Sunroof Liner Repair
08-13-2012, 02:03 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Sunroof Liner Repair
My sunroof liner came loose along the front edge, a common problem it seems.
A previous thread had some suggestions on how to repair but no pictures of the
actual do-it-yourself efforts. So, here are a few photos of what it entails.
I picked up the cement at Home Depot $5.40, the craft sticks at the Dollar Tree $1.09
and borrowed the binder clamps from the office supply cabinet.
It was 108 degrees when I did this, so the cement setup time was faster than it should be ideally.
I would suggest brushing the glue on only one half of the length at a time and working from the
center of the car going outwards.
I let it cure for 1 hour in the sun, then took the clamps and sticks off and closed the sunroof
and let it continue to cure overnight.
Everything worked great, now we'll see how well it holds up in the hot SoCal sun.
-bruce
A previous thread had some suggestions on how to repair but no pictures of the
actual do-it-yourself efforts. So, here are a few photos of what it entails.
I picked up the cement at Home Depot $5.40, the craft sticks at the Dollar Tree $1.09
and borrowed the binder clamps from the office supply cabinet.
It was 108 degrees when I did this, so the cement setup time was faster than it should be ideally.
I would suggest brushing the glue on only one half of the length at a time and working from the
center of the car going outwards.
I let it cure for 1 hour in the sun, then took the clamps and sticks off and closed the sunroof
and let it continue to cure overnight.
Everything worked great, now we'll see how well it holds up in the hot SoCal sun.
-bruce
Last edited by bruce7; 08-14-2012 at 03:34 PM. Reason: add carriage returns to text
08-14-2012, 11:13 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Good job!
Mine failed at the rear - and it's an absolute ba$tard to try and get a 'tight' non-wrinkly repair in THAT area - without taking the damn thing completely out and redoing all 4 sides.
A winter project methinks.
Gerry
Mine failed at the rear - and it's an absolute ba$tard to try and get a 'tight' non-wrinkly repair in THAT area - without taking the damn thing completely out and redoing all 4 sides.
A winter project methinks.
Gerry
08-14-2012, 03:25 PM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
I would love to see pictures of how to do that. If the liner
comes loose at the front, I imagine it will eventually let go all around if it is simply
held with contact cement instead of clips of some kind.
-bruce
05-03-2013, 04:26 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Howdy (again),
Well, my sunroof liner finally got to a stage where no amount of TLC, glue, moral support or expletives would cause it to stay up... ...so I bit the big one and decided to take it completely out.
As I type, I have it out, and I can say that it is a 1-man-do-able job, but you have to be very patient and careful in certain respects as there are some 'gotchas'.
(I'll post some pix later)
Some immediate observations:
The sunroof metal, itself, is el-cheapo and bends quite easily. This is a good thing as you need a certain amount of flexibility taking it out and putting it back in. Mine actually had a 'scribble' on the inside (done with black marker) where, I guess, "Mu" (Muller?) 'signed it off'.
The amount of liner fabric they used - now that I have it out - was 'to-the-bone' - especially at the corners (argh!). Net result is that I do NOT deem mine to be 'salvageable' or 're-glueable' so I'm going to have a new liner professionally glued/installed. After 17 years and seeing the amount of effort that I am going to put into this "little project" I've decided that I am NOT going to run the risk of the sides/back becoming UN-stuck, again, and me having to curse and seethe and put it on the to-do list all over again. IMHO, this is a project that you want DONE and, in many respects, "fire and forget".
The sunroof liner comes OUT the top, NOT back into the cabin.
Do NOT pull UP on the sunroof after you've taken out the brackets and screws that hold the 'front hardware' in place. There are two 'tabs' - on the INSIDE of the roof - that are hard to see and point downwards like flaps on an airplane. You will scratch and dent the bejeebus out of your sunroof paintwork if you manhandle it like a gorilla. You will NOT be a happy camper. I shone a flashlight into the 'sunroof tunnel' and could see these 'tabs' so I put two rags ON my sunroof so as to protect the paint-surface as I retracted the sunroof itself. I will probably end up with a few nicks and/or scratches, in the sunroof paintwork, during this removal/re-installation, and I'm OK with that, as I'm a pretty dab-hand with 'paintwork (touch up) repair' (airbrush). As far as I'm concerned a couple of sunroof paint imperfections is merely 'collateral damage' for having this liner, this thing, this annoyance signed-off on and done for gawd knows how many years (from now).
There are two plastic 'sleeves' that fit along the sides of the sunroof (liner) and into the main-channels themselves. These are a bastard and will cause the front corners to 'bind' as you try to 'jiggle' - side to side - the liner out from under the sunroof itself. Since the amount of fabric that they used, yep, at the corners, is minimal, this is how you run the (unforseen?) risk of damaging the corner-fabric to the point where it is not salvageable (which is my case).
OK, that's all I can say right now. I'll go downstairs, out to the garage, and will take some pix of the various bits n bobs (hardware that I found I had to remove, the liner itself, the dreaded (minefield) tabs, etc.) - as I search on the web for a decent "sunroof liner repair place" here on Lawng Oiland.
