The Car Care Nut replaces a sunroof in an instructional video and yikes!

[Slap Back]

I found this really interesting. Not only all the steps needed to replace the sunroof but how everything works. And, as always, it leads me to ask more questions.
Have many people had this same problem?
What are the ways to prevent such a catastrophic failure?
Is it necessary to completely remove the headliner and associated parts?
Is this a thing that should get a regular maintenance and what would that entail?
Many thanks to the community for all the help.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Guy's in the Youtube business, so of course he's going to make it sound like a big, common issue. There have been a few on Mud with sunroof issues. I'd suggest greasing/lubing the tracks and cables.

 

[baltistyle]

Keep the tracks clean and grease the cables and you’ll never have an issue. Also remember, he’s not gonna use an aftermarket Alibaba part when the rest of us might. He says Toyota does not supply those parts, but it does not necessarily mean they’re unavailable. I’ve seen successful sunroof repairs across various brands with China parts. Symptoms of a failing sunroof are there long before the sunroof fails…. That sunroof was extremely rusty and likely never maintained for 20 years…

 

[David*BJ70]

Any tutorial for "keep the tracks clean and grease the cables" ?

 

[kbfj621989]

My MY2000 sunroof has the bad cables and doesn’t work. Same situation as in the video, rust on the cable destroys it and it’s locked up solid. I bought it like that from the previous owner. The replacement cables/slides ( L/R ) and cable tube are available from Partsouq but I’m not going to spend the money to replace them. I did however replace the sunroof gasket. I will just keep the drains clear and move on.

 

[NE Snowman]

Use it don’t lose it. Had the saying in T4R about the electric switch for low and high gear.

Mine wasn’t used much and made a bunch of noise the first few uses, after lube and a few days of operation it’s normal.

 

[dbfw]

The individual parts he mentions (cables and guide tubes) are available for earlier model 100 series. Some here including me have purchased and used those parts to repair this exact problem.

Yes, most of the interior panels need to come off before the headliner can be pulled down. While I usually am a big fan of the car care nut, I disagree that this is an "extremely difficult" repair. Yes, it is involved, but the mechanics are simple, it mainly involves a fair number of hours of labor to drop the headliner. I did the entire job by myself and had no issues with the headliner removal. Drop it down on top of the seats, then yank it out the rear hatch and put it somewhere it won't get dirty.

After doing this repair myself, I absolutely believe our sunroofs are a use it or lose it feature. I think PM looks like: keep the drains clear, exercise it often, and occasionally spray some white lithium grease in the cable guide portion of the track.

 

[newbielx470]

If the sunroof stuck closed and doesn't leak, it's totally fine to leave it as-is, right? It seems spending too much time/money on this repair is not that worthy compared to other big-ticket items.

 

[excessive]

FYI, the cables are available separately from the sunroof unit for the 98-03 models. I replaced them on mine, total coast to completely fix the sunroof was just over $300 (Impex prices). Yet another reason why i prefer the early 100 series over the later ones

 

[nissanh]

Any tutorial for "keep the tracks clean and grease the cables" ?

Pretty simple: I do it each year on my 4runner and LC100. I didn't order sunroofs on my 21 Taco or 24 Armada!

Open the sunroof, use a rag to pickup dirt and dust inside the drainage channels. Apply oil into the two cables (can be seen if you look while the sunroof is closing/opening (do it from outside the car: stand on the running board.

You can spray WD40 on all joints that activates when the sunroof is tilted. That's it.

 

[Bisho]

The cables and tubes are identical for all years, but for whatever reason Toyota listed it only as an assembly after 2003. You can repair later model sunroofs with early model parts.

You can get away with only dropping the headliner as far as the C pillar. I did it this way, by myself. After you remove the glass and the motor the rest of the mechanism doesn’t weigh 10 pounds, it’s just awkward.

 

[baltistyle]

Yes, the

Any tutorial for "keep the tracks clean and grease the cables" ?

He shows the mechanisms in the video. The cables are visible with the roof open. Pivots are visible with the roof tilted/vented. Otherwise clean everything you can reach. If you are able to carefully remove the interior molding yo can look at the bottom of the track and see if there is rust. Sometimes there could be corrosion due to a leak in the glass seal at the rear center of the glass.

