Answers to Common Sunroof Problems

[TrentW]

It's detailed nicely in the Bentley manual.

[mcskibadee1]

Mine is aligned so beautifully and the fact that I don't want to open that can of worms is the only reason I have never fixed that. I have it up and down enough that I know where it should be.

[noE30]

It's detailed nicely in the Bentley manual.

I will do some reading then, thanks

[PaulO]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I've tried searching and haven't come up with a solid answer. Where do i buy the new cables or rails?
I've looked but only find how to fix the problem. One of the plsstic tabs that hold the sunroof is broken :(

[PaulO]

Went to pelican and saw their write up, the option to buy parts led me to this

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/101P/POR_101P_PRJ078_pg1.htm

Are e36 sunroof parts interchangeable with the e30?

[Solarian]

I bought my parts from Blunttech. Just looked up what I needed on RealOEM and gave him the part number.

[PaulO]

Ah, thank you very much. Didn't even know blunttech existed.

[estoguy]

What do you guys recommend for lubricating the parts of the sunroof? The Pelican article recommends white lithium grease. Is this the way to go? I was thinking of using some wheel bearing grease I have, but was thinking it might be too heavy.

Thanks in advance!

[mcskibadee1]

I used phil wood bicycle grease and it has worked great. Its nice because the consistency is much thinner and it is waterproof.


Since you are replacing the system you will have to pull the whole thing out so just lather the new cable. I did it multiple times bringing the cable in and out. It is infinitely smoother now.

[jimsbim]

E30 ELectric sunroof cable replacement

Does any one know exactly how to extract (an old damaged cable), and then re-insert a new one into the sunroof motor / winder? Actually I am not sure of the difference other than it appears the motor is attached to a winding case/mechanism.
My guess is that once the cable is totally released from the track, one can energize the motor which in turn will spin the winder until the cable unwinds and can be freely removed from the winder. Again guessing, the new cable would be inserted as far as possible into the winder, engaging a gear?? in the winder, then energize the motor to wind the new cable back into the winder.
I've already got the sunroof panel off, and the cable disconnected from the track. I've also got the black plastic front headliner piece mostly off and can see the motor/winder assembly. I dont want to go any further re: access to the motor until I understand the process - to get the old cable off.
Sorry for the lengthy post but I am in un-chartered waters with this project and don't want to make a costly / damaging mistake!
Thanks, Jim

[chick]

My 89 (Bronzit, so quit bagging me) has the electric sunroof. I pulled the roof off to replace the seals, and have trouble with the cloth liner. It pushed in with difficulty, now one side pulls out but the other side only comes forward about 2 inches. There appears to be a riveted link that goes back, and on the side that moves it's not connected to anything on the back end. The link on the other side is definitely connected to something. I checked out RealOEM, and am no sure what part this is. How do I get this thing out to find out what's busted?

[chick]

OK, got it figured out. The arm that connects the sunroof to the drip tray has a plastic bit that connects the two. The plastic bit has a crack, and it fell of the drip tray, so when the cover tried to come froward it got cocked in place and jammed. I used a stainless fish tape with a hook to pull the errant side forward. Now to replace the plastic bit. Should be interesting to find that number. Any leads?

[chick]

This is weird. I got the new seal on the sunroof, reattached the drip tray, but now the liner only comes to within about 1/2 inch of reattaching the clips, and I can't get it any closer. The liner pushes back and forth just fine, but I just can't get it forward enough to put the clips back in.
Any ideas?

[TrentW]

You have to slide the liner all the way back, then push up on the rear of the liner while sliding it forward. This properly sets the liner in it's grooves.

[peter321]

Can anyone help me.. I have a sunroof leak. I want to first try to clean out the hoses. I pulled back the trunk liner and found hoses one both sides but they're plugged into something pretty tight. Do i just rip them out to clean them?