oops, I did something very bad...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Sydney, Australia
oops, I did something very bad...
My sunroof started to play up about 1 week ago. Fisrt some VERY LOUD noises for about 2-3 days, then bang, I closed it last week and heard a loud graunch, then nothing. No action. Push the button, and I can hear the motor , but no action. Did a trawl here and figured it must just be a broken cable. Appears there are 2 cables (left and right).
Anyway, had an hour today (Sunday) so thought I would open up and see which side and order part (cable?) tomorrow.
Unzipped roof lining, unscrewed cover panel, inserted and screwed in manual winder.. AND... turned it a bit TOO hard, and another loud BANG... manual crank now just turns easily, no resistance, but roof does NOT move. I should have checked as I was turning, but I think that one side was opening, but other side was still closed, so roof pulled one side open until it jammed at an angle, then my extra pressure snapped the good cable?
I had a look from the outside, and roof was askew. One side was still in the fully closed position, the other side was open about an inch. I pushed the closed side of the roof down and under to body, so now roof is open evenly about and 1"-2" right accross.
But now I'm stuck? How do I get it open to access cables (if that's what it is?). I assume manual winder still works on the cables, but what happens if bothe cables broken? How do you get to the workings without stripping interior lining out??
Anyway, had an hour today (Sunday) so thought I would open up and see which side and order part (cable?) tomorrow.
Unzipped roof lining, unscrewed cover panel, inserted and screwed in manual winder.. AND... turned it a bit TOO hard, and another loud BANG... manual crank now just turns easily, no resistance, but roof does NOT move. I should have checked as I was turning, but I think that one side was opening, but other side was still closed, so roof pulled one side open until it jammed at an angle, then my extra pressure snapped the good cable?
I had a look from the outside, and roof was askew. One side was still in the fully closed position, the other side was open about an inch. I pushed the closed side of the roof down and under to body, so now roof is open evenly about and 1"-2" right accross.
But now I'm stuck? How do I get it open to access cables (if that's what it is?). I assume manual winder still works on the cables, but what happens if bothe cables broken? How do you get to the workings without stripping interior lining out??
Last edited by JohnMetro; May 2, 2010 at 07:57 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Sydney, Australia
Well, an update... I reallt screwed up big time.
Appears I busted the transmission ($840) plus a broken cable ($240) plus needs a couple of plastic guides ($24), This is all AU$, so deduct about 10% to convert to US$.!!!!
I feel stupid, angry and depressed. Oh well, it's only money.
PS. Just told the wife... MAJOR FIREWORKS! In summary, she says I need to give up my hobby!
Appears I busted the transmission ($840) plus a broken cable ($240) plus needs a couple of plastic guides ($24), This is all AU$, so deduct about 10% to convert to US$.!!!!
I feel stupid, angry and depressed. Oh well, it's only money.
PS. Just told the wife... MAJOR FIREWORKS! In summary, she says I need to give up my hobby!
Rennlist Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,211
Likes: 490
From: NC
Sorry about the expensive bad news!
My sunroof recently stopped working correctly also, one side started to need encouragement so I didn't use it for a couple weeks. I really started missing having the top open (little wind comes in and you can hear the motor better).
I've never done any work in this area and was really afraid of the unknown up there?!
With the help of a couple links I started to gather some more courage:
Sunroof Help by dfinnegan https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=19642
and this pelican link: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...oof_repair.htm
dfinnegan's thread helped a lot. After unsnapping the sunroof headliner and sliding it back, you have full access to the screws that loosen/remove the sunroof panel. Simply pushing up on the panel removes it and then you can check the cable guides and the channels/tracks that the sunroof slides on. That and the mechanisms at the back of the headliner (at the zipper) is most of what you need access to to fix most sunroof problems.
After removing the sunroof headliner, I cleaned everything, lined up the cable guides with the bolts and brackets from the sunroof, reattached the screw to the sunroof motor and everything worked perfectly. I'm not gloating, just surprised that it was so easy AND that I could do it.
I'm currently having my sunroof panel reupholstered, when it's done I'll create a thread with some pictures.
My sunroof recently stopped working correctly also, one side started to need encouragement so I didn't use it for a couple weeks. I really started missing having the top open (little wind comes in and you can hear the motor better).
I've never done any work in this area and was really afraid of the unknown up there?!
With the help of a couple links I started to gather some more courage:
Sunroof Help by dfinnegan https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ferrerid=19642
and this pelican link: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...oof_repair.htm
dfinnegan's thread helped a lot. After unsnapping the sunroof headliner and sliding it back, you have full access to the screws that loosen/remove the sunroof panel. Simply pushing up on the panel removes it and then you can check the cable guides and the channels/tracks that the sunroof slides on. That and the mechanisms at the back of the headliner (at the zipper) is most of what you need access to to fix most sunroof problems.
After removing the sunroof headliner, I cleaned everything, lined up the cable guides with the bolts and brackets from the sunroof, reattached the screw to the sunroof motor and everything worked perfectly. I'm not gloating, just surprised that it was so easy AND that I could do it.
I'm currently having my sunroof panel reupholstered, when it's done I'll create a thread with some pictures.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Sydney, Australia
Thanks for the encouragement and humour guys, makes me feel a little better 
911Jetta
Thanks for the tips and links. Wish I had done more research beforehand... I don't think I would have gone about it with such casual abandon!
Indycam
Brilliant idea! There's a few kilo's wasted in motors and gearboxes... in all seriousness... just for a moment the thought crossed my mind that I should just make it a permanent hard top... have seen it done on other 964's!
Marc, Indycam, John B and others...
Hmmm, I need to squirrel away $ into a slush-fund... to cover my skunworks! Car is in my business name, all expenses run through the business, and wife does all the bank balancing and reconciliation for business accounts...
Buy her a horse? I bought her a holiday shack on the beach instead! Makes my bills seem like loose change. When we married 15 years ago, she knew about my weakness for sports cars. We (she?) agreed I could only have my toy AFTER we bought a holiday house. Well, we did that, and I said I need a hobby, and have narrowed choice down to either a mistress or a sports car. She said get the car, it'll be cheaper!!!
Anyway, my service guys already called 6 wreckers yesterday, they have found 3 in wrecked cars. They now just need to assess which one is best condition. I still can't believe the cost of original cable...
911Jetta
Thanks for the tips and links. Wish I had done more research beforehand... I don't think I would have gone about it with such casual abandon!
Indycam
Brilliant idea! There's a few kilo's wasted in motors and gearboxes... in all seriousness... just for a moment the thought crossed my mind that I should just make it a permanent hard top... have seen it done on other 964's!
Marc, Indycam, John B and others...
Hmmm, I need to squirrel away $ into a slush-fund... to cover my skunworks! Car is in my business name, all expenses run through the business, and wife does all the bank balancing and reconciliation for business accounts...
Buy her a horse? I bought her a holiday shack on the beach instead! Makes my bills seem like loose change. When we married 15 years ago, she knew about my weakness for sports cars. We (she?) agreed I could only have my toy AFTER we bought a holiday house. Well, we did that, and I said I need a hobby, and have narrowed choice down to either a mistress or a sports car. She said get the car, it'll be cheaper!!!
Anyway, my service guys already called 6 wreckers yesterday, they have found 3 in wrecked cars. They now just need to assess which one is best condition. I still can't believe the cost of original cable...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Sydney, Australia