How can you tell if your motor or transmission is going out on your sunroof? Mine opens and closes fine, just very slow. I want to be able to replace the right part if and when it's needed. Also, can either of these be rebuilt? Thanks.

David

 

I had a similar issue about 2 years ago. I found that the problem was dirt in the drive mechanism that moves the sun roof. I cannot recall the details of how I cleaned this, but there is a lot of info on the sunroof mechanism on Greg Nichols 928 tip site at http://www.nichols.nu/tips.htm

I seem to remember that the old grease and accumulated dirt were gumming up the sunroof tracks. I cleaned them with something like WD-40 and rags, let it dry and then re-lubed it with white grease. After that, the sun roof closed much faster than before.

There is a clutch adjustment mechanism on the motor/transmission combo, but I would ensure the actual operation of the sunroof was working OK before I adjusted this. I found I could turn the transmission easily by hand, after cleaning the tracks.

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

 

Thanks SteveCo,

Either this topic has been beaten to death, or everyone else's sunroof (who has them) works fine. I'll give your suggestoins a try to see if it improves. I appreciate the response.

David

 

Thanks SteveCo,

Either this topic has been beaten to death (sorry if it has), or everyone else's sunroof (who has them) works fine. I'll give your suggestions a try to see if it improves. I appreciate the response.

David

 

Yes, this should be part of your annual maintenance. Every spring I wipe the old grease off the slides, and re-lube with some white lithium grease. Others have tried teflon spray with succes I hear. After doing this run it back and forth a fwe times. You'll notice greatly improved performance.

 

There is a lot of sunroof related info in the archives, so have a search through there too. Mostly info about replacing parts and adjusting the sunroof. This may be of interest to you as well, but I think you problem is more basic than this.

Let us know what you find.

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's

 

I had a JL Audio 10" sub with a 500watt amp hooked up to it for awhile in my 928, it ratteled most of the bolts out of my sunroff. Also some other random ones in diffrent places inside the car.

 

Jack, my sub's the same size, but running on half as many watts; don't know that I'll shake as much loose as you did!

Andrew, seeing as how this is my first "Spring" as a shark owner, I don't have the spring cleaning routine down, yet. Guess I do it now and put this on the list for next year.

I'll try the cleaning and coat with litihium, and will try any other ideas on Greg Nichols' site, but I am still wondering about the rebuild question... (BUMP).

Cheers!

David

 

David;
I'm 95% sure your problem is maintenance realted, and not a failing part, but one can never be certain. Use some solvent to soften up the old grease and dirt, clean things up and relube as you have planned first, then see what happens.

On the build vs. replace question, I have been successful in "rehabing" several 928 electric motors, since most of these actually have a mechanism to allow dissassembly. Most modern equivilents are usually "use once and throw away" designs...it refreshing to see something one can actually fix for a change!

Example of this is the high intensity windshield washer pump. Mine was non-functional when I got my car...probably had not been used in years. I was able to disassemble the pump and motor, clean/lube and now it works just fine. Sure, replacing it would have been quicker, but there was nothiing really wrong with the original unit...just lack of use and maintenance.

On the sunroof motor specifically, I did not have to fix mine and cannot recall if it is "user serviceable", but I'd take a guess that it probably can be. If you motor/transmission is terminal, I'd suggest replacing it anyway, as a stuck sunroof would be no fun during a sudden downpour. I'd classify this as a non life-safety critical component!

BTW:
There is a "summer" prep checklist that was posted this time last year that might be useful to you. Search the archives and I'm sure you will find it and other similar posts.

Regards,
SteveCo

 

Thanks SteveCo,

You've given me more inspiratio nto dealve further even if it is one of the two parts that need repair/replacement. However, I have another, more pressing issue which appeared early this morning. I found a puddle of gas underneath the back of the car, coming from a slow drip. While filling it up yesterday may be coincidental, I've got to check to see exactly what's loose or if I've got a bad line. Not only from a safety standpoint, but I figured I've lost about a buck and a half's worth of gas in a few short hours!

The weather should be great this weekend, so in addition to a good bath and interior cleaning, I'll probably get to a few other things on the "Spring Cleaning" agenda. Thanks again.

All the best!
David

 

David-
One other note: When you clean the rails, jiggle them to make sure that they are securely fastened. I've heard that sometime the screws in the back can loosen over time, thus mis-alligning the rails and making the motor work harder than it has to. My guess is that yours is just dirty and needs a fresh cleaning.

 

Yes, gas leaks are costly in several ways these days. Now, I will not cry too much for you, regular unleaded has touched almost $2.75US a gallon (and that's the US gallon price too...almost $4.50Cdn/imperial gal). Never the less, you need to get that leak fixed.

Given the age of these cars, many of the rubber components are at the end of their life. You could have a bad vent hose or something. Let's hope it is not an actual tank leak. In case you do not have it, I have attached the PET diagram of the tank system. There is info in the archives and on Nichol's site on removing the tank. There was a recent post on this topic as well, IIRC.

I think it is good advice to consider a programme of replacing all the operational rubber components over time. Certainly anything under the hood, in contact with coolant or gas/oil would be prime initial targets. I find it hard to spend money on stuff that is still working, but I also know I am living on borrowed time with many of these things.

Regards,
SteveCo in St. John's