the close button on the blue wire. If you have power at the motor and nothing works I would remove the motor and have it repaired. Of course the switch might simply be the problem. If no power at the motor, remove the center console cover and test for power at the switch. These cars are old. A number of things could be at fault, including damaged wiring from corrosion or rodents.

[@horsehead8306]

I’d hate to say it but I’m suspecting you will find a few stripped teeth in the gearbox on the sunroof motor. This is a common problem that is usually cause by lack of lubrication in the sliding roof mechanism. I hope I’m wrong.

[@ImpalamansGarage]

Thanks for the insight. It does have that feel when you try to move it.

[@josephmiddleton61]

I had problems with a damaged sunroof cable in my '81 300SD. One of the plastic bushings on the cable got stuck in the tube that runs to the motor in the trunk via the c-pillar and the bushing couldn't be fished out. I would have to remove the rear window, headliner, and most of the rear interior just to replace the tube, so I'm living with a closed sunroof.

[@ImpalamansGarage]

Yes I was reading in the service manual about replacing the tube. One of the steps was removing the rear glass. I just finished doing that! lol

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

I hope its a easy, cheap fix. 🤞

[@inovahightechltd]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@HTMLEXP]

If anything, removing the tilting roofs is easier. However getting roof panel headlining back into a tilting roof is very difficult as it gets caught on the mechanism.

[@music-box-1980]

v.v.good im khaled from iraq my car w140 1992

[@cons2899]

This is a non-tilting roof
Now imagine four times more moving parts for the late models tilting roof

[@Engineerd3d]

The one good thing or bad depending on your view, on my w116 there is no sunroof. This is interesting regardless.

[@Engineerd3d]

So now I am watching your series once more! I sold my w116 and got a w126 with sunroof…. I am scared to open the sunroof in the winter but will see how this goes.

[@user-ld3zb7vu4h]

🥰🥰🥰👏

[@montaking6332]

Mike, I noticed you print out pages of a manual. Do you mind sharing where you find this printable manual? I am looking for one for a 1986 300 SDL.

[@ImpalamansGarage]

Howdy! Send me an email and I can hook you up.

[@alc11803]

I'm interested in where to get the manual too.

[@ImpalamansGarage]

@@alc11803 My email is in the About section of the channel page. Send me a note and I can get it to you.

[@feliponhenriquez6481]

HAPPY HOLIDAYS MR IMPALAMAN GARAGE. CAN YOU PLEASE PROVIDE ME WITH A LINK WHERE I CAN PRINT THE SERVICE MANUAL FOR THE SUNROOF W126 , I AM A FOLLOWER OF YOUR VIDEOS. THANK YOU IF YOU CAN HELP HAPPY NEW YEAR AND STAY SAFE.

[@alc11803]

My 87 300sdl has 4 clips and they are different pin style. 6 is definitely better.

[@Mesopotamia64]

Forget it it seems a very complicated job to do I guess I’ll just leave mine closed

[@ImpalamansGarage]

It is complicated indeed. Recommend finding a shop that can work on classic Mercedes.

[@Mesopotamia64]

I have a 420sel 1991 and the sliding motor works all fine it’s just won’t open it got stuck

[@ImpalamansGarage]

I'd remove the cover inside the car to reveal the mechanism to see what's going on while you hit the button. Maybe disconnect the rod/cable from the roof panel to see if it's the cable or the panel itself that is the problem. I pretty much took the entire sliding roof apart in this video series. Of course it does not cover the tilting roof.