There are a few videos about sun roof disassemble in the forum stickies. Since you are a relatively new member, I linked it here for you (scroll down a bit to the roof section).

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w21...orums/w210-e-class/1368901-help-tips-diys-general-info-climate.html#post3574488

The stickies have lots of useful information so it is a good idea to familiarize with them.

 

Thanks very much for your help loubapache

 

I just finished repairing my sunroof. I think the only thing that could cause a rattle, would be one of the 6 screws that hold in your sun roof are probably loose. My screws has lock tite on them. Put your sunroof in the full up position. The screws are behind the rubber fan like cover's. Check out the DIY videos for the sun roof. It isnt that difficult to get to those screws. Good luck.

 

Yea I am now having a similar problem but my sunroof is stuck closed and not even the manual opening/closing can move it. But I am going to try to fix it this weekend and these videos are going to be great help. Thanks

 

Get you some plastic pry tools from Harbor Freight for a couple bucks to keep you from scratching up your interior, well worth it. 4 Piece Nylon Pry Bar Installer Kit

Ok, if it is stuck, simply pull the flexible rubber boot that covers the allen screws on both sides of the sun roof off, as shown in the video, and unscrew those. Then you can lift out the glass sun roof and give yourself access to the mechanism. Good luck.

 

Right at the beginning of the step 1 video, teh tech appears to be prying the front plastic strip from the glass. But it is hard to see just exactly how he does that.

I have tried running a narrow wedge much like his between the glass and teh plastic, but it does not pry away. Don't want to break it!

Anyone done this and have tips on how to do it?

Is it necessary to remove that front strip in order to remove the glass?

 

For anyone else searching for clear instructions on how to correct a stuck sunroof, I found this great write-up on a UK site:

Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums - View Single Post - W210 Sunroof woes and how to cure them

 

When your sunroof stops working, you WILL need this thread

I have just finished replacing the cables on my E320, installing new 2-hole cover plates and for good measure poly blocks to further keep those covers in place. This is a better link to the UK site (a must if you are attempting this job). I posted my learnings and mods over there:

W210 Sunroof woes and how to cure them - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

PS: It would be an idea to put this in stickies.

 

Earlier you said you couldn't get the front trim off; how did you manage that?

Also, this thread is labeled "Sunroof stuck open/closed" in the sticky thread "Sticky: 2-Audio, Interior, Lighting, Body, Trim", yet there is very little here about what to do if your sunroof is stuck closed. Or in my case, almost closed (it's down about 2mm in back, just shut enough to keep rain out). The linked instructions are fantastic, but they start off "open the sunroof" and then the next step is "close the sunroof and pop it up in back". Well, my sunroof won't do either of those. If I press the switch you can hear the motor try and then quit (thermal protection switch cutting out?). If you hand crank it you can hear the cable moving until it gets difficult and I don't want to force it.

From the linked instructions and from looking at my roof it doesn't seem possible to remove the side bellows without popping the roof up in back. Perhaps this is because my roof panel is actually down a bit in back. Has anyone had success with that? I'll gladly pay $400 for a new pair of cables and $95 for a tub of grease if it fixes the roof and I don't have to pay the dealer $1000. But from what I can see it looks like the whole headliner is going to have to come out.

 

Guys,

I tried all the different ways to reset the opening and closing of the sunroof by holding the button while tilted, all open and all closed with the ignition off but in position 2 and no luck... What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

 

Success! I figured it out. The video is not at all clear how the front trim comes off, but really it's just a matter of having a plastic pry tool (like the set from Harbor Freight mentioned above) and the guts to really force it. It comes off straight down, but that assumes the sunroof is partly opened. With it fully closed it has to rotate down in back a bit, but it's best if you can pull it straight down. Be careful - I managed to break one tab in the process.

As for the bellows, in both the video and in the mercedesclub.org.uk instructions they pop the sunroof up in back first, which mine won't do, then remove the bellows starting from the rear. In fact, mine has dropped even further in back since my original post and is now down about a half inch - I've had to tape the opening shut to keep rain out, which is what drove me to try and get this thing fixed!

If your sunroof won't open here's the secret: take the bellows off from the front, after removing the front trim. It really helps to shine a flashlight on it as you're looking at black parts in shadows. The flexible bellows are attached to hard plastic strips that run along the top and bottom edges of the bellows. The bottom strip rides in a channel in the frame and slides back and forth as the sunroof opens and closes; the top strip has a "U" cross-section and clips to the sunroof itself. If you grab these hard plastic strips - not the bellows - at the front of the sunroof and pull them toward the center of the car they come right out. Slip a finger or two behind the bellows (outboard, between the bellows and the frame) like the guy in the video and the whole thing comes right out, even though the sunroof is closed.

Because the sunroof is closed and not popped open, the six torx screws holding it in place are harder to see and reach, but it's not impossible. Definitely easier if you can pop your's up in back. If your sunroof is stuck open you won't be able to reach those screws (or I suspect remove the bellows) so it seems you folks are stuck with removing the headliner.

That's it! Now I have to order new cables and some grease and wait for a sunny day to finish the job. Several body shops and a place called "Only Mercedes" all told me they don't do sunroofs because it involves removing the headliner, etc. and I should take it to the dealer. These forums and my desperation/willingness to risk breaking what are essentially trim pieces just saved me a ton of money. Thanks, everybody - especially thanks to brandwooddixon of mercedesclub.org.uk for the invaluable instructions.

 

Finally a day without rain so I did it. I ordered new drive cables and covers weeks ago and I've been waiting for a clear day. Per a comment in the mercedesclub.org.uk thread I used McLube Sailkote to lube everything. It went on wet like WD40 but dried invisible. I'm hoping it works.

My passenger side cable was so jammed at one point I tried to cut it with my Dremel, but I couldn't get proper access. I ended up having to pull it out before unscrewing it from the slide mechanism, just to get the slide mechanism to move enough to remove it from the track. It was horrible, and I ended up scraping the paint around the opening, so now I have a touch-up job ahead of me.

My biggest complaint about the instructions is that they're really not clear unless/until you have your car apart and are looking at the mechanism. Even then you're on your own for much of it. If you're going to do this I have two handy tips: First, as stated the new drive cables have brass fittings for M4 screws, so you'll need a couple of those. The author only said he had to cut them to length; they're 10 mm long so just buy M4-10's and you'll be fine. Second, the self-tapping screw used on the factory drive cables are perfect for the second screw on the new covers! But the way the covers work isn't clear from either the MB videos (which are amazingly helpful - find them here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e68yauqeb9boi9m/AABswHE_NVFUPSxLmclJP4UTa?lst=) or the mercedesclub instructions. They fit over as in straddle a plastic rectangle that's fixed to the car. The screws go through holes in the inside of the cover and this rectangle then the screws tap into the outside of the cover (inside/outside of the car). So you have to drill a hole in the rectangle for the second screw. This isn't difficult, as it's plastic. I selected the bit that best fit the existing hole, put the new cover in place, then by hand used the bit to mark the new hole's center point by twirling it with my fingers to scrape a spot. Remove the cover, drill a pilot hole with your smallest bit, then drill to size. It doesn't take much to drill through, and the shavings came off in nice spirals that were easy to clean up. Do all this before you install the new cables. Since the covers are new you'll be tapping new threads and it's super easy to strip them so be gentle. As we used to say, "fully driven, seated, but not stripped".