TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Jan 29, 2023 6:58 pm

New member here- first time posting (Be patient...)

Hi all! I just acquired my fourth AC Beetle and fifth VW. I've been doing a bunch of small repairs to get her roadworthy. My current project is the sunroof. I like to think I've "done my homework" and searched and scoured both this forum and the interweb and can't find a solution to my issue:

The cables are all gummed up with old grease and decades of dust/dirt so I need to remove/clean/lube/reinstall. I've replaced the rear felt seal; purchased the rear rubber seal, and ordered the front felt seal. The gear is slipping (probably because of the gummed-up-ness...) so I got a new one.

Here's the thing: by all accounts it looks like a relatively simple job- pop the headliner panel off from the 5 clips at the front and slide panel forward and the roof panel aft (I'm a sailor, too!) and then pop the headliner panel out the top- easy peasy right? But the headliner panel will only slide 3/4 of the way out from under the roof panel and jams. What am I doing wrong??

Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:00 pm

I think you're not using a big enough hammer.

Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:40 pm

Just thought I'd follow up on this post.

The headliner panel is supposed to slide forward out from under the roof panel and then, with a little flexing, pop out the top of the car. The headliner panel also has a wire that runs along the back inside edge that holds the headliner taught onto the panel.

The end of this wire got bent upward somehow to the point that it hooked the under side of the roof panel. The only solution was to take the whole sunroof assembly- cables, rails and panels- out together and take them apart. (and straighten out the wire...)

Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:16 pm

Following up on this 'Sunroof saga'- I cleaned up the cables, channels, tubes etc. Lubricated with a little white lithium grease. Re-installed with a new crank gear but the gear still slips on the cables. I had noticed the cables showed some wear but hoped a new crank gear would solve the problem.

So off to the parts supplier (WW) I went to order new cables. I ordered all new plastic parts while I was at it. I read another post about problems with the plastic slider but I didn't have that issue. But I did have one minor problem- the cable jammed in the "J" tubes!

With closer inspection it wasn't the cable jamming just the loose end. Apparently in production the ferrule (the cap on the end of the cable) gets clamped on and it 'squished' against the spring coils and spread the coil apart so that it was bigger than the rest of the cable:

It's almost imperceptable but I put a grinding wheel on my dremel and ground down the first couple coils slightly and it solved the problem! I hope this helps somebody.