waveterrorist

good reason not to leave it open in the fall...

so it won't open all the way, which is not mission critical this time of year


tried to get them out with a stiff hanger but did not work

will dropping the headliner give access?

Rudeney

Yes, but dropping the headliner is a major PITA. You might try removing the sunshade to see if you can get a vacuum nozzle or compress air in there. It's pretty easy - open the sunroof halfway, the remove the plastic cover on the front edge of the glass (it's just held in place with spring clips). The shade can now be slid forward past the glass, then open the glass all the way, and remove the shade from the top.

waveterrorist

My only question is whether the panel can be removed if the glass can't fully retract?
The vegetation seems to be packed in there pretty well.

Rudeney

Can you get the glass to open maybe 80%? That might be enough. Just give it a try.

Fatz

This is just an idea that might help once you get to the point Rudeney directed you to. If you have a "strong suction" vacuum, like a wet-vac, you could duct tape a suction tube like the one used to remove your motor oil from the top, onto the vacuums suction hose and use the tube to retrive the debris.

It, of course, will not suck the stuff into the vacuum but it should stay pinned to the end of the siphon tube, allowing you to piece by piece remove the debris.

Just a thought.

Rudeney

Good idea, Fatz. Another option would be to take a cardboard tube, like from a roll of gift wrap, and flatten it, then tape it to your vacuum nozzle and slide it into the headliner.

waveterrorist

Pulling the sliding panel did allow me to remove a couple of leaves which may have started the problem. The glass would not retract fully by itself but I could manually push it all the way back. I did some research and I now believe my cables are shot as the grinding noise often referred to would suggest. I took a visual inspection of the drive motor and the housing did not appear to be deformed.

This is the parts.com page and I am wondering what additional parts besides the cables and guides that might as well be replaced in this endeavor.

http://www.parts.com/parts/2005/MERC...gramCallOut=13

6speedclk

Remove the glass! Pull off the bellows and mark and remove the four scrues and take it out.

Rudeney

If you have all the leaves cleaned out, the next step would be to clean and lubricate the tracks. Removing the glass may help see the track and slide blocks. MBZ recommends a special grease, Klueber Polylub GLY 081, parts number A0019898451 for lubricating the slide rail

waveterrorist

I pulled glass and cleaned the tracks.

When I put it back I tried to back it up a bit and it still stuck.
Now it won't close all the way and it won't budge. Maybe 1/8 inch to go.
I can't manually move it with the crank.
I think my cables are fubar.
What's next? Pull out the motor assembly?

Rudeney

You can remove the cable without removing the motor:

http://benzbits.com/w203/SunroofCable.pdf

waveterrorist

I just dont' get it.

Rudeney

The cable is pushed for and aft by the motor. It's in a protective plastic sheath, and it would be pretty hard for any debris to get inside it, but maybe the force of the sunroof pushing against the impacted leaves damaged it. I have not personally removed the cable, but it seems pretty straightforward form the WIS documentations. Most of the time, with adequate mechanical skills, once you get into it, the task becomes evident.