jakfrost

The various posts that I was able to dredge up thru the search function, which included numerous links to the Pelican DIY site, seemed to indicate that this was a fairly straight forward task...I had no idea how wrong it could go.

OK, the end result wasn't a disaster but I'll be ordering another set of felts in the morning.

There are a few caveats that I'll pass along for the benefit of those of you who may be contemplating this task.

1, Be very, very careful when following this instruction, " after pulling down to release the 7 clips that hold the front of the interior liner of the sunroof, simply slide it to the rear". OK, but be aware that 'simply sliding it to the rear' may not be that simple. Mine didn't want to go anywhere, never mind rearward. I finally managed with some choice phrases, and a lot of wiggling and coaxing to get it to move 'rearward'. Caution, be sure to leave enough of it exposed in order to get a grip on it when you want to move it 'forward' again. It can, and will disappear into the headliner quite easily. Also mine developed quite an unsightly 'wrinkle' in the left front due to catching on various sharp points during its 'move to the rear'. This will necessitate complete removal of the sunroof in order to rectify. When I get the new felts.

2. DO NOT position the new felt at what might seem like a logical height, i.e. similar to the one you removed. After closing the sunroof with the new felts installed to my shock there is a 1/8" gap at the rear between the new felt, ( attached to the sunroof itself ) and the roof. This is a result of the 'front' felt sitting very slightly too high, and allowing the sunroof to travel farther forward than it should. I did attempt to position the felt according to the DIY that said " about 1/32" above the roof. Maybe I was one of those little hairs too high, hard to say working with 3M Black Adhesive.

3. Be very sure to force the front corners DOWN to match the curvature of the roof before the adhesive sets up. Impossible to do after the fact.

4. The felt WILL come apart from the thin metal stiffener if you try to force it into place where one part seems higher than another, after the glue has timed out.

5. The small brass bolts holding the brackets at the rear of the sunroof are an odd size, the 6mm is too small and the 7mm is too large, so I guess they are 6.5mm which isn't a socket size I own. I ended up using a small 12 pt box end 7mm wrench. It worked but there is the risk of rounding the bolt head if they are very tight...

I will try to post pics and a complete comprehensive DIY when I get the new felts and attempt to do the job again.

Jim

alcanada

Thanks for the hints, what PITA, the body shop told me also that the replacement is tricky. Looking forward to the updated instructions before replacing mine.

Quadcammer

Its a huge pain in the ***. Probably the worst design on the car.

Benton

(edit: sold set of sunroof seals)

Second edit: I also have a spare sunroof motor for sale (no transmission) if anyone happens to need a motor. One could read between the lines and figure out what I'm doing with unloading this sunroof stuff!

jakfrost

Hi Mark, PM sent, I'll take them...

Thanks,
Jim

Raceit

Please keep us posted if you do a write-up. I'd like to do the same and also need to reattach the pleather liner to the underside of the sunroof anyway.

jakfrost

I'm planning a proper write-up..., start to finish with lots of pics, but it won't be for another couple of weeks for sure.

skl2

I took the sunroof out to clean, lubricate and re-felt this past winter...it was kind of a pain but I dont remember it being that bad. I might have just gotten lucky. The only thing I notice now is that there is a little bit of play in the sunroof when its open and Im not sure how to remove that play (because it causes it to rattle a bit and that pisses me off).

Stealth 993

This whole job is a PITA, it looks great till it drys, then you close the roof & the edges are popped up. I've tried it 3 times on the C4S & it's still not right.

I'm about to pay a shop to do it. The gaskets are not cheap, but are VERY cheaply made!!!

jakfrost

I agree, I was surprised, and disappointed, at how cheaply made they are....I'm going to try one more time to install the ones I bought from Mark, and if that doesn't work its time to get out the Mig welder

Jim

JPS

The only DIY I found had outdated pics that didn't link...did you find something better?

jakfrost

The only thread on the forum I could find, and I think there were at least two, linked to the Pelican DIY site where there were some pics but no description with the pics.

Thats why I thought I would take the time to try and do a proper ( current ) DIY on my next 'attempt'.

Jim

JPS

Any updates on this? My felt arrived yesterday...

levtron

I followed the same DIY.

A few tricks...

Tape down lots of towels, every where.. The 3M **** is nasty. I even taped down my working area. The bottom tape is not really necessary, but its only a few minutes extra and gave me a better piece of mind.

About the hight.. Yes, its tricky, but not crazy hard. I taped the top edge, as you can see in the photo, and then used my finger to align it with the edge. Both on the car and on the roof part. You want the felt to ride a little above the edge, not too much, but defiantly above. I have one spot that it drops down a little, and you can see the vertical part of the edge, but only I notice it.

Also, can't stress this enough... Take a picture of the old felt, specifically the two ends, so that you know how to overlap them, and how long on each side. You should not trim the ends. If you line everything up ahead of time, and let the edges just drop down, you will get the X pattern between the front and back pieces.

Also, for the brush. Have a few extra ones around. The glue sets up very fast. I used the mettle ones from a plumbing store You still have to trim the bristles back to about 1/4 or less. You want a very stiff brush.

In the pic, I am working on the left side from center, and really did follow the 1-2 inch rule at a time.

Patience is the answer, not hard, but time consuming.

Good luck.

EMBPilot

Just to add my experience to this topic...
I completed this today albiet only the front seal on my car needed to be replaced. it was installed facing backwards and it was up a little too high.

when you install the seal the flat side goes against the car on the front
this is the most asinine design for a seal ive ever seen...
i used Permatex contact cement and thankfully so did my PO. so i was able to remove the old felt, remove the old adhesive using 3M adheasive remover, goo gone, rags and a plastic scraper/trim tool. removing the old adhesive takes the longest time.
i preformed the felt using magnets wrapped in rags
wiped the surface with alcohol and applied a light coat of contact cement to the car and the felt. i made sure each glue surface was totally dry (10-15 minutes after applying the contact cement)

when you apply the felt you need to ensure you install it so its just a 1/16th or a 1/32nd below the roof of the car. when the roof closes it will smush UP and be even with the roof.

i dont think this job can be done with only one set of hands...
with no glue on felt and no glue on the car i got an extra set of hands and did a dry run of the application. i had my friend hold the felt, up and away from the car while i pushed it in place. and worked my way around, starting at the drivers side end of the felt. we did this once, then i applied the glue and waited for it to dry. then attached the felt to the car. once the surfaces meet there is no going back. it went off very smoothly and was all done in less than an hour or so.

one end on the drivers side is less than perfect but it looks better than it was before. make sure when you affix the ends of the felt that they taper down and into the roof. might be a bit awkward to apply the permatex to this location

One caution. Since you need to remove the wind deflector you have to remove the metal part that holds the rear arms of the deflector. When you screw them back in don't crank down on the screws too tight or they'll snap. Mine were brittle. Had to order a new one for the left side $19 thankfully.

(see post #21 page 2, of this thread for completion notes regarding felt ends)