Shackleton Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 I've two complete sunroof here on the floor and have found the lug for manual operation and gotten the sun shades out to retrim them. Just noticed the good roof [not rusty] has obviously hopped it's runners on one side so it's opening unevenly. Going to go at it tomorrow but after a quick glance I couldn't see how to get in under the glass/frame to disassemble it. Any ideas? George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) For anyone searching a sunroof prob later; turns out there's a part that goes in between the motor and the worm drive that had fallen out while in storage. It's marked 3. in the schematic below. It's a small alu casting with a metal spring in it that stops the worm gears from moving away from the worm wheel when drive is transmitted. Whatever you do don't operate the roof without this item in the mechanism. It took half an hour of ball ache getting the two worm gears even again, moving them with the blade of a flat screwdriver, refitting the motor to test, removing and adjusting again ad nauseum, to sort it out. Other things that might be of help - worthwhile pulling the sunroof seal [the rubber around the glass] off to check the condition of the glass frame for corrosion. I just caught my new [second hand] one which has started to surface rust under the seal, and have been able to paint it to future proof. I also put the seal into a bucket of soapy water and used a soft tooth brush to clean it. It came up really well. I'll be using a thin bead of windscreen bedding compound/sealant called Arbomast to seal it to the glass when replacing. Lastly the whole reason this sunroof had to be replaced was because the old one's glass frame had rotted out. Not from exterior moisture, from interior condensation collecting on the glass and running forward where it rusted the front edge of the metal frame. If you have yours out, prep and paint that part of the frame for longevity too. Btw when I say frame I'm talking about the thing marked 8. in the diagram, and not the main assembly 13. which was perfect on both my old and new assemblies despite the bad corrosion elsewhere, and 13. is the bit that channels the water out to the drain tubes! Edited May 6, 2019 by Shackleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 I salute your persistence and patience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Me too - I have so far avoided owning a Land Rover with a sunroof and I'd have been tracking down a sunroofless roof or just sealing it shut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walace58 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Hi, my RRC sunroof is working but a bit sticky. What is the insitu maintenance care for the sunroof, if any. I have asked my garage and tried to search, but no indication so far of lubrication etc? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) I noticed a few feel that way about them. Having had to get fairly personal with these two I don't see any prob. With a little maintenance [and lets face it, no one ever maintains them] there's no reason they should cause trouble. The drain tubes have a big ID so you'd have to be parking under a tree or a mossy overhang and not using your car for months at a time to block them I reckon. I see the glass seal as more of a catch for debris and to stop the sunroof tray from getting swamped. I say that because the tray is literally a big gutter system, and it's quite deep, that drains into the tubes. But lets say the gullies in the tray did get swamped, there's a soft rubber seal that runs all the way around the periphery of the tray, this is outside of the gullies in the tray, and meets the roof. All in all unless the tubes get blocked, and even if the outer seal was leaky I'd say you'd need prolonged and heavily torrential rain to overwhelm the whole thing. I've learned from a Jag I was gifted recently, and that'll need some welding to the roof because the sunroof drains were blocked, that thick strimmer cable makes a nifty and easy tool to rod the full length of a sunroof drain. Accessible by just opening the roof. 12 minutes ago, walace58 said: What is the insitu maintenance care for the sunroof, if any. I'm no expert but the internet seems to agree that white lithium grease is the best and silicone grease comes in second. I've used normal lithium grease because I wasn't paying attention but I may well go back and redo it. Best practice is to fully clean the runners before re-greasing but it's tricky to get to every inch of it even with the sunroof out of the car so I wouldn't fancy your chances with it in situ. I saw that WD40 do white lithium in a can with a lance just like the conventional penetrating fluid so maybe that's the thing. I've never used it btw. Careful where you spray, you don't want to catch your sun shade. Edited May 6, 2019 by Shackleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 With a product shot like that you should try angling for a sponsorship deal with WD40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walace58 Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Thanks for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 33 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: With a product shot like that ... lifted from Google Has anyone actually seen a can of that in the wild? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Not WD40 branded but I've use a few cans of white spray grease. Getting it out evenly can be a bit hit and miss. Looks like bogeys. Big ones. Seems to do the job tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 18 hours ago, Shackleton said: Has anyone actually seen a can of that in the wild? I bet Halfords would have it. I just get mine from the motor factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 Well I have to go and get some ATF because the simple act of turning the wheels [vehicle off] a few weeks ago resulted in a seal on the steering box letting go, so I'll ask for some white grease and redo the sunroof tracks. Thanks for all the uncompromising peer pressure to do everything right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanco Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 For my sunroof I have always used 'Dry' silicon lube as for door seals etc. ......... it just means that if anyone is standing in the opening (taking pictures?) they do not get smeared in the stuff, which means you get into to less consequential trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 (edited) Yep ended up with silicone spray because I couldn't find the other stuff. Well I'm updating my attitude to these things. Basically don't f with the sunroof. Drop the whole thing out, clean, grease, retrim, whatever. Just don't take the motor out if you can help it. My worm drive is completely out of calibration now it seems, and I've no clue how I'm going to figure out resetting it all. There's a black box which seems to be a kind of mechanical sensor so stop the motor when the roof is fully open or closed, I'm guessing I've knocked that out of calibration too. Edited May 10, 2019 by Shackleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 11, 2019 Author Share Posted May 11, 2019 I've never thought to use this official workshop manual. It's a new day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 RTFM? It'll never catch on I tells ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Nope, you're right. Absolutely useless. The v notch it speaks of is showing so everything is aligned it seems. I'm stumped. The sunroof goes back no prob, but unless I help it coming forward it wants to tilt back up before it's even half way forward and pins itself against the actual roof. Could that be just the worm drives needing lube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 You know how when timing a distributor, all the visible marks line up, but the timing is 180 degrees out? (The 180 degrees being a function of the 2:1 drive gearing). What if something similar is happening here? I'm suggesting the V is on the periphery of a disc. In normal circumstances a slight misplacement requires slight adjustment. What if, due to running the motor while the gear train was inadvertantly disconnected, the disc with the V is 360 or 720 degrees out of its correct position? The V would appear to be in the correct place, but the complete drive train is still misaligned. I've never worked on one of these sunroofs, so cannot begin to judge how to turn the 'disc with a V' through one or more complete turns WITHOUT moving the rest of the drive train, so I can only suggest this as a fresh angle of attack. I don't think it's a lube problem. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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