Hi!!!

Yesterday I took out the front and rear rails of the sunroofs in my Disco. I unassembled the rails and found that the flexible wire has a plastic base in the tip that is inside the rail. That plastic base was broken.

I am building a new base with sheet metal instead of plastic, and I think that my fix is going to work. Also, I will fix the headliner, so I will not have to unassemble the roof again.

Before continue, I would like to ask if it is possible to find only that piece alone (only the flexible one) and reassemble the rail? Searched for the rails and the cheapest I could find was 75$ each plus shipping and taxes to my country. That would be a total of about $130 each (3x130 = $390). Some guys have bought a complete disco for $400.

Thanks!

 

I can't answer your question, but I am interested in your thread and would love it if you could get some pictures of your project, maybe some before and after shots!

I have not looked into my sunroof but one wont move (motor seems to work) so I am interested to get a good idea of what is going on, unfortunately the drawing in the rave manual doesn't really cut it!

 

The molded plastic to the cable which runs the guides up and down the tracks(which is what opens/closes the sunroof), is the most common piece to break. This comes from lack of track lubrication and/or just wear and tear.

The last time that I checked, the replacement assembly from the dealer in the U.S. is $180 per assembly. I have yet to purchase one of these, however, I hear that the new assembly has been upgraded to prevent this problem in the future.

 

Well... It seems that we have the same problem.

I will write up the instructions in how I am fixing it.

I did not take pictures when I found the broken piece, but I will take a couple today. Maybe next week I can post those pictures so you can do the same.

Actually, I am going to spend no more than 5 bucks in this fix. Everything is done with home tools. The most specialized tool you must have is a Dremel, but if you do not have one, you can use a wire cutter with fine tip.

Maybe we can ask Mike to do a Sticky with my fix.

Will let you know.

 

Hi! I have written the procedure so everybody here can follow it. I will add some pictures later, but at least here is a basic explanation about it.

In this link, you can check the whole assembly of the sunroof and also you will see the pics of the sunroof rails. The tip of the cable that has the problematic piece of plastic goes inside the rail. You have to dissassemble it in order to check the problem.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...d=160414863770

Let me know if this can help you! I will be ending with my rails today in the night, and during this week I will be reassembling them. Also I need to fix two drains because one was broken and I broke anotherone.

 

interesting, I will have to check this out a little more. OK question time, how long from start to finish if I worked straight through on it? also if the piece is already broken and we make a mistake can we put it back together broken (as is now) or do we have to fix it properly at that point?

 

I used on sunday about 1.5 hours to remove the roof, bins and rails. 2 hours yesterday disassembling the rails and 2 hours today repairing the tips. You may use less time because now you have a basic idea of the procedure and I spent a lot of time yesterday figuring out how to fix them.

I think that with 2 or 3 hours more. I will have the rails assembled again. A couple of hours more and I will put back the roof again (assuming I will not repair the lining). Actuyally I am taking more time because i decided to add a heavy coat of jb weld in the tip of each cable and I will cut the shape back with the dremel. Did this because the can I used was too thin. Now I am waiting for it to dry.

Another thing you should consider is that I removed both sunroofs. If you can use an electric screwdriver to remove the sunroof bins, you will gain a lot of time because those bins are holded for 15 to 20 screws (torx). I did that by hand and spend a lot of time because I had no avaiable a torx bit to use with the screwdriver.

Maybe the best thing you can do is remove the roof and railsN fix the tips and leave dry the weld in the first day, and in the second day you can cut the tips with the dremel and reassemble the rails and then reinstall them.

Answering your question: if you mess a piece, you can still put the rails back to hold the sunroof glass. Wish me good luck.

 

Very interested to see pics. My roofs are both binding since a recent off road trip and I am sure I have the same problem.

 

Hi.

Finally, the pictures!!!

The first picture shows the original plastic piece, and the first I did using a piece of milk can.
The second picture shows the crack in the plastic piece. I had to break this also and did a new metallic piece.
The third one shows two pieces that were almost ended.
The fourth shows the middle of the process.
The last one is like the first one.

 

Here are some other pictures. This ones shows the way the new tip of the cable connects with the piece that slides within the rail and moves the sunroof glass.

1: The first I did. This was already cut with the dremel, and I decided to add a bulk coat of JB Weld in order to be able to build a better form. After the weld was ready, I re shaped it with the dremel.
2: Connection to the piece that slides in the rail.
3: Fit comparison between original piece and mine.
4: Connection.
5: Connection.