Scooter

Gentlemen, Yes, I have read ALL of the previous threads on the subject. I still have questions. I have an '86 turbo with sunroof gearbox in between the two retracting arms in the roof. The motor is the style with the cable arm that goes all the way to the back of the car. I tried putting the roof back in yesterday and the arms won't rise to lock down the roof. I hear the motor going but no movement. I tried to turn the screw that's in the slip clutch adjustment area but the screw must be seized because it doesn't come out and spins the white part behind it. Still, the arms won't move whether I turn that screw in either direction. I have a spare console switch and limit switches so I swapped them with no difference. I swapped the two directional relays with each other and the main relay is new. It failed a few months ago. Clarks' garage shows how to swap the gears on the other style of roof system but no one has written about fixing my style roof. I think either the cable is snapped or the gears are stripped. Does anyone know if this is a DIY job? I'm not technical but I can usually fumble through it. And yes, I'm very close to switching to a manual roof if this fix isn't cheap and easy. Please help!

KuHL 951

If the manual lift method at the motor won't move anything, you'll need to replace the gear in there. If the clutch torque was set too tight it probably chewed up some teeth. I gave up on mine after repeated failure of nearly every moving part...what a waste of Porsche engineering. I love my manual conversion...it works everytime and seals better than the electric.

Scooter

So is it really as easy as Sid says? Just put two latches on the back and that's it? Why do some people talk about changing the headliner to make it fit? I have the instructions from his web site.

KuHL 951

The sunroof liner for the electric is different than the manual. This isn't really a problem but the manual latches won't center perfectly in the detent area of the liner. Over time they will tend to break down the fiberboard backing on the liner as they dont close all the way flat before hitting the liner. The solution is to either carefully peel back the vinyl material in this area and remove enough fiberboard to make the levers lay flat and centered. The other option is to buy a complete manual sunroof panel and paint it to match. Do a search with username Manning; he seems to know a lot more than me on the conversion. I just removed power items attached to the rear of the sunroof and screwed on the new levers. Leave the old plastic tracks on the header panel; the manual latch will tighten onto these just fine. Hope this helps.

Dilberto

OK- I give up on the redundantly useless power sunroof. I know the weight savings is minimal- but the added convenience of manual operation has sold me. 2Tight...where do I go to see "Manuel?"

KuHL 951

Manuel can be located here;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...922485915&rd=1

but you'll have to see him twice to finish the job. All you really need are the rear latches, the receivers you might see for sale only work with the manual header panel between the SR and hatch. Post a 'WTB' here I'm sure you will have responses.

xsboost90

once you figure out how the thing works, your like "duh, why is this so hard?" You have to be patient and figure it out. Take the headliner/cover off over the roof covering the gearboxes. Take the screws out of one of the black boxes containing the gears/arms..note where the arm is in relation to the gearbox. If the white gear is stripped out, you will need to replace them, prob both. At this point you know the clutch is too tight...loosen the large bolt in the rear where the manual close is just alittle so the clutch will slip instead of stripping future gears.. You will need to "clock" the arms for the roof so they close all the way, unlatch the sunroof etc...takes alittle time but in the end the electric roof is very worth it.and not that hard.

KuHL 951

I believe he has the early type sunroof like me. No wonder Porsche changed them to a newer design. They are not that easy to keep working right, the limit switches are at the rear of a bar behind the motor, the clutch is a bear to keep set right, and the cables can fray badly.The later ones (87+) are much easier to fiddle with and 'might' be worth keeping in adjustment if you like electrical gizmos.