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Bought a W211 that had something wrong with the sunroof, so I haven’t messed with it until now. I pulled the sunroof motor out, visually inspected the gear, and noticed no damage. So I re-installed it for now using just the two main stubby round bolts since that third one is hard to get to, and added washers to them—whatever I could find, a thick plastic washer at center and a lock washer on the other bolt since it fit the shaft, then tightened them down fairly tightly by hand.
The sunroof motor switch opens and closes the sunroof, but when it reaches the point of fully open or fully closed, it makes the loud grinding sound which is really a series of loud knocks--not a buzz--and definitely not quiet. I’ve rebuilt these types of motors for popup headlights on multiple cars in the past and usually see missing or damaged teeth, but there was no sign of this.
What does the diagnosis sound like to you?
Incidentally, at some point during the middle of my testing the center switch controlled the overhead shade for the sunroof, but now only moves the glass.
Not sure what to do but I went ahead and installed the third bolt, then tightened down the two main ones to see if pressure made any difference. There was no grinding for just a second / one press of the button, but then it started again. With my testing I noticed the body of the motor beginning to bow, so removed the pink gear and its cover and noticed a few more metal flakes in the receiving gear than previous. I don't want to break this motor in the process of testing it out. What could it be? I wonder if the receiving drive cable ever seizes up or needs lubrication? I did see one tiny transverse crack in the pink gear at the center but am doubtful it is of consequence. Thanks.
Appears I fixed it. I ended up having to reinstall it a few times. The last time, I took the cover plate off the motor and reinstalled the gear by itself, making sure it was fully seated in the cable teeth. I suspect previously it was not when I tightened the motor housing down blindly by itself. Still unclear how to operate the shade.
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