Sun/moonroof replacement

[WacoCharlie]

First of all thanks to this forum I found the TSB...just no pictures but oh well. Kind of a big job but I have my parts ordered and everything out and on the ground. Parts at half price, labor free and it is still over $1,000 to fix! Ugh..but I love her so no problem. Getting close to 400K so I don't mind fixing, She has been the best vehicle I have ever owned. Last two years I have had to replace exhaust manifolds and power steering rack. That's pretty much it in 24 plus years.

 

[eleven14]

Sub'd. I'm going to be doing the same this spring, so don't be afraid to document the process!

The post below is the most thorough overview I've found, but I'm not sure what kind of setup you'd need to bench-test it outside the vehicle as he does.

4th Gen Sunroof - stuck in open position/grinding motor sound - SOLVED!

Did you source new OEM parts or scavenge them off salvages/etc.? What issue were you having that is prompting the remove/replace?

 

[WacoCharlie]

New factory oem sub assy and cable assembly. I’ll check that link out. Thank you so much I’ll take all the help I can get. Good luck finding GE factory tape for sunroof loom. That’s another story. You’re only a few bolts away from mount unit so just bench test they’re. I guess. All of a sudden motor was clicking and roof started binding. Upon disassembly the R cable was junk. Almost all hinged parts were loose too. It rattled prior. The new stuff is much tighter. It’s taking a week ind half to get parts but I shod just ordered the sub assembly the first tine. I’ve got my motorcycle and gfs car for back up. It’s a big job. Dealer quoted me 2 to three hours to put cables and sub assembly together on bench. Which s fair considering the time spent. $130 an hour and ice got time on my hands!

 

[villaphoto]

I've done a full Sun Roof Assembly replacement. Honestly, your best bet is to keep an eye out for junk yards with a 4th gen sunroof assembly. Instead of following the TSB to replace a piece of it, I just dropped the head liner and the whole unit. Bolted the new one in, plugged it in, and it was ready to go.

I will say that it's a pain in the butt to pull the headliner out, but we had the whole thing out and back in in about 3-4 hours.

 

[eleven14]

I've done a full Sun Roof Assembly replacement. Honestly, your best bet is to keep an eye out for junk yards with a 4th gen sunroof assembly. Instead of following the TSB to replace a piece of it, I just dropped the head liner and the whole unit. Bolted the new one in, plugged it in, and it was ready to go.

I will say that it's a pain in the butt to pull the headliner out, but we had the whole thing out and back in in about 3-4 hours.

Yeah, sounds like the best approach rather than trouble-shooting mine further. Motor is good and it slides fine, just makes the crunching sound when fully open which is likely a seized cable on one side. If I can grab a full working unit from a donor, the swap should be straightforward.

How'd you source yours? A main site like car-part.com or just calling/monitoring local yards?

 

[ktom3001]

This is why I hate sunroofs. I never use mine for fear it will fail someday.

 

[NWTrailRunner]

This is why I hate sunroofs. I never use mine for fear it will fail someday.

This happened to my wife recently while she was with my son who randomly asked to open it. Luckily it wasn't raining (WA state) and my wife was able to fiddle with the mechanism enough to get it closed. This is a good reminder for me to see if there is a breaker I can pull out to prevent any accidental openings until I get this replaced. Thanks!

 

[eleven14]

This happened to my wife recently while she was with my son who randomly asked to open it. Luckily it wasn't raining (WA state) and my wife was able to fiddle with the mechanism enough to get it closed. This is a good reminder for me to see if there is a breaker I can pull out to prevent any accidental openings until I get this replaced. Thanks!

You can disconnect power to the motor (behind the sunglass holder) pretty easily. I'd just unplug it if you're worried about anyone using it.

 

[WacoCharlie]

I've done a full Sun Roof Assembly replacement. Honestly, your best bet is to keep an eye out for junk yards with a 4th gen sunroof assembly. Instead of following the TSB to replace a piece of it, I just dropped the head liner and the whole unit. Bolted the new one in, plugged it in, and it was ready to go.

I will say that it's a pain in the butt to pull the headliner out, but we had the whole thing out and back in in about 3-4 hours.

You are 100% correct. The new OE SUBassembly I got from Middle East was broken and I’m dealing with that. I went to examine the cable set I got from same area diff vendor was in pieces when I opened. Turns out one piece for R side cable assembly was for L side. The little hinge pin that holds it in was loose and separated from assembly. And R cable was not in bag like L cable. Someone jacked with it. So I’ve spent $1100 dollars and I’ve got junk with one vendor saying “to be honest I pack real safe”. SO called a Toyota bone yard in California and I’ll have a complete assembly glass motor shade everything to my door for $300. Headliners not so hard that I can’t put a lot of $300 complete assemblies in. In the meantime my 4Runner has been down for the count. Looks like a grenade went off inside.

 

[villaphoto]

How'd you source yours? A main site like car-part.com or just calling/monitoring local yards?

There's a Toyota salvage yard a few hours from me. I just stalk to see what 4runners they have in stock and give em a ring. Super fair pricing.

 

[JuniorPigeon]

This is why I hate sunroofs. I never use mine for fear it will fail someday.

Not to mention they will always leak eventually. I see no upside to them.

I've sealed up the one on my 3rd gen, need to do the same to the 4th one of these days. It's completely covered by my solar panel anyway lol.

 

[villaphoto]

Not to mention they will always leak eventually. I see no upside to them.

I've sealed up the one on my 3rd gen, need to do the same to the 4th one of these days. It's completely covered by my solar panel anyway lol.

Any build thread or photos of your solar panel setup? Considering going this route for my 4runner for a fridge and other electronic bits.

 

[Bumbo]

Sounds like a good opportunity to get some sheet metal and weld it shut.

 

[royal T4R]

There's a Toyota salvage yard a few hours from me. I just stalk to see what 4runners they have in stock and give em a ring. Super fair pricing.

Which one might that be?

 

[villaphoto]

Which one might that be?

Rancho Toyota Recycling. Fair prices and they have photos of the vehicles they have in stock. Makes it easy to find what you need. If you give em a ring, they'll also look up parts for you and hold em/ let you pay over the phone to come pick them up.

Plus the owner has a sweet SAS'd 4th gen as well.

 

[importman]

Just thought I'd drop a little PSA here. This is off topic slightly but I think it's important enough to put it out there anyway. I just wanted to advise everyone to keep the shade closed on the sunroof when you're driving. About a month ago my wife was driving our 09 Camry on the interstate when she heard a very loud noise. She stopped and found the sunroof glass shattered with a good sized hole in the middle. We both thought someone had dropped something off an overpass but it turns out that wasn't the case. The upward orientation of the glass made it clear nothing had hit it. Apparently exploding sunroofs is a real thing. Thankfully she had the shade closed at the time. A quick Google search will tell you all about it. And for some reason, Japanese vehicles are more prone to it than domestic. Luckily my insurance paid for it. I just wanted to make everyone aware of this phenomenon.

 

[Drakethefirst]

I just finished fixing my sunroof, it was a lot easier than I thought to get it out, only 4 screws. I hate that we can not just replace the gasket, but I was able to grab a replacement glass/gasket set at the junkyard. https://youtu.be/RXBhswfl4Dw