Like many others, I've been fighting leaks on my power sunroof (which was made inoperable by the previous owner on my rig). I sealed it shut two years ago and since then had wondered if it was possible to swap in a manual sunroof. I recently completed the job, which turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought. Probably would not recommend it, but for those curious in the future I figured I would describe the process...

Contenders for a manual available in the US are: finding a used OUS manual crank sunroof from UK or other region, locating a new old stock Discovery 1 STC8096 manual sunroof unit, or possibly using a Defender manual assembly (which looks fairly similar to the STC8096).

I found a STC8096 at a reasonable price and decided to try it. I quickly found that the dimensions of the manual sunroof are different from the power version, with the manual unit being a bit more narrow than the power unit. Therefore a frame was needed to fill the gap. I sourced a used upper and lower sunroof frame on eBay (basically just the plastic trim that surrounds the glass + the interior tray. Both of these sandwich together over the roof panel using ~10 bolts. Although after my research I was under the impression the Discovery 1 and Discovery 2 power sunroofs were the same size (with different drive components), this was not the case (more on that later).

To bridge the manual sunroof and the frame assembly, I used epoxy putty. It took a number of applications to build up enough materials and then fairing to a decent shape. Probably someone with more patience could have done a better job, but I was happy with mine in the end. Coats of primer and matte sealant were applied to the final version.

I removed the entire original sunroof. However, when I test fitted the new upper assembly, I found that it was a bit wider than the original hole for the power sunroof, which meant I had to trim ~1cm from the rearmost dimension of the hole. Not fun or really advisable, but I was too far into the job... After the trim the new assembly fit well and I sealed the inside and out with RTV sealant. My truck is a 1994. Not sure which year they switched over the to new "D2" dimensions.

So far no leaks with the replacement unit but I'm sure that will change over time. One advantage to using the upper frame and tray of the "D2" version is that the tray actually has drains for leaking water to run out of, unlike my original which had no drains I could locate

So in the end this was a much more involved job than I was planning. The only redeeming feature is that the STC8096 glass can come completely out of the frame which somehow is cool to me. It has a carrying case for storage in the car so it doesn't get scratched etc.

Photos below:

 

This peaks my interest. Good job.

 

I love this kind of dedication. Very nice.

 

You said Disco 1 and 2 power sunroofs are not the same size? In what way? Did you measure them? I'm curious because I'm looking for a replacement for my Disco 1 sunroof and some people sell the same roof for both 1 and 2.

 

You seem to be correct about most vendors offering D1 and D2 sunroofs as interchangeable...

My experience was that the sunroof I took out was a bit smaller in width (shortest dimension) vs. the D2 replacement tray I purchased. Also my D1 (1994) tray didn't appear to have drains on both sides, and I think in different location on one side. But this job was a while ago. The one thing I can say for sure is that I had to trim out a little bit of sheet metal on the truck to fit the "D2" tray vs. the one I took out. That could be from changes to the body over time though. I would trust the vendors. Worst case is a 1/4 inch of trimming.