Power Sunroof - United Bimmer Community

**Dr1ve4fun** · 01-25-2008, 03:44 PM

My sunroof wont open! It makes a really fast annoying clickingish sound. I got it to close and it will rise up a little too, but it's nice out today and I want it open. Is there a way to open and close it manually?

nick_318is · 01-25-2008, 03:59 PM

Get the crank one, non power FTW, I have mad sunroof opening skills now. Sounds like whatever drives it isn't catching, i'm guessing the clicking means that the motor is running.

**Dr1ve4fun** · 01-25-2008, 07:14 PM

How can I change it to a crank?

nick_318is · 01-25-2008, 08:28 PM

I havent any idea I just know that it can probably be done since a power roof was an option and I have the manual roof on mine.

**253325is** · 01-25-2008, 08:55 PM

sunroofs are bitches! the motor for mine is shot and am having the hardest time finding a new one but anyway from this i know you can open and close it manually using an allen wrench... unless you already knew this and something far worse is wrong with it that i dont even know about... but on nice sunny days when i wanna show off my car i bust out the allen and crank that bitch open cause i dont think i'm ever gunna figure out how to fix mine ha.

**Dr1ve4fun** · 01-25-2008, 10:51 PM

Thanks

**denyo77** · 01-26-2008, 08:05 AM

changing the sunroof to manual or doing any work on it is a real hassle
you have to take out the headliner...

**celsdogg** · 01-26-2008, 05:54 PM

^^^ and you would probably need a new one or need to fabricate something because the crank one has a huge hole where the crank goes, and the electric has just a small hole for the button!

**Exilion** · 01-26-2008, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by celsdogg

^^^ and you would probably need a new one or need to fabricate something because the crank one has a huge hole where the crank goes, and the electric has just a small hole for the button!

But other than that it'd work! Actually it would probably take quite a bit of fabrication. I'd imagine you would have to cut out the hole for the crank and then you'd have to figure out a way to support the crank properly in the automatics old space. I'd imagine the pulley system and all that would be the same though.

**jcjdavis1** · 01-27-2008, 09:05 AM

Hi I got this of the E30zone.net it might help a bit.

One of the cables has jumped on the main drive sprocket on the motor.
Unscrew the three bolts that hold the motor assembly in place and drop the motor down. With luck you may be able to re-time the roof by moving the cables along with a screwdriver, or get the roof into the positions it needs to be in to remove the steel panel.
Still leaves the problem of what went wrong in the first place, of course. You may have damaged one of the cables and/or the drive sprocket.

**elsabor67** · 01-27-2008, 01:50 PM

Don't cut nothing. The plates for the manual and the electric are totally different and you wont be able to adapt a crank on it. If your motor works right it might be your cables that move it and for that you will have to remove the whole sunroof because the cable tensions are different tension from the manual ones.