Sunroof won't close...

[Johnny C]

The sunroof went recently, it was opened on the motorway but when I came to shut it, motor ran fine but the sunroof stayed open. I could close it manually, so it looks like the cables have snapped.

Car's going in for some work in a couple of weeks anyway; I could live with not having an operating subroof as long as I could close it.

I can close it forward, however what I can't do is get it to seal up vertically, so it's about ½inch below the roof surface. This is a pain because it leaks (although some good plastic tape has prevented that) but more importantly because if I leave it in a public place some bright car-robber might realise it wasn't closed properly and a possible point of entry

I can push the roof up from inside, but it won't stay up and there doesn't seem to be anything I could wedge it up from.

Can anyone give me any guidance on how to close it so that from the outside it looks properly closed?

Cheers

 

[burrow01]

Hi,

There is a description of Manual operation in the Owners Manual:

1. Open the zipper above the rear window and remove the left hand cover
2. Undo the tensioning screw on the drive mechanism using the angled screwdriver (presumably from the car tool kit)
3. Insert the hand crank into the sunroof drive mechanism with the screwdriver handle, and close the sun roof by turning the crank

Is this the manual method you used to close the sunroof, or were you able just to slide it forward?

Pete

 

[Johnny C]

There is no tool kit in there (that I am aware of, is it tucked away somewhere?)

To close it I just got inside and pushed it forward, easy enough

I unzipped the roof, but couldn't see any crank handle or place to put one. If I have to undo the cover then that's why I couldn't see anywhere. Where is the crank handle, inside there?

However I thought that process applied to where the motor has stopped working. If the cables have snapped, turning the drive mechanism wouldn't (I'd have thought) worked. Is that not the case?

Cheers

 

[burrow01]

Hi

In my car toolkit - it is in a roll in the luggage compartment- there is a crank type tool - presumably this is what is used to close the sunroof - not sure if this would work if the cables snap - is there anyone local who might have a 993 toolkit ?

Pete

 

[Johnny C]

There's nothing loose in there that I haven't put in there. I guess unless it's stashed under a carpet it's probably disappeared with a previous owner.

I'm going to take it into 9M on Friday afternoon, they'll be able to sort it hopefully. As I said I can live with it not working, but I'm going to central London next weekend parking on a road and I don't want to have it open at all to deter the scallies

 

[Porker993]

Been there done that got the teeshirt.
Maurice is correct. There is no way the cranking the motor will close the roof once the cables have snapped.
Remove the inner lining from the sunroof (pull it down and the poppers will unpop) and slide it out. You should now be able to see the small cranks (one each side) which push the roof into its upward locked position when pushed by the cables. Just rotate them manually and hopefully the roof will stay in the closed position.

Of course to do the job properly you will need to fit new cables - approx £70 for the pair so it is well worth doing. The only downside is you tend to get a crick in the neck fitting them. It took me two about hours the second time once I had worked out all the shortcuts.

 

[Guest]

On the 944 there was a plastic gear in the motor/gearbox which used to strip it's teeth. Maybe the 993 is similar? If so quite an easy fix.

Cheers

 

[Johnny C]

I took it into 9M. As soon as I told Mark what was happening he said 'Worm gear has broken'. He took it out and sure enough, the shaft of the gear that the worm drive turns had snapped off.

A new one is £275+VAT (for a small piece of cast alloy and a steel gear drive) so I had a 2nd hand one fitted. When I closed it though the roof was sticking a bit. He says it's the glue on the sunroof panel material, it never really sets, so during this heat it either expands or smears , the sunroof starts to stick and the gear snaps.

he says he's seen it quite a lot of late, only on 993s... so if your sunroof isn't as smooth as it once was, get it sorted before the gear snaps. It needs taking out and regluing with a different glue and the sliders cleaning. If it's happening a lot the supply of 2nd hand bits will dry up.