Sunroof HELP

[NewB MW]

Yay so the 635CSi is home and driving very very well:rollsmile:

With this great weather we are having in JHB I would love to open my sunroof and then have it close properly again ahead of the rain. I have looked through the Bigcoupe forums but non of those issues match mine.

Do you guys no anyone in JHB that I can take the 6er to? Someone who knows these types of sunroofs i.e the sold steel top and who isn't very expensive.

Thanks

 

[Nic_s]

Maybe it just needs a reset?? I don't know if the old sunroofs from back then have any build reset functions though :dunno: A quick Google search didn't turn up anything.

 

[NewB MW]

ummm....thanks ill see what I can do with that

 

[Nic_s]

With my E34 you just hold the button in the tilt position for about 20sec until you hear the motors and then it's reset. My sunroof would not close if I opened it completely, but now it works fine after the reset.

 

[NewB MW]

With my E34 you just hold the button in the tilt position for about 20sec until you hear the motors and then it's reset. My sunroof would not close if I opened it completely, but now it works fine after the reset.

The problem is I cant get it into the tilt position... the roof seems to stick on the right-hand side during the closing process.

 

[ClassicB]

Lifters or arms could be broken.

If the reset doesnt work you may need to open it up and have a look and replace all broken components.

 

[NewB MW]

Lifters or arms could be broken.

If the reset doesnt work you may need to open it up and have a look and replace all broken components.

Ja I think that might be the problem...I really really don't want to take the headliner out. Iv done some further reading and man o man I'm nervous about that job.

 

[Clownshoe]

No need to take out the head liner. You can remove the sunroof from outside.

From Big-coupe forum: BigCoupe Wisdom

Hi Everyone
I am new to this forum, but I have been around on the BMW car club UK forum for some time, I have a 1985 635 CSI. This weekend I replaced the sunroof, which took me ages, I thought that anyone else also looking to attempt this job would find this post useful.

1985 BMW 635 CSI – Sunroof removal and refitting (job date: 15/10/05)


Removal:



Make a note of where screw locations were before dismantling, so that you will know where to put things back.



1. Open sunroof about 10cm (4 inches).



2. Unclip the head-lining section and push back into the roof.



3. Open the sunroof fully.



3. Unscrew the front most bar of the sliding mechanism (7 screws), and the 2 side guide rails. pieces (3 and 2 screws- you’ll see).



4. Close sunroof, and then tilt sunroof up, and unscrew the 6 nuts that hold the sunroof to the triangular brackets.




You can now take the sunroof out.




Refitting (much more time consuming!!!):



Remember that if you are fitting a new sunroof, the alignment may be different to the old one.



The sunroof must be fitted, slid back, and then the 2 side guide rails screwed back. Here’s how I did it;




Note you can not install the side brackets before you install the sunroof. You must install the sunroof, slide it back then screw in the side guide rails. The problem is that if you install the sunroof, the regulator cables (the bits that attach to the motor and pull the sunroof open and closed via the 2 triangle brackets) prevent the sunroof opening fully, as they are lacking a guide rail (because you have removed them to get the roof out in the first place)! So here is what I did, and it worked great. Clean off all the old grease and put new Vaseline in its place, so that everything will work nicely too.




1. Fabricate 2 metal pieces that can act as a temporary guide rail. I used an old cracker tin lid, and made 2 strips about 2cm by 10cm (1 by 4 inch approx). The size is not important. These are then screwed to the sides where the guide rails will go soon. I made the pieces of lid long enough to cover 2 of the 3 screws where the guide rail will normally go. Their purpose is to prevent the regulator cable lifting up and preventing the sunroof from opening.




2. Drill 2 holes in the bits of tin lid and fix them so that the 2 screws can fit. These pieces must cover the regulator cable, so as to allow the roof to slide open when it is fitted.






3. Attach the sunroof using 2 of the 3 nuts on the triangular brackets – not too tight as it will need adjusting later.




4. Fix the head lining piece back to the sunroof properly, so as to allow its correct movement.




5. Slide the sunroof all the way back until it is fully open.




6. Remove the screwed down bits of biscuit tin lid that acted as our temporary guide rails, and replace with the actual guide rail pieces.




7. Close the roof. It may not close like it should immediately, so you will have to play around with the adjustments (and the head lining will have to come down again). These are the 2 rear most screws on the side guide rails (the ones that are not counter-sunk), these alter the closure position (you will see what I mean when you do this). The nuts on the triangular brackets allow for some left-right adjustment, while the front most Philip’s screw on either side (anodised yellow) allow for up-down movement (located at right angles to the triangular brackets, and are visible only when the sunroof is tilted up.




8. Finally open the roof fully, clean all the top facings for tidiness and make sure that everything is OK, and all screws are tight.




Also; try and not get your head caught in the gap between the roof and sunroof as your assistant fiddles with the buttons and closes it!




It took me all day, but if I thought about the temporary guide rails earlier, I could have done it in 2 hours easily. The temporary guide rails are the key to success.

 

[NewB MW]

@Clowshoe Thanks so much raise::thumbs: