My $600 winta-bomma came complete with a broken sunroof mechanism. I finally got an afternoon to change it out and was surprised and pleased at how easy it was. The whole job took about 3 hours.
The sunroof wouldn't operate and didn’t sit right in the opening because both tabs of the right pot-metal slider were broken. I read up on the system using my car disc and came to the realization that the whole system had to come out to fix it, so I said what the heck and dove right in. Here are some notes:
* You can remove the sliding sunroof panel with everything still in the car but you don't need to do it first if you're pulling out the whole assembly. If you don't remember to put the sunroof up in the back before you pull the system you'll need 12V to get there on the bench.
* I removed the trim between the right doors, right front A-pillar trim, and loosened the right C-pillar trim to get the headliner out.
* The rear view mirror just snaps out. It is retained by two ball plungers. The nest it mounts in has to come out, it retains the front of the headliner.
* The body of the overhead console stays on the headliner. It is screwed in from above.
* If your overhead console is gummy (suspect most are) put rags on the headrests because you're probably going to drag the console over at least one of them.
* I moved the right front seat forward as much as possible and was able to pull the headliner out through the right rear door without too much trouble.
* The clamps on the four drain tubes are re-useable. Pry the latch apart sideways with an awl to release it.
* An L.L. Bean croquet mallet on the back seat is the perfect length for holding the sunroof assembly up while removing all the mounting screws. Do not remove the drive motor from the sunroof system but do leave the mounting bracket attached to the car, it gives you something to hang the front of the assembly on during install.
* The sunroof assembly comes out the rear door too, although it's a bit heavier than the headliner.
* To remove the sliding panel from the sunroof system:
1. Operate the sunroof to position the panel "up at the back".
2. Reach in from behind and push the back of the hinged liner door down. Use a hooked mechanic's pick to disengage the two spring bars from beneath the metal hooks on the liner door. This will allow the liner door to lay down flat in the closed position.
3. With the flap closed push hard on the sunroof liner panel to disengage it from two spring clips (that you can’t see yet) and slide it up the track to where it normally goes when you open the sunroof.
4. Next partially close the sunroof until the straps on either side (that look like miniature seatbelts) become slack enough to unhook their ends from the posts. It is NOT necessary to unhook the small extension springs that maintain tension on the straps.
5. Now the easy part. Just remove four 7mm hex head screws and special adjuster/washer plates from inside the sunroof and lift out the panel.
I pulled the sunroof assembly from my parts car and disassembled it to the same point. This is how the reassembly went:
* I cleaned all the old dried lube from the tracks of the new sunroof assembly, sprayed on white lithium grease, and made sure none of the moving parts were binding. I discovered that one fork arm of the right pot-metal slider in this “good” sunroof assembly was also cracked so I repaired it with JB Weld. I expect it will be OK since the other half of the fork that supports the pin was still intact. The fork arm probably cracked when the parts car originally became a parts courtesy of a large tree strike to the A-pillar.
* I left the sunroof panel out to make the system easier to handle during the reinstall.
* The new sunroof assembly went back in no problem. The rear-most attachment points get plastic spacers under them. Don’t lose’m and don’t forget’m.
* Install the sunroof panel and make sure it works before re-installing the headliner.
* The factory manual on Car Disc says adjusting the panel flush with the roof is a two man job but I found it very easy to do by myself. Just snug the screws lightly, push the panel where you want it, and tighten the screws.
* Once the roof panel is properly fitted slide the inner panel out of the pocket and push it forward until its clips snap back in. Put the sunroof up at the rear, lift the hinged door panel and use the hooked mechanic’s pick to engage the springs under the metal hooks.
* If you are reinstalling the headliner with the original 15+ year old material still intact you should expect to leave finger print dents in it. The backing foam is crumbly by now and it doesn’t bounce back.
These are just some notes around a general outline. I’m hoping some of my lessons learned might help others attempting this repair.
The sunroof wouldn't operate and didn’t sit right in the opening because both tabs of the right pot-metal slider were broken. I read up on the system using my car disc and came to the realization that the whole system had to come out to fix it, so I said what the heck and dove right in. Here are some notes:
* You can remove the sliding sunroof panel with everything still in the car but you don't need to do it first if you're pulling out the whole assembly. If you don't remember to put the sunroof up in the back before you pull the system you'll need 12V to get there on the bench.
* I removed the trim between the right doors, right front A-pillar trim, and loosened the right C-pillar trim to get the headliner out.
* The rear view mirror just snaps out. It is retained by two ball plungers. The nest it mounts in has to come out, it retains the front of the headliner.
* The body of the overhead console stays on the headliner. It is screwed in from above.
* If your overhead console is gummy (suspect most are) put rags on the headrests because you're probably going to drag the console over at least one of them.
* I moved the right front seat forward as much as possible and was able to pull the headliner out through the right rear door without too much trouble.
* The clamps on the four drain tubes are re-useable. Pry the latch apart sideways with an awl to release it.
* An L.L. Bean croquet mallet on the back seat is the perfect length for holding the sunroof assembly up while removing all the mounting screws. Do not remove the drive motor from the sunroof system but do leave the mounting bracket attached to the car, it gives you something to hang the front of the assembly on during install.
* The sunroof assembly comes out the rear door too, although it's a bit heavier than the headliner.
* To remove the sliding panel from the sunroof system:
1. Operate the sunroof to position the panel "up at the back".
2. Reach in from behind and push the back of the hinged liner door down. Use a hooked mechanic's pick to disengage the two spring bars from beneath the metal hooks on the liner door. This will allow the liner door to lay down flat in the closed position.
3. With the flap closed push hard on the sunroof liner panel to disengage it from two spring clips (that you can’t see yet) and slide it up the track to where it normally goes when you open the sunroof.
4. Next partially close the sunroof until the straps on either side (that look like miniature seatbelts) become slack enough to unhook their ends from the posts. It is NOT necessary to unhook the small extension springs that maintain tension on the straps.
5. Now the easy part. Just remove four 7mm hex head screws and special adjuster/washer plates from inside the sunroof and lift out the panel.
I pulled the sunroof assembly from my parts car and disassembled it to the same point. This is how the reassembly went:
* I cleaned all the old dried lube from the tracks of the new sunroof assembly, sprayed on white lithium grease, and made sure none of the moving parts were binding. I discovered that one fork arm of the right pot-metal slider in this “good” sunroof assembly was also cracked so I repaired it with JB Weld. I expect it will be OK since the other half of the fork that supports the pin was still intact. The fork arm probably cracked when the parts car originally became a parts courtesy of a large tree strike to the A-pillar.
* I left the sunroof panel out to make the system easier to handle during the reinstall.
* The new sunroof assembly went back in no problem. The rear-most attachment points get plastic spacers under them. Don’t lose’m and don’t forget’m.
* Install the sunroof panel and make sure it works before re-installing the headliner.
* The factory manual on Car Disc says adjusting the panel flush with the roof is a two man job but I found it very easy to do by myself. Just snug the screws lightly, push the panel where you want it, and tighten the screws.
* Once the roof panel is properly fitted slide the inner panel out of the pocket and push it forward until its clips snap back in. Put the sunroof up at the rear, lift the hinged door panel and use the hooked mechanic’s pick to engage the springs under the metal hooks.
* If you are reinstalling the headliner with the original 15+ year old material still intact you should expect to leave finger print dents in it. The backing foam is crumbly by now and it doesn’t bounce back.
These are just some notes around a general outline. I’m hoping some of my lessons learned might help others attempting this repair.
