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Removing and Replacing e30 sunroof


dirty30

Question

I could not find a thread about this, but I was wondering if anyone had experience removing and replacing the sunroof panel on an e30?  I was also wondering what sort of electrical work would need to be done since it is a power roof.  I have read other instructions but almost all are on crank sunroofs. I bought the car with the old panel still partly in as well. Thanks! 

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If you have a Bentley manual or can get access to one that probably will explain the procedure the best. Should only be a couple hidden screws but its tight. The hardest part on taking one out of my e28 was trying not to damage the headliner insert.

I actually just picked up a Bentley manual today. It suggests that I get new screws that are rubberized to reduce noise and vibration. Did you get new screws or did you just use the old ones? 

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I will try to get a couple pics before work tomorrow.  It might be a little or a lot different on the e30 than my e36 though.  I didn't catch if this was a coupe or sedan.  You have to take out the A/B/C pillar trim and the grab handles inside, then the headliner should come down to get a look in there.

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I will try to get a couple pics before work tomorrow.  It might be a little or a lot different on the e30 than my e36 though.  I didn't catch if this was a coupe or sedan.  You have to take out the A/B/C pillar trim and the grab handles inside, then the headliner should come down to get a look in there.

Thanks man. Its a coupe. I was thinking that it could just be a simple plug and play but that is not looking to be the case.

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I actually just picked up a Bentley manual today. It suggests that I get new screws that are rubberized to reduce noise and vibration. Did you get new screws or did you just use the old ones?

I only pulled the panel out on my old parts car, still have yet to replace it on the new car.

You have to take out the A/B/C pillar trim and the grab handles inside, then the headliner should come down to get a look in there.

The headliners on the older cars are glued underneath the rubber windshield seal, hence needing to take out the windshield.

Thankfully that isn't needed as the sunroof panel detaches separetly.

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It's a real pain, you need to retract the sunroof into the roof slightly with the handle and then pull the front of the headliner panel attached to the sunroof down, it is clipped at the leading edge. You then need to figure out how to push the cover back into the roof to expose the screws. The real trick is getting it all back on the track correctly!

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I successfully installed the sunroof panel, but it was pain. It still needs to be painted the correct color but I figured I would get it in since my old one was dumping rust in the car. The hardest part was getting everything to line up and make it flush. The Bentley book is a great help for it.  I will post some pics soon. Thanks for the help!

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