dont really want to start a new topic for nothing. this is something i wrote maybe 2 or 3 years ago.completely copied from the aus forums. sorry if its already been brought accross by another memberseeing as i did this just recently and took photos ill post up a relatively simple how to, to help anyone remove and work out the 1 in 4 problems that could be making your sunroof not work.
tools req =
set of torx keys.
set of sockets. imperial set.
phillips head screw driver.
removing the sunroof may look daunting or time consuming but it is neither really.
less than 20 screws in total and a simple 1 man job, a little safer if you have a second person.
the first thing to do is lower your seats and remove the headrests. remove the entire seat if you can be arsed but its not needed. what is needed to make things easy is to remove all seat belt anchors
remove the alarm sensor covers and using a philips screwdriver (+) unscrew the 2 screws holding them onto there support and just let them hang
then using torx key remove the *4 screws holding the top sill door skirting. these are not a one peice unit but two peices that join behind the centre pillar. pull the front one out is simple. use a decent amount of force but be careful as after 14+ years the clips are brittle. the rear one can just be manouvred out of the way when removing the roof lining.
next step is to remove the sunroof button. interior light, sunvisors and clips, sunroof/interior lining lip cover.
after doing this the lining should be visible lose, with nothing holding it on besides maybe pressure over time or dodgy fixes.
manouvre it down past the rear skirts and out the boot. carefull not to knock the corners or start the 'skin' peeling.
once this is done the sunroof unit can be clearly seen. held on by 8 bolts. and 4 hoses which are the water drainage hoses. These are simply worked off. there is also one power wire to disconnect, easily spotted as its the only wire attatched to the unit. the bolts are undone and the unit is free of the shell. (need to also remove the alarm sensor brackets, 4 screws)
the hose is yellow. 1 of 8 bolts is blue. alarm bracket is green
here 1 of 8 bolts can be seen in blue. 1 of 4 'levelling' bolts can be seen in red. these also need to be undone to remove the roof and these are what are used to make the sunroof panel sit flush with the body of the car again.
sunroof unit out = hole in the roof.
sunroof unit removed through the boot. can go out the door just wasnt space enough for me and is easier/safer to go out the back!
the good thing about this unit is, once its out if you need to 'test' it out it can be easily done by attatching a positive wire from a battery to the power wire and just grounding it on the frame.
3 screws and one clip hold the motor in
the first thing to look at here is the motor. of the two ive seen neither has had a stripped cog but ive been told this can happen
mine looked like this.
at first it looks fcked but that crap is not from the cog but from the threaded wire that moves the sunroof, it has a pastic coating that has come of. the teeth dont need to be 'sharp' just need to sit snug with the wire.
the next thing it could be is this threaded wire.
the 3 green dots are where the screws went in. the hole to the right just shows the threaded wire i was walking about above.
the threaded wire sits within these tubes and has contact with the motor here. they sit on either side of the cog and are pushed or pulled with push or pull the sunroof open or closed.
the third thing it could be is the track itself, either improperly greased and clogged up, or simply not greased and clogged up
you can clean this whilst the unit is still on but the job would not be as thorough. you can removed the rail entirely or just removed the sunroof 'sliders' and clean it well using turps and a toothbrush.
clean the runners and the sliders. try to remove all the old s***.
once thats done use a lithium grease to relubricate the tracks. they shouldnt be 'to hard' for you to move them by hand.
relubricating the tracks is the only simple fix there is and should be done atleast every six months so that your working sunroof doesnt break. If your cog is stripped, then you buy a new motor. if the cog is fine and youve lubricated the tracks. Then the problem is in the threaded wire and that means your sunroof is totally boned. you cannot buy this part by itself. the entire thing Is available from holden and is valued at 2k
if its neither of these, then its your electrics. buy a new button, or get a sparky to look at it while its out or easily accessed.
