w124 crash repair - sunroof repair
In order to paint the roof of my 1990 300TE, the sunroof panel needed to be removed. However, on removal of the sunroof panel, the lifting arms disintegrated. This is a common problem on the W124 and second generation W126 cars. The lifting arms are the mechanism that is used to enable the tilt function on the sunroof. While the tilt function is nice, the plastic parts in the mechanism are a real weak spot.
Given the earlier roofs are far more reliable, I'm not sure the tilting feature is really worth the effort. The broken arms got all jammed up in the mechanism, and since the roof lining was already out for the roof racks, it was easier to drop the whole sunroof cassette.
Unlike on the W126, the genuine lifting arms were still available for the W124. However, to get both sides would cost over USD$600, before GST and delivery. While I prefer to use genuine parts where I can, I couldn't justify it. There are quite a few aftermarket options, of varying quality. The ones from China were much cheaper, but I've not heard good things about them. In the end I went with an AIN kit, that looks like it came from Turkey. It cost about USD$200 including delivery and GST.
When it arrived it looked quite good quality and was made from metal. Comparing it against the old one it seemed to fit quite well. This didn't solve the complete problem. Even with the new lifting arms, the sunroof was still binding. In the end, the issue turned out to be a broken rivet in the rails. This was causing one of the rails to sit a few mm higher than it should. Its probably why the original lifting arms broke.
The final part was the bracket that holds the sunroof cable to the sunroof had broken. This is part 126 782 01 40 and is still available new. It was USD$16 before shipping and GST. I was also missing a rubber insert for the bumper on the left side - part number 124 885 05 23 which was also $16. I was lucky to be missing that side, as the right hand side seems to be NLA, although aftermarket parts seem to be available, but more expensive.
Those were the last parts required and from there it was re-assembly. The repairer made sure to use lots of sealant for the rear windows so water couldn't get in under the new seals. I've now collected the car and it looks great, better than ever.
