1999 LX Sunroof Cable/Guide tube assembly help!

[Djo1717]

When i bought my LX, the previous owner has "disabled the sunroof" after it stopped working. I would have been happy to leave it like that but it started leaking in heavy rains so i decided to tear into it. The write-ups on this forum have been amazing and i actually enjoyed the sunroof frame assembly removal up to this point and it will give me an opportunity to clean everything.

What i found is that by "disabling the sunroof", it meant that someone had just jammed rubber stoppers under the closed sunroof in an attempt to keep it closed and raised securely to prevent leaking. So now with the assembly out, i am running into the same issues that most seem to which are:

1)The sliding sunroof frame that holds the glass is in the forward and raised position and will not budge confirming that my cables are stuck inside the guide tubes. It seems that lots of folks have tried but not many have shared their technique for getting it to slide back and break the cables free. I've been blasting some WD40 down in there every no wand then before i have some more time but i would love to hear techniques that others have used. (both cables are still in tact i believe so preserving the tubes and cables so i dont have to spend $700 would be amazing).

2) Is there any mechanical movement that needs to happen to lower the moonroof before it should slide back and forth freely? meaning...if i get to the point that a hammer or significant force is being used, should i just be able to apply force from Forward to Rear or do i need to somehow lower it from the raised position before busting out the handy hammer.

 

[Bisho]

Unfortunately it is a very rare person that successfully unsticks the cables. 99% of us end up cutting the cables and replacing the cables and guides. Another option is to find a sunroof cassette for sale out of a junker. If you can find one that works it will likely be half the cost of new parts.

 

[Bisho]

To finish answering your question - to get the sunroof to go down requires the cables to be free. It works on a cam principal. If the cable are frozen its not going anywhere without breaking something else.

You didn't say, but I assume you are trying to move this by hand with the motor dropped out...

 

[dbfw]

Even if the cables are free, the mechanism won't budge if you don't apply the force in the right place. It took me a while when I was doing mine to figure it out. The best way I can think to explain it is - imagine the cables are working properly, and apply the force to the same place. If you already have your new cables, study them and you'll see how they work. There is a ramp built into the frame that the roof needs to slide down in order to allow the rearward movement. I cut my old cables as short as possible and applied liberal force to the base of the old cable where it slides in the track. It's way way low down right against the track. If you try to bang on anything up high near where the glass attaches you're just going to get frustrated and bend something as you aren't at the right leverage point.

Put a big screwdriver or something similar right down at the bottom of the track against this piece and whack it with a plastic mallet or similar and think of your best words to shout to help persuade it! You're pounding toward the rear as it would sit in the truck. It should start to cause the mechanism to slide down the ramp and back and out of the track.

 

[Djo1717]

After messing around and trying to (unsuccessfully) unstick the cables, i called around to some local junk yards and found a complete sunroof assembly. I'm happy to have this project wrapped up and move on to the next one. Thanks for the help!

 

[ranma21]

After messing around and trying to (unsuccessfully) unstick the cables, i called around to some local junk yards and found a complete sunroof assembly. I'm happy to have this project wrapped up and move on to the next one. Thanks for the help!

You may want to verify the used one actually works.