perished sunroof seals and rust problem

[solomon]

Hi All - I'm delighted to join the ranks of the 126 owners - I picked up a lovely 1985 380SEL V8 a couple of months ago (115,000) for just £750...

..unfortunately it was quite a spur of the moment type purchase and I failed to spot the perished sunroof seal - the n/s side seal has holes right through it and it obviously hasn't been garaged for years there's some pretty bad rust in there now.

The other rubbers are in pretty good shape but seeing as I'm replacing one I might as well do them all. The rear seal however, which is on its way out, looks pretty tricky to replace.

A couple of questions:

1/ Does anyone have experience with replacing the rear sunroof seal on a 126? Can you suggest the best way to go about it?

2/ How should I treat the fairly advanced rust issue under the sunroof runner? The metal underneath feels pretty solid and it's not rusted through - it's just pretty nasty.

Thanks in advance

[solomon]

anyone? I really need to get this done before the rain comes!

[300se126]

I hate to say it, but if I were you, I would want to remove the sunroof assembly and the full headliner and tackle it from the inside - which would mean pulling out your seats and masking the whole inside of the car. On the plus side, you can just use a good sturdy rust sealant like POR-15 once you have the rust off, and nobody will ever see in there (so it doesn't have to be body color.) The drawback, of course, is that it is a HUGE pain. Unfortunately, in my experience rust in roof wells/tracks is pretty much fatal if you don't gut the roof and deal with it. I wish I had a miracle cure for you, but if you miss one spot the size of a dime in trying to get it out through the open roof, you'll have worse problems in a year or two.