Need Help 93 Es300 Moonroof Sinks In Trouble Help

[pete rock]

hi guys im a newbie here ive been looking on this site for a long time i finally bought my first es300 and i love her.now i have a 93 es300 fully loaded with every option.the person i bought the car from told me the moonroof is off track.when i hit the buttons i can hear it try to move but it doesnt he also had some drill bits wedged up in there to hold it up so it sealed tight im guessing.one fell out and it looks like that side is sunken in a bit.is this common??does this sound like its off track??im sure this is a big pain to fix probally have to remove my headliner but i love the option of a moonroof and would like to try to fi it before the summer and nice weather come around any and all help is much appreciated thanx

[gbhrps]

Pete Rock,

I've had to deal with sunroof problems in the past and I'll share a few points with you. To do any repairs on a sunroof assembly the headliner must come out of the car. At that point you'll be able to sort out just what has gone wrong, but may not be able to do any repairs until the entire assembly has been removed from the car. Parts won't be cheap, but that is subject to how big an assembly has to be replaced, usually because individual parts aren't available. An alternative is to purchase an entire assembly from a wrecked Lexus or Camry of the same year as your car. This is not rocket science, and can be done by a street smart DIYer with a fair amount of mechanical aptitude.

To get the unit out of the car the headliner goes first. Remove the headrests (you'll need the room when you drop the unit down). Then with clean hands (wash them regularly if you have a light coloured interior) pull the A, B and C pillar mouldings. The rear seats will have to go to get at the C pillars. Pull the mouldings around the doors. You might even need to pull the upper seat belt rings that the belts go through on the B pillar. Pull the overhead lights, assist straps, and sun visors. If there are any overhead plugs, pull them. The headliner should now pull down.

Disconnect the the four drain tubes from the sunroof rails, the wiring connector to the motor and the sunroof computer, if its located in the ceiling. Don't forget to pull the sunroof switch as well. You'll find only 6 or 8 nuts that hold the entire assembly to the roof substructure, and with a helper drop it down and out of the car.

Put the unit on a work bench, get your parts, swap them out, and using a separate 12 volt supply cycle the sunroof several times to be sure it works as made. Then cycle it into its final closed position. Put the unit back into the car, and tighten it down when you have it correctly positioned to seal in the roof opening. Then reverse the headliner removal.

Its a task involving a lot of steps, but it is very doable. My experience was on a dual sunroofed Subaru Outback. It had a flip up front sunroof and a rear slider sunroof all in one assembly. The front unit had stripped its lift mechanism, and the parts (the entire dual scissors lift mechanism with track tubes was $234 CDN back 4 years ago) came as an assembly.

Good Luck if you decide to tackle it! Keep us posted.

[BillyShaft]

Holy Moley...I pulled up the diagram on the moonroof just to see what was involved:

Embrace the Horror

Don't let that confused mass of parts deter you. I am certain that it must be much easier once you get in there. :whistles:

Good Luck!

[pete rock]

holy lord i knew it probally wouldnt be easy,but wow!! i mean i love to have a moonroof id be happy if i can just get it to tilt hahaha

[BillyShaft]

Once you get into it like gbhrps says, I bet it will be pretty obvious what the problem is, and with the parts diagram, you should be able to get the parts and be golden for summertime!

You can do it!

Please let us know what you figure out!

[pete rock]

for me to be able to do it myself id definitely needa dummy diagram of what pilars to pull and how to pull them i dont want to damage anything i love my baby and take special care of her

[gbhrps]

Pete Rock,

I fancy myself a backyard mechanic who's been in the back yard a little, and yes, since I retired from teaching 8 years ago, I work in an antique auto restoration shop to give myself something to do. We do some collision work occasionally and I can tell you that all cars built from the mid 70's on are pretty much the same. The A,B and C pillars just pop off when you pry them away from the steel structure underneath. Earlier cars used screws for the most part. Tape up a narrow bladed putty knife or wide bladed screw driver (so as to not scratch the panels) and simply pry one end up until you can grab it with your fingers wrapped around the whole panel. Give the panel healthy jerks away from the steel structure (enough to pop the plastic or steel grip plugs underneath, but not enough to break or kink the pillar moulding), moving down the length of the pillar moulding. In fact you can even slide the screwdriver down behind the panel to feel where the plugs are and pry them out as you move along. Generally there will be 3 - 4 plugs on an A and B pillar. The B pillar may require you to use a 50 to 55 Torx bit on the high mount seat belt loop bolt, to remove the loop when the B pillar is part way off. The C pillar should have 5 or 6 plugs and may require a screw or 2 to be removed. The screws may show up when you remove the rear seat bottom and then the seat back. Really, unless you go at them with vengence and a whole bunch of stupidity, you shouldn't damage any of them. After all, they were made to be put in place and whacked into final position with the heal of your hand, when first installed in the car at the factory. If you have any doubts, remove your rear seats by yourself and take the car to a collision shop, and have their tech guy pop them off for you. It'll cost you a few bucks, but you'll learn how to put them back on and it'll be someone else's problem if they break them. Good Luck, and I know what you mean by "Taking care of your baby"!

[captainadam]

Pete Rock,

I fancy myself a backyard mechanic who's been in the back yard a little, and yes, since I retired from teaching 8 years ago, I work in an antique auto restoration shop to give myself something to do. We do some collision work occasionally and I can tell you that all cars built from the mid 70's on are pretty much the same. The A,B and C pillars just pop off when you pry them away from the steel structure underneath. Earlier cars used screws for the most part. Tape up a narrow bladed putty knife or wide bladed screw driver (so as to not scratch the panels) and simply pry one end up until you can grab it with your fingers wrapped around the whole panel. Give the panel healthy jerks away from the steel structure (enough to pop the plastic or steel grip plugs underneath, but not enough to break or kink the pillar moulding), moving down the length of the pillar moulding. In fact you can even slide the screwdriver down behind the panel to feel where the plugs are and pry them out as you move along. Generally there will be 3 - 4 plugs on an A and B pillar. The B pillar may require you to use a 50 to 55 Torx bit on the high mount seat belt loop bolt, to remove the loop when the B pillar is part way off. The C pillar should have 5 or 6 plugs and may require a screw or 2 to be removed. The screws may show up when you remove the rear seat bottom and then the seat back. Really, unless you go at them with vengence and a whole bunch of stupidity, you shouldn't damage any of them. After all, they were made to be put in place and whacked into final position with the heal of your hand, when first installed in the car at the factory. If you have any doubts, remove your rear seats by yourself and take the car to a collision shop, and have their tech guy pop them off for you. It'll cost you a few bucks, but you'll learn how to put them back on and it'll be someone else's problem if they break them. Good Luck, and I know what you mean by "Taking care of your baby"!

i got one allready out best offer shipped

email: captainhowdy313@hotmail.com