Anyone with sunroof service experience?

[gbhrps]

Removed the headliner from my 02 OBW in order to chase down a water leak onto the headliner, right at the overhead reading lights. All water drains were clear and showing no drainage problems, so I proceeded next to the glass seals, and to do so I unbolted the front tilt up sunroof and removed it. They all look to be just fine. The water leak was then traced to ceiling braces that reinforce the roof, and I'm still tracing that down. Now to the problem. When I reinstalled the tilt up front sunroof, it closed, but would not reopen. And, since it will not open, I can't get the system to trigger the opening of the back sunroof as well. What I found when I again removed the front sunroof, is that the twin scissors mechanism that raise it will move up, and then the rear sunroof can be opened and closed, and the front mechanisms can be lowered. Closer examination shows that when the front sunroof is reinstalled, the scissors bind. They are centered over the two bolt holes that mount the sunroof at the rear when it is closed, but when they are raised, they have moved off center towards the passenger side by about five eighths of an inch. Only one side arm of each one of the scissor mechanisms is moving, causing the centre bolting points of each to move sideways, rather than straight up. Obviously when bolted down to the sunroof, this is causing the binding, preventing the sunroof from opening. Does anyone know how to reorientate the two front tracks on those scissor mechanisms? Something tells me that finding a Subie Service Tech that has ever done the job is going to be pretty slim.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

this may be dumb question, but is the window backwards?

 

 

and no, you may not be able to find a tech that's done it, but i'm sure a dealership will have an easy time figuring out how to. they've got all the goods on how to do stuff.

[brus brother]

Manufacturer : SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. Service Bulletin Num : 126800 Date of Bulletin: JUN 02, 2000 NHTSA Item Number: 613993 Component: OTHER Summary:

THIS BULLETIN WILL HELP IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF WATNER ENTERING VEHICLES THROUGH THE FRONT MAP LIGHT AREA OF THE INTERIOR PANEL. *TT http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/results.cfm?start=16&SearchType=DrillDown&type=VEHICLE&year=2000&make=SUBARU&model=LEGACY&vehtype=UNK&typenum=1&component_id=0&summary=true

This is for MY2000 but go to a dealer and ask to see the TSB. It might save you some time reinventing the wheel.

Removed the headliner from my 02 OBW in order to chase down a water leak onto the headliner, right at the overhead reading lights. All water drains were clear and showing no drainage problems, so I proceeded next to the glass seals, and to do so I unbolted the front tilt up sunroof and removed it. They all look to be just fine. The water leak was then traced to ceiling braces that reinforce the roof, and I'm still tracing that down. Now to the problem. When I reinstalled the tilt up front sunroof, it closed, but would not reopen. And, since it will not open, I can't get the system to trigger the opening of the back sunroof as well. What I found when I again removed the front sunroof, is that the twin scissors mechanism that raise it will move up, and then the rear sunroof can be opened and closed, and the front mechanisms can be lowered. Closer examination shows that when the front sunroof is reinstalled, the scissors bind. They are centered over the two bolt holes that mount the sunroof at the rear when it is closed, but when they are raised, they have moved off center towards the passenger side by about five eighths of an inch. Only one side arm of each one of the scissor mechanisms is moving, causing the centre bolting points of each to move sideways, rather than straight up. Obviously when bolted down to the sunroof, this is causing the binding, preventing the sunroof from opening. Does anyone know how to reorientate the two front tracks on those scissor mechanisms? Something tells me that finding a Subie Service Tech that has ever done the job is going to be pretty slim.

[gbhrps]

brus brother,

 

Thanks for the TSB headsup! I'll check it out for sure.

 

losdiosdeverde86,

 

The front sunroof can't possibly be put back into the car backwards. The front is curved and the rear is straight, not to mention that the mounting points are in different locations, and use different fastening methods.

[gbhrps]

brus brother,

 

My Subie dealership found the TSB, which uses a different # and date here north of the 49th parallel, and said the fix is to drop the entire sunroof assembly and reseal a seam somewhere between where the two sunroofs meet. Since I already have the headliner out of the car, it should really speed up the process for them, and cut down on my cost. The car is scheduled to go in Thursday morning. I'll keep you posted, and thanks again for your interest and taking the time to chase down the TSB! I had completely forgotten about searching through them.

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

brus brother,

 

Thanks for the TSB headsup! I'll check it out for sure.

 

losdiosdeverde86,

 

The front sunroof can't possibly be put back into the car backwards. The front is curved and the rear is straight, not to mention that the mounting points are in different locations, and use different fastening methods.

 

i figured as much, but without the car in front of me to see it, you never know

[gbhrps]

LosDiosDeVerde86,

 

Thanks for jumping in on the thread, and no apologies are needed!