DIY:Removing fabric shuttle from sunroof

[Laxpunk2006]

Anyway you could get me a picture of these? I've put this project off for about a week as it's been giving my headaches but I need to finish this off so I can get on to bigger and better things in my life. Thanks.
Also I have the two front bolts removed and cannot move the top roof part. It wiggles a little bit but does not lift up in any manor, even using a little force it doesn't want to move. I don't want to push it any harder fearing I might break something in there. What's it gonna cost for one of you guys to come out and help me with this.

[Laxpunk2006]

Alright thanks for all the help guys. Unfortunately I ended up breaking part #13 in this diagram so hopefully I can get a replacement for that soon. Although I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to get it back in there. Thanks again.

[Envious]

I read through this pretty quick so I hope I didn't miss this already being said, but the fabric is gone from the shuttle on my car. Can I remove the shuttle and just leave it out
or is there a down side to doing this?

[AuburnGrad323is]

I would think that would be fine. There is more of a plastic or vinal type covering on the roof part, the part you would normally see when it is tilted open. So, it won't match.

As for removing the shuttle. I took out the front 2 screws, and then forced it open. Which releases the 2 small guide pins. Just like the white guides on the shuttle, but these are out of metal. Then I lifted the sunroof up, while in tilt mode and removed the all the screws and then the shuttle lifts out. Easier in my opinion because I never messed with the motor or anything.

[limbeer]

The sunroof on my 318iS doesn't have tilt - it just slides back into the roof. I need to replace that fabric on the shuttle as its getting chewed up.

AubrunGrad323is - did you have to have your headliner out? Also, afraid I can't picture it that well so when you say the shuttle "lifts out" - which way does it come out? Via the inside of the car? Tks!

I would think that would be fine. There is more of a plastic or vinal type covering on the roof part, the part you would normally see when it is tilted open. So, it won't match.

As for removing the shuttle. I took out the front 2 screws, and then forced it open. Which releases the 2 small guide pins. Just like the white guides on the shuttle, but these are out of metal. Then I lifted the sunroof up, while in tilt mode and removed the all the screws and then the shuttle lifts out. Easier in my opinion because I never messed with the motor or anything.

[ClayMan]

On a somewhat related note my sunroof was removed (the car got painted) and it turns out they messed something up putting it back in... The shuttle is off its rails and only goes backwards (towards the rear of the car) and doesn't come back!! And it looks like it's expanding brackets in the roof or something when I move it... DOES NOT LOOK GOOD!!!

[AuburnGrad323is]

The sunroof on my 318iS doesn't have tilt - it just slides back into the roof. I need to replace that fabric on the shuttle as its getting chewed up.

AubrunGrad323is - did you have to have your headliner out? Also, afraid I can't picture it that well so when you say the shuttle "lifts out" - which way does it come out? Via the inside of the car? Tks!

Sorry for the late reply, just saw this thread pop back up.

Not having tilt could cause problems. Now I did have my headliner out, not that it helped at all with the removal of the shuttle. The key is to unbolt/screw the front of the sunroof lid. Then Mine once I made the small set nubs that help to keep it in place with the screws came off, it just pulled away from the car. Then you unscrew the torx screws holding the shuttle. email me or PM if you want more info details

[Brucej56]

Thank you Old School!
The adhesive and foam backing on the cloth of my sunroof headliner shuttle dropped suddenly yesterday, after 12 years.
Your detailed explanation of removing the sunroof shuttle is perfectly clear and you saved me hundreds of dollars in labor expense!

brucej

[ClayMan]

rereading this I'm still a little confused.

Does this DIY include removing the plastic/vinyl part that only becomes exposed if you tilt up? I also need to change that out with my headliner swap.

[old skool]

rereading this I'm still a little confused.

Does this DIY include removing the plastic/vinyl part that only becomes exposed if you tilt up? I also need to change that out with my headliner swap.

That's just a sticker. Once you remove everything so you can get to it, you just peel it up and replace it.

[ClayMan]

I'm trying to tackle this as we speak. I got the two Torx screws in the front out... But I wasn't able to actually lift the metal part of the sunroof (i will refer to this as "metal" from now on) enough to do anything. Following the first steps from this DIY:
http://www.bimmerdiy.com/diy/e36sunroof/

I removed the 3 17mm nuts that hold the rear of the "metal" to the lifter mechanism of the sunroof. Now, the rear of the "metal" is free. I can lift it pretty high, but the front is still caught on something, despite the fact that I have removed the 2 screws holding it to the pivot. As a result I can't actually remove the "metal" from the car. When I lift the rear of the "metal", I believe I can see the 10 Torx bolts that presumably hold the cassette in place. Is this all I need to undo? Should I just prop up the rear of the "metal" and then stick a ratchet in there to undo the 10 Torx?
I haven't been careful enough and already managed to scratch the "metal" of my sunroof
old_skool, you never seemed to mention removing the 17mm nuts holding the rear of the "metal" to the sunroof.. Do you have a completely different sunroof or something? The following pic shows what I mean. I have pushed the fabric shuttle to the rear of the car, and the Torx bolts in front have already been removed.Now, from the outside I can lift the rear of the sunroof pretty high, but it still won't come off the car. It's caught on something in front, and I can't figure out what it is.
Are those Torx's the ones I need to remove to release the fabric shuttle? Perhaps I can do this without actually taking the "metal" off the car - or is there something else I need to do?
UPdate:
I managed to remove the "metal" part of the sunroof, it was held by 2 metal pins at the lever arms (same place where the 2 Torx screws were removed) that just had to be pushed out.