Real sunroof grease though expensive does not attract dust and that’s what sets it apart. This is the same type of grease that can be used on interior pivots that are non electrical. This really rarely has to be done unless you leave the sunroof open under trees or park under them for months and never clean it

If the sunroof stuck closed and doesn't leak, it's totally fine to leave it as-is, right? It seems spending too much time/money on this repair is not that worthy compared to other big-ticket items.

The only foreseeable issue is if the drains clog. Blow them out from underneath if you don’t want to mess with the roof.

The cables and tubes are identical for all years, but for whatever reason Toyota listed it only as an assembly after 2003. You can repair later model sunroofs with early model parts.

You can get away with only dropping the headliner as far as the C pillar. I did it this way, by myself. After you remove the glass and the motor the rest of the mechanism doesn’t weigh 10 pounds, it’s just awkward.

Yes the glass is the heavy part. Amazingly so.

I think it’s ok for CCN to be a little over top when talking about older vehicles that become really expensive when diy goes wrong and lots of mechanics hate working on old cars or leave them with broken clips and plastics. Sometimes that first time can get expensive with mistakes. We diyers are ok with the time spent and the research it takes to do a good job.
And most importantly we have the resource of the forum and each other.

 

[cwmoser]

Murphy can bite us ... so what is the process to close a stuck open Sun Roof???
My old Isuzu Trooper had a plastic plug you could remove and insert a hand crank.

 

[excessive]

Murphy can bite us ... so what is the process to close a stuck open Sun Roof???
My old Isuzu Trooper had a plastic plug you could remove and insert a hand crank.

unfortunately no such thing for the 100 series.

 

[Trollhole]

Was a good watch but that was clearly a sunroof that was never used and never maintained. Probably had clogged drains or was left open in the rain at some point. Water gets into the cable channel and lack of use will seize the cables. We lube the tracks with lithium grease wipe excess off. Clean drains with weedeater line; I like the type with squared edges. I tell all my customers they have to use the sunroof frequently. Use it or lose it. We have done hundreds of sunroofs maybe one has ever come in stuck in the open position.

 

[PacificNW100]

My 98 sunroof stuck closed. When pouring rain or car wash it will leak a bit from the center rear of the sunroof. Is there a manual way to open and close it?

 

[Bisho]

My 98 sunroof stuck closed. When pouring rain or car wash it will leak a bit from the center rear of the sunroof. Is there a manual way to open and close it?

There is a seam on the rear of the plastic surrounding the glass the rubber mounts to. Most likely that has started to separate, and it is also likely the root cause of your cables being rusted. Water from that area runs through the trim and into the cable runs, instead of into the drain channels.

You could try to seals that gap with silicone, but it only worked for me to remove the glass, remove the rubber trim, pull back the plastic and clean the area, which will be full of dirt, and reseal it with silicone all the way through the J channel. Then reverse the order for install.

 

[Trollhole]

There is a seam on the rear of the plastic surrounding the glass the rubber mounts to. Most likely that has started to separate, and it is also likely the root cause of your cables being rusted. Water from that area runs through the trim and into the cable runs, instead of into the drain channels.

You could try to seals that gap with silicone, but it only worked for me to remove the glass, remove the rubber trim, pull back the plastic and clean the area, which will be full of dirt, and reseal it with silicone all the way through the J channel. Then reverse the order for install.

What he said. If the sunroof pours water down your neck hole after a good rain or have water coming out of the trim around the sunroof it's usually this^^^^.

 

[Land Shark]

What he said. If the sunroof pours water down your neck hole after a good rain or have water coming out of the trim around the sunroof it's usually this^^^^.

I sealed my like above and presto no leaks.

 

[Shikha]

The cables and tubes are identical for all years, but for whatever reason Toyota listed it only as an assembly after 2003. You can repair later model sunroofs with early model parts.

You can get away with only dropping the headliner as far as the C pillar. I did it this way, by myself. After you remove the glass and the motor the rest of the mechanism doesn’t weigh 10 pounds, it’s just awkward.

It's good to know the parts from earlier 100s will work on the later models.