manual to power sunroof swap

[oldskool3]

I am looking to get rid of the e21 and pick up an e30 and I have found a super clean e30 for sale around my price range with only one thing bothering me it has a crank sunroof. So I was wondering if anyone has ever swap in a motor for the power sunroof and if it is possible? Thanks for any help you can give.

[nickmp0wer]

I have a crank and its not that bad, but i think if a car has a sunroof then it should be power. But on the other hand you can probably crank it just as fast if not faster then the time you have to hold the button

[nando]

power sunroof retrofits, you need the power sliding mechanism, motor, wiring, switches and the panel with a hole cut out for the switch.

screw crank sunroofs/windows, I've had that before in a car older than everyone on R3v.

[oldskool3]

I have a crank and its not that bad, but i think if a car has a sunroof then it should be power. But on the other hand you can probably crank it just as fast if not faster then the time you have to hold the button

I know I have a crank in the e21 right now and Im not really a fan. I dont mind it but would definetly prefer power. I dont understand everything else is power except the sunroof. Anyways thank for the help

[88ix]

i personally think the crank sunroof adds to the character of the car. i'm a little surprised i guess by your s/n that you may not agree, or see that it's kind of neat. :)

[oldskool3]

i personally think the crank sunroof adds to the character of the car. i'm a little surprised i guess by your s/n that you may not agree, or see that it's kind of neat. :)

I felt that about my e21 it added character and I was just happy to have a sunroof on such an old car but I would now like a little more luxury and that is why I am planning on picking up this e30. I have delt with the crank long enough now I would like some power. Especially since everything else is power. :)

[zandi]

When I had my 91 e30, i had power sunroof, it was fucked up though, thing seems to break a lot because i had it fixxed and it broke again, then i was looking at the 89 e30 that im driving now and test driving it, and i saw something wierd on the roof, i asked the owner, what the fuck is that? Oh its a crank for the sunroof, isnt it sweet? And sweet it is, dude really, the crank is better than the power sunroof on e30s, trust me.

[oldskool3]

When I had my 91 e30, i had power sunroof, it was fucked up though, thing seems to break a lot because i had it fixxed and it broke again, then i was looking at the 89 e30 that im driving now and test driving it, and i saw something wierd on the roof, i asked the owner, what the fuck is that? Oh its a crank for the sunroof, isnt it sweet? And sweet it is, dude really, the crank is better than the power sunroof on e30s, trust me.

I know what your saying I have had both power and now crank on the e21. I know it is not that bad but I thought if it was an easy swap to change it over to power i would. Thanks for the input

[netcsk]

I've done it, it's not a bad install. You need the copper tubing, motor, relay, switch, and the head liner to swap out. I like it much better in my car now, plus I installed AutoLoc One-Touch windows things on everything (windows and sunroof) so I only have to hit the button once to open/close it. Worth it in my opinion.

To swap out, you remove that front headliner piece and remove the sunroof. It's fairly straight-forward from there.

[nando]

When I had my 91 e30, i had power sunroof, it was fucked up though, thing seems to break a lot because i had it fixxed and it broke again, then i was looking at the 89 e30 that im driving now and test driving it, and i saw something wierd on the roof, i asked the owner, what the fuck is that? Oh its a crank for the sunroof, isnt it sweet? And sweet it is, dude really, the crank is better than the power sunroof on e30s, trust me.

nonesense. don't blame your technical imcompetence on the power sunroof. mine has always worked flawlessly as have many others.

[DanGillan]

i did the swap, its kinda hard to get everything lined up perfectly becuase it comes from the factory rivited in there and you have to drill them out and if you bend any of the plates your pretty fucked. it took me the better part of 6 hours to do, but i was just doing it, no guidance, no write up. its definately do-able.

[kylebes1]

I had a crank sunroof on both e30s

I loved taking my GF out, she liked teh m50 kick (mostly because of the 3.73 LSD). But when I thought about opening the sunroof, well I didn't.

My next one will have a power roof. hopefully a Lexan one :D . That and I want to install the button down where the other window buttons are, along with the one-touch....

[Sean]

Nichole was in my car last night.

I opened the sunroof, and she started laughing at me.

Keep it in! 8)

[kylebes1]

I would have elbowed her in the fucking face




not really, jsut would have been like, "Wha?"

[soliver]

I just broke off the crank in my car, so I'm thinking about a power sunroof. :curse::curse::curse:(and laying off the roids)

If I'm interpreting this thread correctly you have to remove the entire sunroof assembly? Can't the motor be installed in place of the crank and use the existing sunroof? What's the story fellas?