Then I got the fabric shuttle too... But then I was playing around with the mechanism (opening, closing with everything removed) and managed to lose the "funky catch" that keeps the shuttle from moving in certain positions. It's probably stuck in the back of the sunroof cassette somewhere. Looks like I have to remove the whole sunroof cassette to find it ny suggestions on how to get those 2 stubborn pins back into the lever arms?

[AuburnGrad323is]

Any suggestions on how to get those 2 stubborn pins back into the lever arms?

You just have to work one side at a time, and a screw driver will help. Make sure they are lined up, and then use the screw driver to push the bar out to allow the pin to slide down to the whole. It took me about 15 minutes on this part. You just have to mess with it a few times to get it right. I would get one, and then it was to crooked to get the other in, so it was time to start over

[senos]

Quick question... is it possible to swap the fabric shuttle of the sunroof without removing the entire cassette? Someone told me you can do this from the outside of the vehicle somehow. Ive tried reading this DIY to see if its possible, but I don't think it is. The reason I ask is because I am swapping to a black roof liner and wondering if I absolutely need to remove the casette to install the black fabric shuttle.... Thanks guys.

[cutlassvillager]

I was closing my sunroof but a friend jokingly tried to stop it. Well, the sunroof kept closing but then the fabric part stopped. Now when i tilt my sunroof I have to manually push back the fabric part. Based on this information can anyone tell what part broke/needs to be reattached? Can I fix this without having to take off the top of the sunroof?

[Reprisal]

Guys, after doing this the other night, it's possible to do this entire job with the sunroof in the up (not closed, but up) position.

After removing the cassette from the car:
1. make sure the sunroof is extended.

2. remove the 2 t25 torx bits that hold the front of the metal panel in place
(see pic in post # 1)

3. There is a plastic piece that forms an air/weather seal between the shuttle and the metal panel when it is in the closed position (along the back of the panel). It is attached to the guides for the rear of the metal panel. Carefully pry each side up, and it will easily slide forward and off. Removing this will allow you to lift the front of the metal panel slightly farther away from the rails.

4. Now you should have enough room to get at the t20 torx bits that hold the shuttle to the sliders. there should be about 12-14 of them. The ones nearest the rear of the sunroof are the hardest to get to;thankfully they're not awfully tight. Simply fashion a t20 bit in a pair of needle nose vise-grips, and work them loose.

(NOTE: My sunroof is slightly different than the one old skool worked on. If you look at the photo in post #5, my fabric isn't moved by a plastic piece; instead it attaches to a metal arm that is secured by two t20 torx bits. If yours is not like mine, I can't verify that this will work.)

5. lift the shuttle off of it's sliders, and do your thing .

---Putting it back together is the reverse procedure .---

Hopefully that proves easier for a lot of people. After reading through this thread, it seems that trying to move the shuttle individually creates a lot more headaches than are required. I admit it is slightly harder to reach the screws on the shuttle without sliding it back, but doing it this way you don't have to move/adjust any of the rails whatsoever. Also, you should be able to keep from having to remove the motor assembly, which means it will return to the up, closed, and back positions without any fuss (I'm currently trying to figure out how to realign the position sensor inside the motor housing)

[brunp]

UPdate:

I managed to remove the "metal" part of the sunroof, it was held by 2 metal pins at the lever arms (same place where the 2 Torx screws were removed) that just had to be pushed out.

Then I got the fabric shuttle too... But then I was playing around with the mechanism (opening, closing with everything removed) and managed to lose the "funky catch" that keeps the shuttle from moving in certain positions. It's probably stuck in the back of the sunroof cassette somewhere. *INSERT EXPLETIVE HERE*!!! Looks like I have to remove the whole sunroof cassette to find it

This is my problem too....I removed the two T25 torx screws in the front, no pivot action and there is a pin thing I have to push, just can't get to it. So, tomorrow, I will have to remove the rear first and then get to the front.....will figure it out, time to get ready for my "Good Friday" dinner. Good news though, I managed to have the entire interior removed except for the sunroof fabric piece, which is the last and most complicated piece...

Paul

UPDATE: 2009.04.11 - 1:30pm

Well....with the various ramblings in the group, the correct procedure for my car is to remove the three T17 hex bolts that are in the rear of the sunroof (i.e., you have to lower the sunroof by an 1/8 of an inch to allow the sunroof to move about freely).

