[BrawnE]

The Condition:
The sunroof on my 84 is not lifting all the way to level with the fixed part of the roof at the rear of the sunroof panel (it looks just like Rexgo's sunroof did in the pictures on his thread. Sunroof Preventative Maintenance). It is about 1/8 of an inch below level on the driver side and 1/4 on the passenger side. This is causing a leak in the headliner when water gets on the roof.

The motor does not operate when switched on.

The drive of the motor will rotate without resistance in both directions. However, it does not move the sunroof when rotated.

If I apply upward pressure to the bottom of the sunroof it appears to lift and seal nicely.

Some photos of the condition before cleaning are below:

Attempted Solutions:
Using the TSRM and info from Rexgo’s thread (Sunroof Preventative Maintenance) I removed the motor, liner, deflector and sunroof panel. Taking careful note of which shims went to which boot.

I found a good amount of dirt/grease build up on the inside of the tracks toward the front. Figuring this was probably the culprit, I cleaned and lubed the area while getting excited to reassemble and see it level.

The seal, panel and surrounding parts were all cleaned and inspected. I found nothing that indicated damage was done, though I don’t have a working unit to compare it to.
Upon reassembly, the sliding action of the sunroof was much smoother than before cleaning and without any of the dirt grinding sounds that previously existed. However, I also found that the gap between the rear of the panel and the fixed roof was only slightly improved, it is still noticeable from several feet away and it still leaks.

The panel and boots appear to be sliding forward all the way to the stopper on the inside of the tracks. It still only moves by hand and the motor did not magically start working after reassembly (expected).

The Priorities:

• Get the sunroof to seal so I can wash her and drive her in the rain!
• Confirm the electrical works and repair/replace the motor

I will be taking it apart again to attempt the fix and I will take some after cleaning photos. In the meantime any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BrawnE]

One of the links at the back of the spiral ropes is most certainly broken.
Common issue now.
You can buy replacement parts at 3d-gem.com
and follow the repair process by John here

After watching John's video I can confirm that this is a problem with my Supra. I didn't notice these guide brackets were broken during my teardown/inspection, I didn't see them at all actually so they might even be missing. They have been ordered and I will report back once installed. Thank you Jocelyn!

 

[BrawnE]

I'm told that they are made of a more durable material than the originals and should last indefinitely. I bought a set just in case I need them in the future, but as of now the almost 39 year old ones in my car are still OK

Bob.

Any idea how long the clips and epoxy hold up with this fix?

I think I would rather break these brackets than some of the other components in this system. Makes me wonder what the next weak link in the sunroof setup is after these brackets...

The brackets I ordered from 3d gem came in last night. They look well made, clearly 3d printed but the plastic material is hard and heavy for its size. I am going to take some measurements and weigh them before installing later this week. Cheers!

 

[BrawnE]

Theses are THE known problem with the sunroof. Nothing else is recurent, nor common.

Your expertise is greatly appreciated! Thank you again for all the great info!

I was able to make some progress last night. Fully removed the rails and guides. I found my brackets towards the back of the rails, one was partially intact, the other was destroyed.

The next issue I have discovered is I am missing one of these little pins that goes into the guide brackets. I plan to try to fabricate my own from a galvanized 8 penny nail, those are slightly larger in diameter (around .098" vs .105") so I think I can make it work.

I took dimensions of the 3d-gem brackets in case anyone is interested. Will be modeling an STL file for sharing/other projects. All measurements are mm, punch hole diameters are noted below each angle sketch

 

[BrawnE]

Everything was going together nicely, my 8 penny nail pin slid in with some force after shaving a bit of material off.

Driver side rear boot after new guide brackets. This is the side I used the 8 penny nail to substitute the lifter pin.

Passenger side rear boot after new guide brackets.

After installing the panel and motor I was pleased when the manual motor drive operation worked smoothy in both directions! But alas... the pesky gap between the roof panel of the car and the rear of the sunroof panel still exists. It is clearly improved from the pics in my first post. Looks like it would still leak though. I tried installing some washers simulating an extra shim on the rear boots. This did not seem to improve the gap 😞.

 

[BrawnE]

Possibly you are one tooth (one spiral of the cable) off at the motor gear.
I would remove the motor, reposition the sunroof with driver side a tiny bit forward, and try again.

This did it! After three attempts in moving the driver side up bit by bit, I managed to get it to sit in a position where it appears to be completely up against the roof of the car!

I decided to leave my headliner panel out for better visibility during leak testing. Although it appears to be shut, two slow dripping leaks remain. One on each side of the car at the rear corners of the sunroof. It appears I can stop the leak (or at least slow it way down) by adding upward force from inside the cab. Not sure how best to proceed. Should I continue to try adjusting the drivers side?

Getting closer....

Looking pretty good! This is how my sunroof is currently sitting. This was after a few drivers side adjustments and adding an extra shim to each side.

 

[BrawnE]

I think you are at the max you can get by left/right : the orientation of the cable when glued to the new part will dictate how much the 'one tooth' can give.
I think what you have left to do is shims, but be carefull not to raise too much.
You don't want the sunroof to be scratched when sliding in.

Ahhh I see good looking out. I will get some measurements of a few positions to try to see at which point the sunroof panel is closest to contacting the lowest point and that should help give me an idea of how much I can shim it. Maybe I'll post in the classifieds to see if I can find a newer/better seal. It saddens me that the Raptor Racing remanufactured ones will not be a reality anytime soon.

 

[BrawnE]

No need to be sorry. Thank you again for all the wisdom! Be on the lookout, I will take a break from wrenching to post pics of the car in the introduction section soon. Cheers!