Hi all,
Was putting the sunroof back into the rusty 350, so that it could sit outside without wearing a trap and to get the sunroof frame + bits out of the carport.
Re-assembled it all OK and figured out how to make it all work again, but to my dissapointment the sunroof motor would still only draw the roof back about 1/2 way from closed before stopping, and wouldn't shut it at all. This was despite everything being cleaned and greased, and all the little sliding jaw sunroof feet thingos being properly adjusted as best one can tell.
Decided that I would have to investigate the drive teeth on the sunroof cable, but while I'd asked how to get at those before in TK, couldn't remember the answer, so just started disassembling what I thought was the sunroof motor (in the boot, LHS).
I pulled apart the gold-coloured metal box, as that's where the cable went through and I wanted to look at the cable's drive teeth (and couldn't otherwise figure out how to get the cable out).
The box, which turned out to be the little gearbox that is driven by the black-plastic-covered motor below, was certainly well greased and all looked good - no wear on aynthing. Found the teeth on the cable too - others had mentioned 2 rows of teeth (my understanding), but this just had a metal helix wound directly around and attached to the steel cable.
Finding nothing wrong here (nothing worn, including cable teeth), started playing with the mechanism in the gearbox and found that one cog which was driven by the motor didn't turn the cog below it on the same axle, which drove the cable. This is the cog that must be removed to get the cable out.
Pulled it apart and found it to be a little simple clutch, which was full of grease. Construction is simply a large diameter cog with a flat underside, which sits on a brake-pad-like disc which the small cog (that drives the cable) is connected to. Cleaned out the grease between these two, re-assembled everything and low and behold, sunroof works great in both directions, all the way! It also still seems to stop correctly when the wunroof reaches the ends of it's travel, eg no grinding noises of the motor trying to push the sunroof out of the car.
I don't know if the clutch is meant to have grease in it, and if taking it out will break the motor sooner, but given how wary I am of broken sunroofs now, I'll barely use it, so no issues.
Lukas
Was putting the sunroof back into the rusty 350, so that it could sit outside without wearing a trap and to get the sunroof frame + bits out of the carport.
Re-assembled it all OK and figured out how to make it all work again, but to my dissapointment the sunroof motor would still only draw the roof back about 1/2 way from closed before stopping, and wouldn't shut it at all. This was despite everything being cleaned and greased, and all the little sliding jaw sunroof feet thingos being properly adjusted as best one can tell.
Decided that I would have to investigate the drive teeth on the sunroof cable, but while I'd asked how to get at those before in TK, couldn't remember the answer, so just started disassembling what I thought was the sunroof motor (in the boot, LHS).
I pulled apart the gold-coloured metal box, as that's where the cable went through and I wanted to look at the cable's drive teeth (and couldn't otherwise figure out how to get the cable out).
The box, which turned out to be the little gearbox that is driven by the black-plastic-covered motor below, was certainly well greased and all looked good - no wear on aynthing. Found the teeth on the cable too - others had mentioned 2 rows of teeth (my understanding), but this just had a metal helix wound directly around and attached to the steel cable.
Finding nothing wrong here (nothing worn, including cable teeth), started playing with the mechanism in the gearbox and found that one cog which was driven by the motor didn't turn the cog below it on the same axle, which drove the cable. This is the cog that must be removed to get the cable out.
Pulled it apart and found it to be a little simple clutch, which was full of grease. Construction is simply a large diameter cog with a flat underside, which sits on a brake-pad-like disc which the small cog (that drives the cable) is connected to. Cleaned out the grease between these two, re-assembled everything and low and behold, sunroof works great in both directions, all the way! It also still seems to stop correctly when the wunroof reaches the ends of it's travel, eg no grinding noises of the motor trying to push the sunroof out of the car.
I don't know if the clutch is meant to have grease in it, and if taking it out will break the motor sooner, but given how wary I am of broken sunroofs now, I'll barely use it, so no issues.
Lukas