Anyway, after that was done, the pins in the front had to be pushed out. I will figure out how to get that all in place when I put the sunroof back together....should be fun.....

Anyway, here is my question, my new fabric was provided to me in a new sunroof cassette, etc. I did not know the state of the gearing, etc and the though of removing the shuttle itself and having it fall on my head without assistance was not really that inticing.

So, I got a closed sunroof shuttle. Question, without the motor attached, to tilt the sunroof down, etc, how the go about getting the fabric out of the sunroof assembly?

interesting that I can get the fabric out when the assembly is attached to the roof, but not when it is "not"

Assistance would be appreciated.

Paul

[brunp]

UPDATE: 2009.04.11 - 2:35pm (EST)

My determination got it removed. Since I didn't need the assembly itself, I just had to get the fabric out, so I managed to de-key the key and full the fabric back and remove it. Now the sunroof is re-assembled and manually, all seems good to go. I have been posting pictures throughout the process, which will end up on my blog. So, stay tuned, time to put the rest of the headliner material back in the car. :-)

Paul

[TGKrazy]

I seemed to have the same issue as most others on this thread regarding being able to lift the front of the metal sunroof after removing the front torx screws.

Since I was replacing the headliner, I had whole cassette out of the car. I didn't need to do any repair work, just re-fabric the shuttle, so I was able to remove the shuttle without even messing with the top metal portion.

I stood the whole cassette vertically, (front pointing up) and slowly opened the sunroof assembly using the allen wrench in the motor. As described before, as it opens (not the vent direction) about 1/2", the shuttle rails dissengage and the whole cloth shuttle portion just drops to the bottom of the cassette.

I then laid it down (outer metal up), and had access to all the torx screws that attach the shuttle to the rails, and just lifted slightly to pop it free of the nylon piece at the rear. After recovering the shuttle, I reattached to the rails (took a minute or two and a knife to align it under the nylon tab).

Then with a helper, I stood the whole cassette back vertically. I hadn't moved the motor or metal portion at all during this process. I then from the rear of the cassette pushed the shuttle all the way back up into it's aligned position with the top metal portion and held it there while my helper rotated the the allen wrench in the motor a turn. This locked the shuttle back into it's normal position.

Everything worked perfectly from this point, no broken parts, no misaligned top. Why mess with the metal top if you don't have too?

[brunp]

Actually, if you look at my blog: http://www.pbrun.net and Paul's Garage, I didn't feel like removing the entire assembly from the roof as I didn't have a helper. It would have been a little messy otherwise.

The metallic sunroof is easy to remove once you know what you are doin'.

Take a look at the blog to see how I did the entire replacement.

Paul

[devildog0341]

I wish I had found this forum about two months ago when I disassembled my complete interior from my E36. I spent the better part of a day with the whole sunroof assembly on a pair of fender stands removing the fabric cassette. I did it and now it is all black suede but this information would have saved me hours of sweat and cursing like a Marine.

[chiablue22]

do i need to pull the headliner out to do this?
i just put it back in then realized that i probably have to take it out to reupholster the sunroof.

[brunp]

do i need to pull the headliner out to do this?
i just put it back in then realized that i probably have to take it out to reupholster the sunroof.

No, you do not have to remove the headliner to remove the fabric shuttle. At most, remove the sunroof rubber gasket that holds the headliner to the sunroof.

1. Next, lower the sunroof by an 1/8th of an inch, this releases the fabric shuttle from the actually metallic roof.

2. push the fabric shuttle far enough back into the roof to expose 3 screws holding the metallic sunroof in place, unscrew those

3. Unscrew the T20 or T25 screws along the front edge of the sunroof on each side....and push back the pin. This free's the sunroof from the car and you can easily lift it out.

4. Pull the fabric shuttle back to expose all 10 or 12 T20 screws along the guide rails. Release those and you can easily remove the fabric shuttle.

I have pictures of this on my blog @ http://www.pbrun.net, Paul's Garage, and the April posting for replacing the headliner. The sunroof part is about 3/4's the way down.....

Hope this helps....if you like, I can post the individual pictures if you don't want to hunt for it....

Paul

[Frank THE TANK]

how do you put it all back in? i broke the plastic clip that goes in the track and is connected to the rod, now my sunroof wont close and is all jacked up.

[brunp]

if the plastic clip has broken, you are likely limited in options and one of them is likely have to get a new sunroof shuttle all together, which is likely not a cheap option either.

it is the white plastic key that has fallen out of the track.... :-)

you have a picture of what is broken?

Paul

[driftedtofu]

Is the shuttle really neccessary to Sun roof operation? What would happen if I left it out? My sunroof doesnt tilt or go all the way back. The shuttle gets jammed as its going all the way back and gets wedged with the sunroof to the point where the sunroof scrapes against the top of the assembly causing some nasty scratches. Which is why I want to take it out and leave it out...