sunroof

[captainslow]

Is there a sunroof thread on here I haven't found?

I bought my 1990 a while back and it is equipped with a sunroof. It seems that it has been disconnected (I can still hear the motor whir if I try to open it) and it has been sealed with silicone or something of the sort.

My guess is it was leaking so it was sealed, and the motor disconnected to keep someone from breaking that seal. I want to get this up and running for summer, but want to get some more information before I start taking things apart because it's still fairly rainy here, and I hate downtime.

My thought process is that I should buy new rubber for the sunroof and hope the motor isn't actually dead as well. Anyone rebuilt the whole system before with any starting advice?

Thanks.

 

[chevydan04]

I will tell you it is a complete pain in the DONKEY to remove the entire assembly that is what I did. A good starting point for you would be to remove the card holder/slash sunroof control from your headliner. Just kinda pry it down with a screwdriver or something. Once you take it down you will be able to see a Flat Head screw head. That is and indicator, or even a manual way to move the sunroof.
I ended up removing everything.
You have to take out a bunch of interior side panels and everything off the headliner. Then you can drop the whole sunroof assembly, get 2 people it is helpful.
My roof was seized up, it has a kind of push pull cable system.

You can also simply remove the glass by taking off the plastic trim pieces around the sunroof, inside.

hope this helps

 

[Awz]

If you can still hear the motor whir it's all still connected. Probably started leaking past the seal and they just siliconed it closed to keep it from leaking more. It is possible though that the regulator (everything except the motor) has seized or broken somewhere. You can try just breaking the silicone CAREFULLY using an exacto knife or something and cutting along the seal, try using it and see what happens. Sometimes the alignment screws come loose and they done seal right, and people just don't want to pay to fix it and silicone it closed.

Mike

 

[captainslow]

I will tell you it is a complete pain in the DONKEY to remove the entire assembly that is what I did. A good starting point for you would be to remove the card holder/slash sunroof control from your headliner. Just kinda pry it down with a screwdriver or something. Once you take it down you will be able to see a Flat Head screw head. That is and indicator, or even a manual way to move the sunroof.

If I remove the screw I should be able to manually open it?

I ended up removing everything.
You have to take out a bunch of interior side panels and everything off the headliner. Then you can drop the whole sunroof assembly, get 2 people it is helpful.
My roof was seized up, it has a kind of push pull cable system.

You can also simply remove the glass by taking off the plastic trim pieces around the sunroof, inside.

hope this helps

I talked to a guy today from an auto-glass place that I like and he said the same thing. They wont work on sunroofs because if they have to pull the whole thing there seems to be a whole lot of pain and effort with the headliner getting the assembly out. When you took yours apart were you able to get to the drain tubes in the A-pillars or are they more hidden?
How long did it take you to remove the interior?

If you can still hear the motor whir it's all still connected. Probably started leaking past the seal and they just siliconed it closed to keep it from leaking more. It is possible though that the regulator (everything except the motor) has seized or broken somewhere.

To clarify when I say disconnected I'm hoping the motor isn't broken but that regulator is not connected to the motor (so I wont have to buy a new motor).

You can try just breaking the silicone CAREFULLY using an exacto knife or something and cutting along the seal, try using it and see what happens. Sometimes the alignment screws come loose and they done seal right, and people just don't want to pay to fix it and silicone it closed.

Mike

You mean cut the silicone away and then try using the button to open it?

Thanks.

 

[Awz]

Yes cut away the silicone and try to open it. Issues that often happen is that the teeth that connect the regulator to the motor strip out, or the regulator comes out of adjustment and doesn't seal properly anymore. Usually they come out of adjustment, that's been my experience with sunroofs on any vehicle. If it doesn't open or move or anything than probably the teeth have stripped out, but they're usually pretty burley, I haven't seen that too often.

 

[captainslow]

Yes cut away the silicone and try to open it. Issues that often happen is that the teeth that connect the regulator to the motor strip out, or the regulator comes out of adjustment and doesn't seal properly anymore. Usually they come out of adjustment, that's been my experience with sunroofs on any vehicle. If it doesn't open or move or anything than probably the teeth have stripped out, but they're usually pretty burley, I haven't seen that too often.

Okay thanks. I'll try that tomorrow morning.

 

[chevydan04]

It took me about 8 hours to remove, fix, and reinstall. If i knew then what I know now about the sunroof's difficulty I would have not done it.

 

[chevydan04]

the screw that I am talking about is connected to the gear box that opens and closes the roof. The screw is connected to an internal gear.

 

[captainslow]

just got the silicone cut away.. still wont open. there was tons of it!

 

[captainslow]

actually... i put slight pressure on the sunroof and it opened... without disconnecting the screw.

when i push the button for it to open the screw turns. it only lets me push the button one way, just open.

any ideas?

If that screw turns, and the sunroof slides open on its own without the button or me changing anything it has to be not connected somewhere else right?

 

[captainslow]

No one has further thoughts?

It slides back and forth when I push it now, and when I push it all the way forward and up it seals and doesn't appear to be leaking. Anything I should check before I pull the headliner and then the whole system out?