Sunroof disassembly (1 Viewer)

[landylover21]

Glad to be of service. Yes, those cables are included.

(1) 63223-60030 Guide Rail
(1) 63224-60030 Guide Rail

Are also referred to as Drive Cable Assembly. 63223 is the right side, 63224 is the left side.

As can be seen from Mid Atlantic Toyota Parts (my other go to site if I need quick parts and parts diagrams when Beno isn't available).

http://www.midatlantictoyotaparts.c...trim/4-7l-v8-gas-engine/body-cat/sunroof-scat

Keep in mind those are part numbers for 1998 models, other model years may vary!

Talk with Beno and he can help and verify, he's the one I ordered everything from.

 

[Muddy Bean]

Thanks! Excellent info to get me started on this.

 

[COLandCrusher]

OH Boy, looks like I am in for it now!
I wonder if just my cables are seized as well. Guess I just need to pop out the glass this weekend, and see what I got. I've started my own thread, as my motor seems to be kaput

 

[CrusingTheVista]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm looking at doing the same procedure to my '98. I got a great deal on it but unfortunately that great deal came along with an inoperable leaking sunroof with some caulk applied to the exterior to "FIX" the leak. However, the idiots just applied the caulk between the body and the weatherstrip seal...instead of the weatherstrip seal to the glass seal so it still leaks.

Basically I'm thinking I should still be able to get this done and fully restore the sunroof with the 4 parts listed by @landylover21. I don't hear anything happening when I hit the sunroof buttons. Hopefully my motor isn't toast and has just been unplugged?

My leak actually seems to be coming from a clogged drain tube in the passenger side A pillar as that it is where the water is pooling in the floor board in front of the passenger front seat. Any tips or tricks for cleaning the tubes while everything is disassembled?

Thanks!

 

[Phat1842Many]

How's it coming, Vista? From reading other threads, it seems like compressed air is the winning method for clearing the sunroof drain pipes.

I just had an emergency. Water spilling on my head. On my left foot. Drivers side front carpet soaked. The sunroof wont budge so I'm pretty sure it's seized cables. Since I live in the Seattle area (rain) and I live in an apartment (no garage/car port) I have to get this sorted before I get mildew or electronic gremlins. I'm beside myself here.

@mike: Is it obvious if the tracks are bent? Do you have part numbers on an old invoice?

 

[Ayune]

How's it coming, Vista? From reading other threads, it seems like compressed air is the winning method for clearing the sunroof drain pipes.

I just had an emergency. Water spilling on my head. On my left foot. Drivers side front carpet soaked. The sunroof wont budge so I'm pretty sure it's seized cables. Since I live in the Seattle area (rain) and I live in an apartment (no garage/car port) I have to get this sorted before I get mildew or electronic gremlins. I'm beside myself here.

@mike: Is it obvious if the tracks are bent? Do you have part numbers on an old invoice?

Sorry to hear about the water. Are you looking to fix the sunroof or just seal it up forever, which some folks do?

If your looking to fix it (my choice) here are the biggest challenges:

- Finding someplace to store the headliner while it's out. You don't want to f'it up or get it dirty while it's out. I hung mine from a few screws & straps in the ceiling, it's not that heavy and it was out of the way.

- A large enough work space to work on the cassette once you remove it. I used my dining room table.

Everything else is just methodical disassembly, cleaning, re-greasing and re-assembly. After you remove the glass you can seal up the hole with a trashbag & tape while the hole is open. Pull the upper interior trim, remove the cassette, bring it inside and get to work.

 

[Phat1842Many]

Thanks for the reply Ayune.

I'm going to fix it. I didn't use it much before but I will now! I did the same job on my first car, a hand-me-down Lexus ES250. The cables had broken completely so I could just slide it back by hand. Super ghetto! It wasn't a hard job but it was a much smaller vehicle.

I've got a spot chosen for the headliner and I'll get the ok from the wife to use the dining room table b/c nothing else is big enough unless I do it on the office floor.

 

[Ayune]

Thanks for the reply Ayune.

I'm going to fix it. I didn't use it much before but I will now! I did the same job on my first car, a hand-me-down Lexus ES250. The cables had broken completely so I could just slide it back by hand. Super ghetto! It wasn't a hard job but it was a much smaller vehicle.

I've got a spot chosen for the headliner and I'll get the ok from the wife to use the dining room table b/c nothing else is big enough unless I do it on the office floor.

Another tip I remember: after you remove the cables, to clean them chuck them in a drill and run the drill while squeezing the cables with a rag to get the old hardened lube out of the spiral groove. I’ll post more stuff as I remember.

 

[Sog]

I'm about to do this on mine as part of a headliner replacement. The background I have and why I know someone was in there before me is when I bought it, the switch was unplugged and one of the screws for the cable guide box (for lack of a better description) where the motor gear goes into, was missing.

This part that's circled (thanks OP for the pic):

Here's mine looking from the bottom up with the motor removed:

It just seems like since there was a screw that was missing, that someone removed something important from in there that holds the sunroof cables on the motor gear. The only thing that is in there currently is a cable guide/spring clip looking thing.

I'm assuming I'm not lucky enough that there's some small part that I need to get for that box, but figured it was worth asking before I spend a ton of $$ on parts I may not need to fix it.

Appreciate any thoughts.

 

[TheBestCow]

Do you have to drop the headliner and pan to fix the seal only? Or is there another way? Preferably with step by step photos?

Also wondering how perfectly level everything has to be. My passenger rear corner is definitely just a fuzz lower than the others so I'm hoping it is just the seal and not a bent rail. Any advice?

 

[Phat1842Many]

Two years and two months later I'm finally getting this done.

