Any tips on getting the sunroof panel out? The headliner is out and retrimmed, but I can't see how the sliding panel comes out of the sunroof cassette to retrim that piece?!
Hi, when I did mine, last year, I took out the whole cassette, put it on the dining room table and them disassembled it. It was quite a bit of work because you have to take down the motor and disconnect the cables, if I remember correctly.
The advantages [ or disadvantages - depending on what you find] of removing the cassette are that you can see if the metal and the seal around the cassette are OK. I was able to clean off any corrosion and repaint the metal surround, and later resealed the seal with non-setting sealer [I can't remember the correct name].
I think guys like Richard [Gilbert] can give you more help about the actual removal, but the reason that I did it was because of the plastic/metal springs that keep the sunroof shade from rattling or wobbling. The spring clips run in channels on either side of the plastic shade panel and I think that they are really difficult to get out of the cassette without breaking them, if you leave the sunroof in place.
There are quite a lot of breakable bits in the cassette so a lot of care is needed, but if it is approached slowly and you examine each stage carefully before removing anything it should go OK. That's how I approached it anyway. I thought about doing my roof re-trim for months, and nearly paid someone, but the guys on here persuaded me that it wasn't too difficult, and in fairness they were right, and I saved over €600 which was what it was going to cost in labour alone to get the job done.
I covered my roof with a large, heavy duty plastic bag, which I taped down with electrical insulation tape [to avoid the tape leaving marks on the paintwork]. It was like that for 4 days, until I got the sunroof cassette back in.
Lastly, if you take out the cassette you can see whether it would be advisable to buy a new one, rather than refitting an old corroded one.
Pierre3.
Take the glass off (two small Torx screws each side), then bow the panel downwards in the centre so it comes out of the runners. The little springy things make getting it back in a bit of a pain, but it can be done.
I do it a slightly different way. The cassette is held in by 6 bolts. I put the fwd to seats as far back as possible, upright and headrests up as high as they can go. Loosen the front two bolts a little and remove the rear four. This allows the cassette to drop down and not have to disconnect the drain pipes electrics etc. At the rear of the guides there are two white V shaped clips the need to be removed to stop the board going back. I also unbolt one runner at the rear (Phillips screw X2) with a little gentle force it does pop out and sometimes a 45degree turn. I use AS trim material which is thicker so don't bother putting those funny four fiddly springs back. Good luck.
No matter what material you use, if it is wrapped around the edges of the panel the spring things aren't needed.
Seems to be a few different options then...
Gilbert you say removing the glass with torx screws, is that done with the cassette still installed?
Kinda losing the weather now to be pulling the whole sunroof assembly out of the car though taping something over the roof might work I guess!
There is some corrosion appearing on the roof skin beside the cassette so it probably does want some attention. I really hate sunroofs 🙁
Yes. If you open the sunshade and tilt the sunroof up, you will see a plastic cover on either side, this slides out towards the back of the car (it's on keyhole shaped holes with pins in them). This will expose the two Torx screws and a couple of small C clips, remove those and lift the glass out. To get the sunshade out, RAVE says to open the sunroof and remove the wind deflector before taking the glass out (but I don't remember doing that the last time I took one out). Once the glass is out and the wind deflector off, undo the two screws on one side that hold the runners in place, this will allow it to be moved slightly and allow the panel to come out although a bit of brute force will do it just the same.
I will add a few more tips sort of related.
Pay close attention to the foam seal that goes around the outer edge of the steel frame, especially around the front end and corners. If this has come unstuck, usually around the front corners, or feels anyway floppy(compare it to the non uv exposed rear) you should replace it. Mine didn't leak at all until I removed the cassette, retrimmed the shade and refitted the cassette whilst I got on with the removed headliner recover so I could still use the car. Rain came in! It confused me for a bit until I realised that the foam seal, which I thought was just to stop rattling between the roof and cassette, is actually also a water shedder. The seal around the glass isn't perfect and any rain getting past it drips into the cassette channel and out the drain tubes. If the foam seal is iffy then some water misses the channel and ends up inside the car. My foam seal was quite bad, I removed the cassette again and renewed the foam with some closed cell stuff 8mm x 20mm off ebay iirc, glued on its 8mm edge. I then used 6 off m6 studs screwed into the roof where the bolts normally go and some m6 wing nuts to evenly pull the cassette up and then replaced the studs with the bolts one at a time. The studs made it so much easier to fit the cassette and I think it was the wrestling the first time I refitted it, without the studs, that finished off the original foam seal.
