volvogeek Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 Recently picked up a 1997 855 GLT (LPT). High miles - 331k - but it's in good condition and got it for the right price, $1k. I'm working up stage-0 - did cap/rotor and upper mount today, might need lower front mount and some endlinks, CEL reading said it had a cyl-1 misfire, so looks like wires are in order too. However, right now the big issue is that the sunroof isn't closing. I picked up another motor from a JY car, and it works a little better (and this one has the screwdriver port for manually closing, the old one did not), however the roof is still binding up somewhere and not fully closing. I can get it to close after futzing with it, blipping the switch a little at a time until it finally gets close enough, but obviously that's not optimal. It doesn't want to tilt up either, so the repair guide is fairly useless until I can get it tilted. I removed the track wire covers and lubed them up a bit with some white lithum grease, but I don't think that's necessarily the main problem. I searched a bit and the only other topic I saw with a similar problem involved a broken drain, and that involves removing the headliner. However, before I do that, I thought I'd post it up and see if anyone had any other suggestion as to a fix, just in case. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z31jaime Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 i just picked up a 96 854 for my wife that had the exact same issue. you need a hole new assembly. (the entire sunroof tray) what happens is the back track/arm breaks and then the tracks end up lopsided so it binds. i got the entire try -glass and motor for $25. at my local pick and pull. but it required removing the headliner, and i think 6-8 bolts that hold the tray in place. put my motor and glass on and bam. problem solved. i tried glues and screws and none of that worked. best bet is go pull a working assembly. i also tried to pull just the track rather than the entire pan, but after pulling all the screws of the tracks i still couldn't get it off the pan, so i gave up and took it all. also the motor is a bit tricky to get back on correctly if its not to expensive i would take it with motor and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volvogeek Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Ugh, that's not what I wanted to hear, but I'll take a look at it and see if indeed that's what it is. I think your post was the one I saw when I searched earlier. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volvogeek Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Went out and played with it because I needed to get it closed, after some finagaling I finally got it to work correctly! Back, forwards, tilt, everything. I was about to button it up and call it a day and I tried opening and closing it just ONCE more. Bah. Bound up and wouldn't close. Since it WAS working fine just seconds prior, there was something that was causing the issue, and after another round of switch bumping and push/pulling I got it closed and tilted up. So I thought I should look inside... Looks like the drip tray is askew. If this isn't the same thing you had an issue with jaime, I'll bust out the JB weld and Zipties tomorrow and see if I can't fix this biznatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z31jaime Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 LMAO that's exactly what was up with mine. the drip tray attaches with 2 small screws on each side and for some reason the plastic cracks and suddenly the entire assembly went cockeyed. mine had the driver side busted. i did JB weld and zip ties and it eventually broke again. my suggestion would be if you get it to close again, disconnect the fues or switch or whatever you gotta do. i was soooooo pissed at my wife, i had the tray but hadn't put it in, sooooooooooooooooooo the day before my birthday her mom decides she wants to open the sunroof as she waits in the car that afternoon we got hit with a Florida thunderstorm so i was out trying to put get it closed. i finally gave up and put a bag over it, needless to say it rained all night and i woke up on my birthday to a car filled with water. so i had to drain it all out, and then put the new sunroof in on my birthday. just a quick thing, if the screws are not broken......then your issue is not that, but that the tracks are off. meaning when you replaced the motor, one side went slightly ahead of the other, this also happened after i replaced my assembly, i put the motor on and it wasn't 100% aligned and it made 1 side move before the other, (think timing belt and teeth, both cams have to be even with the crank if not....bam. take the glass off and make sure both sides are even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volvogeek Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Tell me if this looks familiar: So I jbwelded the end piece and found an old crappy 240 speaker spacer that I'd made a while back to hold it in place while it cures... The only thing I'm worried about is the jbweld getting on the track on the backside and welding the whole assembly together. I don't think it's as strong in a thin shear application, so it should be okay. If nothing else I'll just replace the assembly like you did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z31jaime Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 yup thats exactly my issue, except mine was on the driver side. but its the exact same outcome. if the JB weld holds i would still keep an eye out for a good working one and swap it out whenever u get it. mine held for a few weeks and then cracked again.also before u put it back together did u make sure the tracks were even? even if they are slightly off the assembly will bind up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.