The cassette is on the living room floor and I just can't seem to slide the drive cable assemblies back. They are so stuck that it's as if there is a set-screw I haven't removed. I've cut off the tube and cable an inch away from where they come out of the rails at the bottom. No joy. Then I started banging at it with a hammer. Still, won't budge.

I have the service manual and I'm following the instructions. I thought getting the headliner out to access the cassette would be the annoying part.

For future reads, answering TheBestCow > 1) You don't have to drop the headliner to replace the glass seal. Just remove the two side garnishes from inside and undo the four bolts; then you can pop the glass up and out. 2) To make fore/aft adjustments you loosen the aforementioned bolts. To make adjustments to the level, there are two screws per corner which are accessed with the same garnishes removed.

 

[dbfw]

Mine were really hard to get out too, I also cut the cables and tubes as short as possible. Make sure the remainder of your guide tubes are as round as possible so they aren't getting pinched. I then sprayed everything really well with penetrating oil, took the largest flat blade screwdriver I had and placed that against the block the cable attaches to, and wailed on the screwdriver with a hammer until I was pouring sweat. Then, and only then did they finally start to move back. I didn't have to resort to heat, but that might help too, careful though not to distort the rails.

I placed the blade of my screwdriver against the block indicated by the red box in the picture below. In this orientation the front of the vehicle would be to the right. So, I banged against it toward the left to slide the remaining bit of the cable out of the rail.

Edit: It matters where you hammer. If you try to hammer from the top of the cable assembly near where the glass attaches, you won't have the right leverage, it will just bounce your hammer off. You need to get something down on the base, right where the cable attaches to the sliding block and hit it there, it will then start to move the mechanism down and back. I was hammering in the wrong place for a long time before I figured that out. Looking at your new cables will help you envision what's happening down in that rail where you can't see yet.

Getting those old cables out was honestly the hardest part of the entire job. It's worth it though, I love using the sunroof now and watching it glide open and closed smoothly and quietly!

 

[Phat1842Many]

dbfw, thank you! I followed your very helpful writeup (found here). True what you mentioned about getting the pressure on the correct spot. I thought that by hammering / yanking on the mounting holes I was doing something. Nope.

When trying to align the marks it took a minute for me to understand that you have to push on those same cable-blocks. I originally thought I would find the marks by just moving the whole cable assembly fore / aft. Again, nope.

Now for the drain tubes. The front passenger and rear drivers side tubes are pinched closed where the bottom of the glass is. Since it's a 21 year old truck I'm not surprised to find the tubing very stiff. Also, I'm not convinced they will hold their shape after smoothing out the pinched areas. If anyone knows how difficult it is to change these out please post here.

 

[dbfw]

I'm glad that helped! I got stuck at the same point after spending the whole day getting the interior apart and was pretty discouraged until I figured out how to get those old cables out. One of my rear drain tubes, driver side I think, was a bit pinched but the fronts were good. If it looks really difficult to replace the whole thing, what about cutting it somewhere mid-A pillar and clamping in a male to male coupler and getting a new section of hose to run from there up to the drip tray? That would give you fairly easy access to the clamped area if you ever need to check or replace them.

Keep us updated, your timing is great to have a working sunroof for the summer, if our weather ever starts to even resemble spring around here...

 

[Wilsil]

Do you really need the guide case or acan you do with only the guiderails?
63221-60030 Cable Guide Case

 

[dbfw]

If you can get your old cables out of the guide tube and get any accumulated rust and debris cleaned out there's no reason you couldn't re-use it. But I had a heck of a time getting my old cables out even after cutting the guide tube off, so unless there's an availability issue, it would certainly be helpful to have a new one on hand.

 

[nodaksn3]

I did this last Fall. It took around one week to get it done and luckily it's Phoenix so rain wasn't an issue (I'm retired with an empty social calendar). I bought the cable guide case and the left and right drive cable assemblies. I carefully disassembled the motor and cleaned and resynchronized it, it ran fine afterwards. I tried to get the old cable out of the cable assemblies including using heat but couldn't get them to budge. I did not change any of the seals and after reassembly they don't leak. Two of the drains had dirt in them so I made certain they were all clean and worked. I have the FSM but it wasn't very clear on parts of this so I fumbled a bit getting it all together. The headliner occupied our living room for a while and reassembly the drive parts took place on a table in the backyard. I took the opportunity to clean all of the interior trim including the headliner and even though the cable guide and cables were pre-lubed I added some more. Reassembly was a slight pain and wifey helped hold some parts so nothing bent or twisted as I bolted it up. I realized after finishing that most of the problems were my fault: leaving the roof open overnight under trees, dirt blowing in, etc. helped jam things up. Probably heat from the sun here contributed too.
Even though this is maybe a 2 or 3 banana project and it's expensive (parts at the dealership were $1000), it's doable with patience and room to store the bits and pieces. Not to mention a helpful wife. Getting the interior removed was time consuming, reinstalling not too bad- looks better cleaned up too.

 

[nodaksn3]

Wilsil- Just a suggestion: Get a new one. Don't mess with it. I tried just about everything to get the old cables free with zero luck. Heat, beat and pulled them, even in frustration cut some of the tubes and nothing worked. I think Mr. Toy figured out how to manufacture lubricant that freezes solid after x years.
It's truly "Land cruiser owner ingenuity proof".
Ned

 

[Wilsil]

Cheers.
When I had the glass panel out to clean the drains as I had water coming in the car after heavy rain, I tried the tilt function.
Only one side of the roof was moving, I noticed the cable moving a bit and the frame coming up.
The other side didn't move at all.
I tried to move the frame while my wife was pusing the up button but no luck.