W123 Leaking Sunroof

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moralcrusader

New Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2010
Messages
29
Car
230E W123
I've been getting quite a bit of water in the rear n/s footwell - blocked sunroof drains suspected. However I've also found a hole in the sunroof seal which is obviously letting the water in.

Any oadvice on the best place to source the seals (if they're still availalbe) and costs? Is changing the seal a tough job - I read that removing the sunroof panel is a bit a a pain?
 
Leaking Sunroof

May not be the sunroof. I had similar problems with a 230TE when after heavy rain the rear offside footwell would be flooded. This was caused by a leaking front screen rubber. Water was running down the 'A' post and along the side of the cill. Worth checking before you go to all the trouble of changing the sunroof seal
 
That's useful - the front windscreen needs to be replaced before the MOT due to stone chips anyway so if it is coming in through there, it won't be for long.

However, the hole in the seal is certainly still there, and does leak straight into the cabin from above - as proved when I chucked a bucket of water over the roof yesterday...
 
I had a similar problem on my w123 and a new windscreen seal cured it nicely.

The sunroof seal is designed to let water through - hence the drain tubes. I think that tipping a bucket of water onto the sunroof may have just been too much water for the drains to get rid of quickly enough ie the sunroof tray filled up and caused your cabin leak.
 
On my 116 sunroof the front section of the sunroof frame has corroded away just next to the drain tubes which in turn lets water in along the trim by the top of the windsceen and it then runs down inside the 'A' post trims.

The 123 sunroof is almost identical to the 116 and others.
 
As above , the seal around the sunroof panel is not intended to be fully waterproof - water drips into the cassette then drains away via the drain tubes located at the four corners .

Usually , the tubes block up with dirt & debris such as leaves etc which find their way in when the roof is open , standing water then causes rust and the corners of the cassette rots . The only proper fix is to remove the cassette and weld up , or replace the whole thing .

Mark Cosovich did an article in the M-B Club Gazette a while back - he said that the only way to get the cassette out of a 123 is by removing the rear ( or front ? ) screen . I have taken one out of a W126 without needing to do this , but then the 126 is a bigger car ( then again , so is the sunroof ) .

Mark is a leading UK restorer of W123s and usually has a repaired cassette on standby for swapping out with rotten ones . It might be worth phoning him for advice and info

his numbers are 07714 089936 or 01792 846888
 

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