Major sunroof problems

[tomstin]

Reviving an old thread. I have the sunroof out, the long plastic rails that the sunroof mounts to with 3 screws (on each side) are cracked (lift gate in realoem speak). How do I remove the shaft from the lifting mechanism that fits into lift gate?

I figured this out. You need to carefully rotate the pin out of the rail. The rails themselves are NLA. I reached out to GETBMWPARTS and their comment was " We've updated the spec on these items so they should now return to normal shipping rates...check back in 2 -3 months"

[e30sky]

Cable removal

hey buddy, how did you remove the cables. i got everything else out but its just getting the cables loose. Also how did you get the lift gate off?

[rollwaveroll]

That's good to hear. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[JGood]

I actually didn't replace the cable, just the plastic lifter arm.

The cables are the ONLY part of the sunroof assembly that are different part numbers for pre-85 cars. Everything else that they mount to, and operate with, share the same pars between early and late cars (the lifter arms, the sunroof panel itself, the metal cartridge that holds everything, the metal sliders, everything).

From what I could see comparing the pre-85 cable in my car to the 86 cable I picked up, was that the 86 had a better slider design, so it distributed the friction throughout a larger area, likely making the entire assembly smoother and last longer. Honestly, it seems like it should have been a design change that would have replaced the old part as well in BMW's catalog. I'd give it a try, you don't have anything to lose really.

[rollwaveroll]

Gerta, thanks for the suggestion. That's a great site. The left side cable for an 84 is a different part number than for those cars made after 12/84 and is no longer available. I haven't been able to find an 84 cable anywhere including local pick a parts. Also can't find any information on what the difference is. It looks like JGood took the chance on installing a post-84 cable on his 84. JGood, any reason you wouldn't recommending me doing the same? Everything still working as intended? Thanks all

[Gerta]

roll - check your model's part number on Realoem.com ... you can compare that with the donor car's year/model, so if they are the same then yes, most likely they will fit without issue.

[rollwaveroll]

84 sunroof cable?

Hi guys I am also having issues finding a left side cable for my 84. Were you able to make the newer model cable work? Any issues with fit etc?

[CarsSuck]

There is a switch inside the motor area that is activated by teeth in the motor gear when the panel is closed/opened. If that switch is loose/broken/etc then the panel won't behave. Additionally, the cables can cause problems with the panel if they are out of adjustment by just a tooth or two.

This!! I'll check it out over the next weekend. Thanks

[JGood]

The cables seem to be adjusted properly. When I had the panel off, I cranked the sunroof by hand, and watched both sides operate simultaneously, they were about 99.9% exact in their movements.

I'm content with the sunroof the way it is now. I'm going to get a new seal and hopefully never touch the thing again!

[redhatpat]

CarsSuck, it sounds like your sunroof motor is broken. Like deansbimmer said, these motors have a stop built into them, they'll stop at the fully tilted, fully open and closed position. You can hear the motor stop with an audible click when it's in the stop positions.

I just replaced my sunroof cables about a month ago and finally had a working sunroof for the first time since owning my e30. Sure is nice! :)

JGood, the cables might not be aligned correctly. I ran into this when I replaced mine. I had to unbolt the motor and drop it down. Then align the sunroof panel correctly while the cables were loose. Then put the motor back up and bolt it back in.

[deansbimmer]

There is a switch inside the motor area that is activated by teeth in the motor gear when the panel is closed/opened. If that switch is loose/broken/etc then the panel won't behave. Additionally, the cables can cause problems with the panel if they are out of adjustment by just a tooth or two. That can cause the roof to close cocked to one side, slightly up or down, or cause it not to close in the same position consistently. You may look there.

From what you're describing though, it sounds like the cable bracket at the end of the assembly may have a crack in it, or its rail- causing it to flex and not allow consistent closure after each movement.

[JGood]

That's I'm not sure about. I've heard there is a switch somewhere, so the motor turns a set number of times, then stops. But I'm really not sure. There's nothing that jumps out to me in the brackets themselves that seem like they would cause the cables to stop, and if there were, I'm not sure what would prevent the motor from continuing to try to turn.


Update on my issue, we had an insane rainstorm yesterday... not a drop of water came inside. Before, it used to dump water inside if it even drizzled. So I'm very relieved. This means my sunroof cassette and/or roof likely is NOT bent/warped/tweaked like I thought.

[CarsSuck]

congrats on the fix.

My sunroof won't stop in a closed position. It just closes and then tilts forward or vice versa, will tilt down and then open. Is there some mechanism that acts as a stop, or is it electrical?

[JGood]

So I found an 86 325e parts car, and took all of the sunroof parts off.

One thing to note: The cables are different. The 85+ cables have a better slider, seems to distribute the load more. I see no reason why the wouldn't work in a 84 car.


I found nothing wrong with mine, besides the brackets being slightly bent in a spot that shouldn't matter, so I used the brackets from the parts car, cleaned and greased everything, reassembled it, and adjusted. Sure enough, it's working great. EXCEPT:

If I close the sunroof from the tilt position, I get a slight whistle at highway speeds. If I close it from the open position, it's quiet. Looking at what's happening, I see that when closing from the tilt position, the sunroof is pulled back 2-3 mm, creating a gap at the front, causing the whistle. If I slide it back a hair, then re-close it, it's quiet.

I do not know how to get rid of this. Possibly a new gasket?

I do have it adjusted properly, 1mm below roofline in the front, 1mm above roofline in the rear.

Either way, I sprayed it with a hose pretty hard, and it didn't leak, so I'm thrilled. I can live with the whistle, I'll just open and re-close it if it bothers me.

[JGood]

More bullshit:

My car is 10/84 production. In 12/84, they switched to new cables. The left side cable has since been discontinued.

I have no idea why they are different. Every other part of the sunroof shares the same part numbers.