Sunroof issues and, possibly, delete

[Lurker27]

First real post here on r3v. First things first, great site, crazy how much info is on the forums. So I won't be asking a technical question, just asking for some opinions from the community.

I have a '89 325is, and around 4 months ago the sunroof quit working. (Recently I decided that rather than selling the car, I would keep it and convert it to a weekend/fun/maybe track car over the next year or so, while picking up a more reliable-in-weather daily.)

So, bum sunroof. John @ European Performance (Delaware) diagnosed it as a failure somewhere in the transmission, based on symptoms (basically won't open, it jams and chatters). New OEM parts came down around $125 with roughly $375 for labor (really not that bad, I suppose, given the nest of parts comprising the e30 electric 'roof)


So, $500. That's not happenin'. Options:

-Try to DIY back to stock function. Pick up the requisite parts from someone online parting out, or a scrapyard, and do the damn thing. A little scared by this option, given most of the articles start by opening the sunroof enough to access the front spring clips.

-Sunroof delete. I could pretty easily cut the ~17"x33" piece of plexiglass needed to replace all the sunroof components. I've read that the overall package up there is pretty heavy, and as a performance modification, this is probably the way to go. Cheap, too. But would a plexiglass panel, even same as stock, look good fixed in place at all? I'm not convinced it wouldn't look I suppose I could hit it with some black and then reupholster from the inside. Although I believe I will later delete the AC during an m30 swap, I haven't missed the extra ventilation too much.

Any thoughts on the matter are very much appreciated.

Cliffs: Busted roof, $500 to fix professionally. Pain to DIY? Sunroof delete?

[Raxe]

Not sure how difficult it would be to convert to a manual sunroof, but given that almost everything else on the car can be converted back and forth I'd suggest that.

[Lurker27]

Raxe,

Thanks for the response. I believe the problem is downstream of the system. My assumption is that the manual sunroof crank takes the place of the electric motor assembly, and that the transmitting components, which I believe are the problem, are kept either way. I could be wrong, though!

[delatlanta1281]

Wait a sec, why dont you go to a pick and pull and pull the motor? It is probably just that. i think its two scres. I picked one up for mu e28 for abot nine dollars with the warranty (replacement) and it works fine now. I wouldn't give up so fast. there are more options than what you listed.
Oh, sometimes this comes up as well: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...DME:L:RTQ:US:1

[Ben Carufel]

Lurker,

What color is your car? Condition? Miles? Not all rusted out, is it?

Reason I ask is that the' 89 325iS 5-speed is THE most desireable E30 made, so it might be worth your time to fix it to factory spec and keep it running properly, since your car has the potential to have a high value if it's well-kept.

[Lurker27]

Ben,

It is a diamondschwartz black with good paint. 166k. 3 spots of rust when I inspected it, being taken car of (rear apron, passenger rear wheel well, behind drivers side front wheel). Basketweaves, sport seats, tan interior.

Unfortunately, it is an auto, and the way I figure it, swapping in an m30 with a 5 speed isn't significantly more work (based on the excellent Jay Bilas writeup) than swapping just the 5 speed. I dodged a bullet about 5 months ago, having mixed up the maintenance schedule, when my timing belt sheared a few teeth. Now I'm not sure the m20 would adequately pass a compression test, although it soldiers on with minimal valve chatter. The real sell point for the M30 was the stock South African model and the Alpina variants. I consider it "Practically stock".

To be honest, I much prefer the later style e30s (plastic bumpers, larger tails) but I think that slightly and TASTEFULLY modified, the cars truly come into their own. I see that your own '89 is sporting an s50, as I recall from BF.C recently delivered, and clearly you're happy with that "mind blower" ;)

I should be clear when I say that I don't really intend the car to be a track "rat". I suppose I should tally your vote for the DIY repair, then. Any word on how much weight the "delete" actually saves would be great.

EDIT: From the link posted by Delatlanta: "The factory sunroof , track and motor assy is over 40 pounds and it in the worst place possible" That's a pretty scathing indictment.


Delatlanta,

The motor works fine, but the sunroof gets hung up as it moves back, leading me to believe it is downstream of the motivating system.

[Ablice]

It's about 50 pounds up there.

I tried to convert my manual sunroof to a power one.

It's quirky work. The mounting bracket that the manual assembly bolts up to is different than the power one. The mounting bracket is riveted to the sunroof lines. My facilites do not accomdate that.

And my sunroof is rusted in one corner. Bastard. If I could I would remove the sunroof, drop the headliner, pull all that crap out, seperate the very top sheet from the sunroof, and weld it to the car to close it up.

[Lurker27]

Thanks. I'm leaning towards a lightweight sunroof delete.

[86espowa]

I think mounting a piece of plexiglass would be awesome. takes away all the weight, but it can still be seen through, for that special touch.

[asubimmer]

Reason I ask is that the' 89 325iS 5-speed is THE most desireable E30 made

lol...

As far as 325's go, I would have to say the 87' is much more sought after. But 318is's are more rare and what about the m3? You would rather have a 89' 325is than an m3

[Ben Carufel]

lol...

As far as 325's go, I would have to say the 87' is much more sought after. But 318is's are more rare and what about the m3? You would rather have a 89' 325is than an m3

Sorry, kid, I guess I forgot to throw "Non-M E30" in there. I think you'd have to be a complete fucking retard to think that any non-M E30 is more desireable than an E30 M3.

[asubimmer]

and you wonder why I was laughing at you Ben? It goes m3, 318is, 87' 325is, everything else.

[Ben Carufel]

and you wonder why I was laughing at you Ben? It goes m3, 318is, 87' 325is, everything else.

Please, do explain to me why a 318iS and an '87 325iS is more desireable than an '89 325iS?

Notice I have continued to use the word "Desireable", not "most rare".

[asubimmer]

318is are the 2nd lightest e30 and is very nimble. The 87 325is is one of the nicest looking stock. And the 87 has the high arches. There are more things that make these the most desirable non-m e30's but if you don't know all this then I am wasting my time tryin to explain this to some old fart. kthanxbye

[Lurker27]

25 is a bigger number than 18.