If you do decide to renew the foam seal don't go off my measurements above until I can find the purchase and confirm.
Everything is bone dry now.
When covering the sunroof panel only fold over the front and rear ends, just cut off the sides along the board otherwise it will be to thick to go in guides. When overlapping at the front and rear I use lots of material to make sure it will never come unstuck.
Chrisp38 wrote:
Pay close attention to the foam seal that goes around the outer edge of the steel frame, especially around the front end and corners. If this has come unstuck, usually around the front corners, or feels anyway floppy(compare it to the non uv exposed rear) you should replace it. Mine didn't leak at all until I removed the cassette, retrimmed the shade and refitted the cassette whilst I got on with the removed headliner recover so I could still use the car. Rain came in! It confused me for a bit until I realised that the foam seal, which I thought was just to stop rattling between the roof and cassette, is actually also a water shedder. The seal around the glass isn't perfect and any rain getting past it drips into the cassette channel and out the drain tubes. If the foam seal is iffy then some water misses the channel and ends up inside the car. My foam seal was quite bad, I removed the cassette again and renewed the foam with some closed cell stuff 8mm x 20mm off ebay iirc, glued on its 8mm edge. I then used 6 off m6 studs screwed into the roof where the bolts normally go and some m6 wing nuts to evenly pull the cassette up and then replaced the studs with the bolts one at a time. The studs made it so much easier to fit the cassette and I think it was the wrestling the first time I refitted it, without the studs, that finished off the original foam seal.
If you do decide to renew the foam seal don't go off my measurements above until I can find the purchase and confirm.
Hi Chris, I've been meaning to reply to this post for a little while. When I first read it I thought "That sounds about right!". I have removed/refitted the cassette, and the foam is still there, but definitely not in pristine condition, and it definitely doesn't meet the roof round the front of the cassette - where I'm getting water dripping off the roof and onto the dash.
I suspect that when I was working on the cassette, I left too much 'wiggle room' for the cover/panel and I think it's rattling a bit - enough that it's annoying. If I was going to remove the cassette again, then it would be a bonus to do something else that would help eliminate water leaks.
Did you ever dig out the speccs for the foam you used?
5 mtrs of 8mmx20mm neoprene foam.
£12 delivered.
It was pre glued on the wide edge which is not required as it needs glueing on the narrow edge to the cassette frame. I used a pot of contact adhesive and a brush to apply it. Using 6 x 6" lengths of m6 studding screwed into the roof cassette mounting holes made it so much easier to refit the heavy cassette and pull it up even. The foam has to compress a lot at the rear half and barely at all at the front, I did have some concerns as the foam is quite stiff but it worked a treat.
Gilbertd wrote:
Yes. If you open the sunshade and tilt the sunroof up, you will see a plastic cover on either side, this slides out towards the back of the car (it's on keyhole shaped holes with pins in them). This will expose the two Torx screws and a couple of small C clips, remove those and lift the glass out. To get the sunshade out, RAVE says to open the sunroof and remove the wind deflector before taking the glass out (but I don't remember doing that the last time I took one out). Once the glass is out and the wind deflector off, undo the two screws on one side that hold the runners in place, this will allow it to be moved slightly and allow the panel to come out although a bit of brute force will do it just the same.
Did this today.
Glass came out easily, there's a small gutter at the rear that needs to come off too.
Pushed up in the middle and the panel popped out. All four clips came off intact too.
Recovered it and decided to trim the material away from the runner area but wrapped around the front and back.
Reinstalled with a similar bending as removal, helped to have an extra pair of hands steadying it while I fitted the clips back on.
Lubed the front pivots as they were stuck too and then put it all back together. Success!
MOT retest tomorrow then I will refit the actual headliner. I think I'm going to get some PU sealant and seal the sunroof up entirely then disable in the becm. Hopefully stem off any future leaks.