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sunroof interior door removal - how?

4K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  c900 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm currently in the process of having the headliner and parcel shelf trims redone in my '89 9000. I've got everything removed and prepared for the trimmer, except for the interior sunroof panel. I've tried unbolting the plastic slide to wiggle it out, but there's just no room. Worse still, I don't have a factory manual and my local master-tech says he's never had to pull one apart. My trimmer has no idea either, so I suppose it's up to me! :confused:

Can the interior panel be removed without having to disassemble the entire sunroof assembly from the car? If so, how do I go about it?

Cheers!

Drew
 
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#2 ·
i replaced my headliner and had the same problem you have to take the sunroof off....the sunroof isnt that hard to take out though.....only three torx screws on each side then a few philips head screws....the only thing is though if it messed up at all already putting it back in will be a pain in the ***

..on second thought maybe you could try spliting th panel in two carefully and manuever one side down then relue them together with new fabric ........though the sunroof is really only a 20 minutes job..alot easier if someone can help you though

good luck
 
#4 ·
u slide that sunroof panel back....not the sunroof itself...then you tilt the back of the sunroof up all the way... now look and you should be able to see three torx bits on each side...remove them and lift the sunroof out careful and go place it somewhere where it wont be broken....see if you can get the panel i dont think you can..i think u need to remove those things on each side from where the sunroof piveted from and to do that its one screw on the side closer to the back and then one up front but u may have to remove the strip that holds the guide wires in place..when that is done it will come out...rehupolster it put it back in and reinstall the sunroof the same way

good luck
 
#7 ·
I'm not sure how the metal sunroof works but I ran into a few issues when doing this on my glass roof. If they mount the same you should be able to just remove the panel without dropping the cartridge. Here is what I did:

Slide the fabric covered sunroof panel back. Slide the actual sunroof back into the roof a few inches to gain easy access to the trim screws along the front lip. There should be 5 (Phillips) screws holding the black plastic trim onto the front of the sunroof, viewable from a seated position in the driver seat. Once these are loosened the black trim can be slid back, just like the fabric panel.

Slide the sunroof all the way forward (and tilt it up if your sunroof has this feature). There are 3 torx screws on each side you can now get to, that hold the metal/glass panel to the roof(2 back, 1 front). Once these are removed the panel can be lifted off the top of the car.

Once removed, you'll have to free the fabric panel. The black trim piece you unscrewed earlier keeps it from sliding all the way forward on the sides. You'll have to carefully flex this at the back to allow the fabric panel to slide past it. After you've gotten it past the black panel the last step is to free it from the grooves on the sides. You'll have to carefully pry it out by distorting the guide a little. It's very easy to bend, but be careful as you want to keep it as smooth as possible. You will have to bend it back into place later. Do not pry on the plastic piece.

I tried for about an hour to find a way to free it by disassembling the guides, but I believe it is impossible with the sunroof cartridge in. If you decide to attempt it be very careful (note the position of the armatures that direct the sunroof). I almost broke mine when I moved them without the sunroof reattached.

Before reassembly I lubricated the guides with some fresh grease. For reassembly, I found I needed an assistant to press forward on the sunroof while I tightened the torx screws in order to get it to mount and seal correctly.

Hope this helps.
 
#8 ·
Luckily, it is not that hard to remove the interior sliding panel. I posted the following a while back in my 'notes on headliner installation'. Note this is for a glass sunroof--not sure if it is different for a metal sunroof:

- Sunroof slider. I never found a writeup about removing this piece without bending things or taking the whole sunroof out of the car, but IT IS POSSIBLE and not hard. First remove the glass (see threads on this). Then remove all the phillips screws you can see from above on the tracks (6 each side) and the track cover pieces (two on each side). Grab the crazy tilt-retract mechanism (which is blocking the slider board from coming out) and slide it towards the front of the car (the cables will flex upward). It will come out easily. Set all this hardware to the side (on the roof) without disconnecting anything. Now the plastic trim piece for the glass and the sunroof slider board can slide forward and up. NOTE: after the glass is removed, all the above steps are done from outside the car (from the top). Reassembly is the reverse. It is easy and fun.

It sounds complicated, but only takes about 15 minutes (probably longer the first time).

good luck!
--brendan
 
#10 ·
I got sick of the collapsed fabric on the sliding sunroof panel in my 9k a while back when fixing up a few things on it (doing the strut mounts, dealing with a stuffed battery, etc.) and just cut it off with scissors and threw it into the bin so the panel could actually be used without the fabric getting caught. Still has a few small bits attached. I need to pull the whole interior trim and re-do all the panel coverings sometime soon.

I'm seriously tempted to not put fabric on the headshell and go with the polyurethane-type spray on bed liner like was discussed sometime in the past over at saablink.net but the car isn't my daily so sorting the interior trimming is not high on the priority list at present.

Craig.
 
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