Gerry
Well, my sunroof liner finally got to a stage where no amount of TLC, glue, moral support or expletives would cause it to stay up... ...so I bit the big one and decided to take it completely out.
As I type, I have it out, and I can say that it is a 1-man-do-able job, but you have to be very patient and careful in certain respects as there are some 'gotchas'.
(I'll post some pix later)
Some immediate observations:
The sunroof metal, itself, is el-cheapo and bends quite easily. This is a good thing as you need a certain amount of flexibility taking it out and putting it back in. Mine actually had a 'scribble' on the inside (done with black marker) where, I guess, "Mu" (Muller?) 'signed it off'.
The amount of liner fabric they used - now that I have it out - was 'to-the-bone' - especially at the corners (argh!). Net result is that I do NOT deem mine to be 'salvageable' or 're-glueable' so I'm going to have a new liner professionally glued/installed. After 17 years and seeing the amount of effort that I am going to put into this "little project" I've decided that I am NOT going to run the risk of the sides/back becoming UN-stuck, again, and me having to curse and seethe and put it on the to-do list all over again. IMHO, this is a project that you want DONE and, in many respects, "fire and forget".
The sunroof liner comes OUT the top, NOT back into the cabin.
Do NOT pull UP on the sunroof after you've taken out the brackets and screws that hold the 'front hardware' in place. There are two 'tabs' - on the INSIDE of the roof - that are hard to see and point downwards like flaps on an airplane. You will scratch and dent the bejeebus out of your sunroof paintwork if you manhandle it like a gorilla. You will NOT be a happy camper. I shone a flashlight into the 'sunroof tunnel' and could see these 'tabs' so I put two rags ON my sunroof so as to protect the paint-surface as I retracted the sunroof itself. I will probably end up with a few nicks and/or scratches, in the sunroof paintwork, during this removal/re-installation, and I'm OK with that, as I'm a pretty dab-hand with 'paintwork (touch up) repair' (airbrush). As far as I'm concerned a couple of sunroof paint imperfections is merely 'collateral damage' for having this liner, this thing, this annoyance signed-off on and done for gawd knows how many years (from now).
There are two plastic 'sleeves' that fit along the sides of the sunroof (liner) and into the main-channels themselves. These are a bastard and will cause the front corners to 'bind' as you try to 'jiggle' - side to side - the liner out from under the sunroof itself. Since the amount of fabric that they used, yep, at the corners, is minimal, this is how you run the (unforseen?) risk of damaging the corner-fabric to the point where it is not salvageable (which is my case).
OK, that's all I can say right now. I'll go downstairs, out to the garage, and will take some pix of the various bits n bobs (hardware that I found I had to remove, the liner itself, the dreaded (minefield) tabs, etc.) - as I search on the web for a decent "sunroof liner repair place" here on Lawng Oiland.
Gerry
05-03-2013, 09:06 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Is it still out of the car? Could you post a pic?
05-03-2013, 10:59 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Heyo,
Everything is still out of the car. I took pix this afternoon and will take some more (and possibly a video too) and will post them on the web latest Sunday eve.
As I went out for a walk, yesterday, down Hempstead Turnpike, I took a mosey into my local Pep-Boyz - and wandered down by the 'glue section'. I bought some 'trim glue' and a "vinyl-repair-kit". The whole lot cost $20. Ever the optimist, I'm willing to blow twenty-bucks combined with some blood-sweat-n-tears to see if I can get this thing repaired and looking decent. If I fail, so be it, but at least I tried.
I'll take pix, documenting my "mega-repair" -- the end of which will either be me putting my fist thru' the stinkin' thing, or a thumbs up. We'll see.
OK, campahs ...stay tuned.
Gerry
Everything is still out of the car. I took pix this afternoon and will take some more (and possibly a video too) and will post them on the web latest Sunday eve.
As I went out for a walk, yesterday, down Hempstead Turnpike, I took a mosey into my local Pep-Boyz - and wandered down by the 'glue section'. I bought some 'trim glue' and a "vinyl-repair-kit". The whole lot cost $20. Ever the optimist, I'm willing to blow twenty-bucks combined with some blood-sweat-n-tears to see if I can get this thing repaired and looking decent. If I fail, so be it, but at least I tried.
I'll take pix, documenting my "mega-repair" -- the end of which will either be me putting my fist thru' the stinkin' thing, or a thumbs up. We'll see.
OK, campahs ...stay tuned.
Gerry
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05-06-2013, 12:13 AM
#8
Three Wheelin'
Hi folks,
OK, as promised, here's the pix I took the other day. (I've annotated them too!)
http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/s...iner/index.htm
Gerry
OK, as promised, here's the pix I took the other day. (I've annotated them too!)
http://ifly.freeyellow.com/miscell/s...iner/index.htm
Gerry
09-03-2014, 07:42 AM
#10
I repaired my last year and found that the plastic liners that go into the channels were missing - no idea where to get them and they don't appear on any PET diagram - anyone know how to get hold of these parts?
09-05-2014, 01:00 PM
#12
