Hi they come as a pair no point in replacing just one I don’t think both mine needed replaced although one had not totally failed. They are £200 a pair plus postage which I think from Scotland to America is about £25 I had a look today, email me if interested benmartin22@hotmail.co.uk cheers
Ok this is great news. I stopped using my sunroof when I'd heard that it was prone to failure and the needed part(s) had been elevated to the lofty status of to unobtanium. Before I invest in a pair (to have on hand), what else is prone to failure in this mechanism. I've owned my coupe for 19 years now - 11 with a movable sun roof and the last 8 with a moon roof (frozen with fear and trepidation) and I sorely miss the added airflow. Can I safely start to use mine again? Or is there another under-engineering part that will cause sleepless nights?
Blue Ridge Mountains
1999 2.8 Z3 Coupe
Arctic Silver
Having spent hours searching online for info on these roofs and not finding much, this seems to be the only part that fails as it is the part that the motor pulls on to make it slide, I inspected all other parts and there was no damage. The pins don’t fail and the c-clips are easy to lose but besides that and as you can see from my clip it’s solid and works perfectly ( I can provide c-clips as well). Cheers
My advice is prevention is better than repair, lubricate the area where the slider works about last 6 inch of each side of the rail, you can open the roof inject lots of lube on the outside edge of the slider then close the roof using the slider to spread the lube, I would also lube part that the piñ in the slider is attached to. I try to put up pic
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B787DDF5-5002-4072-84B2-B3F2DDD35D09.jpgB787DDF5-5002-4072-84B2-B3F2DDD35D09.jpg
Lube whole inside of this rail, cross your fingers and hope for the best
Do you sell the pins that hold together the lifter arm and glass? I dont need a whole assembly, I bought a complete extra sunroof years ago, but would buy a couple extra pins... With tapered ends ideally...
Hi I talked to my cnc machine man about pins he made me two for free as he thought they were one off, to make it worth while time setting machine up it would cost £30 a pair with c/ clips but I would suggest trying to source them from Bmw surely cheaper? I haven’t checked but want best/ cheapest solution for you, let me know after checking with Bmw if you want them made. Cheers
-Abel
- E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
- 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
- 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
- 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
- 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
- 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
- 2016 Mini Cooper S
BMW doesn't sell parts like that separately though, that's the issue. And because I'm trying to install it with the glass and other side lifter arm installed, it's under tension, so it's not lining up quite perfectly. A slight taper on the end would allow the pin to center the arm and glass holes as I inserted it, simplifying the whole process. I will spend more time trying to getting the pin I have in later, but may reach out if I can't figure it out.
Double XL thank you to Josh, Paul and DMC for trusting me and purchasing replacement brackets/ sliders for m coupe sunroof, I particularly liked the feedback that they looked like a piece of art. Many thanks guys I’ll email you all separately with fitting tips. Kindest regards. Ben
Ben - the package with my two sets has arrived and was in fantastic shape. I took a look at the machined peice and it really looks well done. I'm lucky that my sunroof currently operates, so i'll be holding these for the eventual failure, so wont be able to comment on install in the near term. That said, thanks for addressing one of the shorfalls of our cars. Mine is lucky to have been upgraded with the inventive problem solving of other forum members like yourself, including Mr. Randy Forbes, Sky1Z3, Jonesmechanical and rocknroad. If any forum members are in the Portland Maine area and what to see the Kinematics first hand, don't hesitate to reach out.
-Josh
Josh you are welcome! Excellent response thank you!
I'm glad to say that I just joined the repairable sunroof club! Ben sent along an exquisitely designed and manufactured replacement set. The parts are finished and ready to go. He also generously included a bag the tiny c clips, in case one reached escape velocity during removal. I doubt if you could find it again - even in a clean room. Like Josh, my set has a nice home in the Just in Case repair box. Ever since the parts became NLA I've been afraid to use my sunroof. Now I'm free to let the fresh air flow through my cabin. Yeah I know get a roadster, but then my dior doo would get all messed up. Thank you Ben, you brought back the missing part of my Z smile.
Blue Ridge Mountains
1999 2.8 Z3 Coupe
Arctic Silver
Boys I have the solution to this problem if you need it parts already made7BBC3DD4-98B2-4B59-A30E-8FAADB1DB10A.jpg
Ben- Hi my name is Vince and I am interested in parts to repair my Z3 m coupe moonroof.
Since this thread has been revived, and all the pictures I posted are now broken links, they can all be seen beginning on page 28 of this album:
http://spcarsplus.com/piwigo/index.p.../246/start-648
Didnt Ron Stygar make some quick-release clips for the pins that hold the sunroof to the car? Anyone else thought of making those? You could just take the sunroof out completely this way very easily
Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!
PRICE CUT on ALL FABRICS
Offering the best prices on the best quality reproduction fabrics!
All Ron's tricks here: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/ronstygar.html
Let's Easily Remove the Sunroof: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/ext...y_removal.html
Newb posting, but have been lurking for years. Wish I had found this thread sooner. Had my Coupe for 12yrs, using the sunroof like I didn’t know better. I didn’t. After seizing H2O pump in Oct (wish I’d seen that thread too), get her back and running great, only to seize the sunroof open. Warm TX sunny days make tilt option a godsend.
OEM replacements have continued to skyrocket, now over $1000 for full kit. BenM75, if you have any leftovers from this thread, or are starting a new list for another build, add me to the list.
Add me to the list of “successfully repaired sunroofs.” Contacted BenM75 in Scotland - he still had parts from the prior mfg run. Great communication, shipped parts quickly. I REALLY took my time on the effort, and all in it took about 3 hours. Didn’t lose a single C-clip! A first for me. Ben provided accurate instructions. Your ability to access hardware will determine how loose you need to make the headliner.
With our cars, it helps if you’re both ambidextrous and a contortionist to work on headliner and roof mechanisms...but it’s not too bad. Lubed the slide rails, and will relube periodically. No reason these new sliders shouldn’t last another 20 years!
thanks again to Benm75.
Last edited by s8ilver; 01-31-2021 at 01:03 PM.
Nathan in Denver
1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42
Will post some pics soon. Yes, pics in #85 and #90 are the replacement parts. Unfinished bare aluminum. Parts shown in pics #92 are the original black parts that fail. They are a set of 2. Same part. Both had failed in my case.
Sorry, pictures are not in sequence.
Finished new sliders in rails, mounted , no sunroof.
New part next to broken original. Note that original crimp lug is to be cut from cable. Original length is maintained by crimping cylindrical portion of new part, no crimp lug.
As received new aluminum parts. Replacement C-clips also provided, none lost, so none needed.
Mechanism (rail) removed, only 1/2 rail shown.
Sunroof intact, stuck open. Shows area for preventative maintenance application of lube in the rail, each side.
Cheers!
Late to this party...are these parts still available? Thanks!
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