Sunroof maintenance?

[stormseeker 0]

Is there any maintenance you can do to prevent the all-too-common sunroof failure? (like greasing & lubricating some of the mechanism?)

 

Mine's making a horrible creaking noise when it tilts - could it be on its way out?

 

As I understand it, it's usually the cables that snap???

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The more grease you apply to the runners, the less chance you'll have of shearing off one or both of the cable guides. Once they do snap, it's down to the scrappy to get a 95-97 passat roof mechanism and subframe. A chap where I live has done a few moonroof conversions to Corrados and I'm next in line :D

 

Most passats had air conditioning and hence no sunroof, so if you come across one, snap it up immediately.

 

Kev

94 VR6

[Rams 0]

Is the passat sunroof similar? What is the benift of using a passat sunroof?

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

It's called a 'moonroof' since the Passat sunroof is glass, not metal - you can get some more light into your C.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Is the passat sunroof similar? What is the benift of using a passat sunroof?

 

The passat roof mechanism is exactly the same although it seems to work better in the Passat! The only difference is the Passat has a tinted glass roof which is a near spot-on fit in the corrado roof aperture. There is a very slight gap as the seals on steel and glass roofs are different but most people don't notice it. The glass roof is also ever so slightly more rounded in the middle, again, hard to spot straight away.

 

It's a good mod and entirely up to you but since the whole lot has to come out of the C anyway to repair the stock roof system, why not stick a better one in it's place!

 

Kev

94 VR6

[mk1 0]

yep as above the passat roof mech is the same,fitting the glass roof makes a big difference imo to the interior of the corrado,gets rid of the dull interior feel,heres a couple of pics of one I done earlier,£50 top tip in golf mag :lol:

[Rams 0]

Thanks for the pics, I think it looks quite good, do you know if its faster than the original c roof?

 

Is the shutter from the passat as well? I mean th ecover that hides the roof it you didnt understand what I meant?

[Rpmayne 0]

I'm about to change my broken mechanism for a second hand corrado one, and while the roof lining is out I want to clean it. Any ideas what to use? Bloody cream colour shows all the years of dirt, but I'm a little worried about damaging it.

 

Also, does anyone know where to find a guide on removing / refitting the sunroof?

 

Cheers

[GazzaG60 0]

try autoglym interior shampoo

[Rams 0]

Auto Glym shampoo will do the trick, you dont need to use that much and you will notice that you have a new head lining when you've done the job! DAo your seats whilst they are there providing they are velour / cloth seats.

 

The roof is fairly easy to do in the sense of taking it all off and re fitting it, its just the repair of the nacker roof that can get tricky.

 

Maje sure you have a magnet bowl or something to keep all the screws in and take the sunvisors off and skirts on the sides, the coat hooks etc off and slide the roof lining out though the tailgate and you will see more bolts to un do. You then need to side forward the sunroof lining with is cliped in. Then take off the main bolts that hold the sunroof in and make sure you have help carring the sunroof out.

 

It is reeally that simple. It looks a mess and you think what the hell have I done but once its all back you will feel like you have done a good job!

[mk1 0]

Thanks for the pics, I think it looks quite good, do you know if its faster than the original c roof?

 

Is the shutter from the passat as well? I mean th ecover that hides the roof it you didnt understand what I meant?

I carnt see it being any faster as they use the same motor,yep the shutter is from the passat and is also the same colour as the corrado headlining

[Rams 0]

cheers, I will try and pick one up!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

yep as above the passat roof mech is the same,fitting the glass roof makes a big difference imo to the interior of the corrado,gets rid of the dull interior feel,heres a couple of pics of one I done earlier,£50 top tip in golf mag :lol:

 

Mk1, fantastic, looks excellent. Well done. I wouldn't mind some more details if possible as I've yet to get round to doing mine. Did you use the Corrado or Passat motor? Did you have any difficulties getting the sliding curtain to work properly? Lastly, where did you source the Passat parts?

 

Thanks

 

Kev

94 VR6

[mk1 0]

[quote="kevhaywire

Mk1, fantastic, looks excellent. Well done. I wouldn't mind some more details if possible as I've yet to get round to doing mine. Did you use the Corrado or Passat motor? Did you have any difficulties getting the sliding curtain to work properly? Lastly, where did you source the Passat parts?

 

Thanks

 

Kev

94 VR6

yer I just bolted the complete assembly out of a passat,£50 from one of the local breakers,used the corrado motor but passat is the same,just be carefull with the sunroof chassis as they are slightly different between the earlier and late(92 on?)as the motors are not interchangable,early motor has 3 wires late 6?,the only fiddly part of the job is removing the headlining,took me about 3hrs start to finish,good luck :lol:

[Rpmayne 0]

Cheers for the guide Rams, hopefully going to take the job on this weekend weather permitting.

 

One bit I'm not sure of though, how does the pilar cover (the one with the seatbelt top hinge assembly etc) come off? Have tried before and it seemed to hold at the top.

 

Thanks

[DaveStorm 0]

Is there any maintenance you can do to prevent the all-too-common sunroof failure? (like greasing & lubricating some of the mechanism?)

 

Mine's making a horrible creaking noise when it tilts - could it be on its way out?

 

Digging out this old thread I know but mine does this a bit too........so what's the best sort of grease/lubricant to use on the sunroof guide rails etc? Can I use any old grease or just use a lubricant spray?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Lithium white grease is best where parts are constantly exposed to water. Halfords sell it.

 

K

[DaveStorm 0]

Nice one Kev, will get some tomorrow, cheers :)

[stormseeker 0]

Mine's still creaking as it tilts - even after I greased it up. I always cringe when I use it, just waiting for a BANG... :-(

[DaveStorm 0]

Hmmm wonder if it could just be a characteristic of the mechanism then, if it's still working 9 months on? It's a very good idea to make sure its kept thoroughly greased though, I really DONT fancy replacing the sunroof! :roll: :wink:

[Riley 0]

sorry to jump on topic :|

but do all rado's ie,g60/vr/valver/non valver suffer from this sunroof problem?

cheers,neil.

[stormseeker 0]

Hmmm wonder if it could just be a characteristic of the mechanism then, if it's still working 9 months on?

 

 

I think the only characteristic you can be certain of is that it will break :-(

 

It's a very good idea to make sure its kept thoroughly greased though, I really DONT fancy replacing the sunroof! :roll: :wink:

 

I don't think the replacement/repair of the mechanism is really too difficult, just extremely fiddly in the removal of all the headlining.

[Henny 0]

sorry to jump on topic :|

but do all rado's ie,g60/vr/valver/non valver suffer from this sunroof problem?

cheers,neil.

 

Unfortunately so... :? The only ways to make sure that it doesn't happen is to either buy a (very rare!) non-sunroof model, or fit a Passat Moonroof conversion... :|

 

I suppose never using it would also prevent it from breaking too! :roll: :lol:

[daves16v 1]

Would the Passat Moonroof suffer the same problems as the C over a period of time?

 

If it uses the same mechanism to slide/tilt, are you buying a Moonroof from a breakers that is also on it's way out?

[Henny 0]

Would the Passat Moonroof suffer the same problems as the C over a period of time?

 

If it uses the same mechanism to slide/tilt, are you buying a Moonroof from a breakers that is also on it's way out?

 

The passat moon roof doesn't have those stupid little arms which snap off to lift the inner lining as the lining just slides back when you tilt the roof... Also, the route that the cable runs is different to the Corrado unit, so there appears to be less contact on it and so the cable should last A LOT longer... 8)

 

Basically, it's a better designed roof which is based around the Corrado roof mechanism and so is a straight swap... 8)