Restoring the sunroof *update, its in*

[neonglh]

When I purchased the car, the sunroof was removed, and a metal grate w/ a sheet metal delete panel was riveted to the roof, to cover up the hole where the sunroof goes. While its actually not that bad, i'd rather have the sunroof in there. How much work do I have to replace it do you think? I want to think I can do it in a weekend.

First, the drain problem. The reason it was removed was because it leaked so bad, I assume it was just clogged, so I'll follow the instructions in the sticky.

Next, the rivet holes, I'll have to drill them all out, remove the rivets, and then fill the holes in with body filler. This wont be too bad, my family does body work.

Then, I'll have to bolt in the sunroof and connect the drain hoses, and such, hook up the electrical connections, and replace the interior roof skin.

Anything else you see that I'm leaving out? Should I use any sort of sealant on the metal itself when I place the sunroof in the car?

Thanks everyone!

--mark

[neonglh]

Anyone? I dont want to mess this one up, its a pretty big deal

--mark

[John Drivesabox]

Well, if you unclogged the drains and still worry about the sunroof leaking, which it very well may do as usually clogged tubes is not the issue, go back to the sunroof sticky and follow any of the well written instructions for resealing the sunroof itself.

I recently added a detailed account of my process to page 5 here
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... &start=100

Depending on the year and style of your Legacy the process may vary slightly. There are many good write ups in the sticky, familiarize yourself with the knowledge laid out between the more in-depth write up's while disassembling your moonroof assembly (out of the car) if you need help understanding what each person is talking about. Look at the mechanics and think "If I was water, where would I go?"

Once this is done properly (or overkilled, as I ended up doing), your sunroof will never, ever, ever leak again. And when you see what Subaru used to seal the roof, you'll wonder how they ever sold car 1.

P.S. Somebody should start a thread with pictures of what board members (or even acquantainces) have done to seal their roofs. After hearing about a riveted panel, which I'd love to see pictures of, I'd like to see what else is going on with other wet butted Legacy owners.

[neonglh]

Here are some pics of my car, and if you look, you can see the riveted delete panel

http://www.rit.edu/~mamcmp/subaru/DSCF1706.JPG
http://www.rit.edu/~mamcmp/subaru/DSCF1708.JPG


--mark

[free5ty1e]

lol seconded.

My 94's sunroof was leakin a bit in the torrential downpour that is Orlando in summertime, when I got in there and looked around it turned out to just be a clogged drain (nothing a little compressed air wont fix) and some of the seal where the wind deflector pops up had been permanently crushed (by the wind deflector). Built it back up with some weatherstripping and epoxy and haven't had a leak since.

My 92 came with the wind deflector removed, to fix a similar leak as the PO told me. So that's another common fix.

I would like to see your riveted sunroof though

Edit: Ninja posting skills put yours just ahead of mine --- that looks cool

[neonglh]

So, after working on it with a friend from 11 pm - 6:30 am, I now have my sunroof restored! We ran into alot of problems that I did not plan for, so I will explain how we handled everything.

First, the sunroof in my car was not only covered up with the metal delete panel and rivets, but it had a metal grate welded into the opening belowit. First, we drilled out every rivet, and peeled off the delete panel. This revealed about 40 welds, 35 rivet holes, and lots of silicone.

Next, I sat there with the grinder for about an hour and cut every weld holding the metal grate in. This was really tough due to the fact that the grate was so closely nit. Some of it I had to cut the grate itself, not the welds, and then clean it up afterwards.

After the grate was removed, I spent another hour or so grinding all of the welds smooth, and making sure that the surface where there sunroof glass sits is factory smooth. I got it

After that, my buddy john went around and welded up all of the rivet holes. This was a timely process, but would ultimatly lead to a flawless roof. Then, when he was done, I ground down all the welds, to bare metal, leaving the roof perfectly smooth. A quick coat of primer left us with what looks like a never touched roof, and a perfectly smooth sunroof hole.

Right before I put the sunroof back in, I blew out the 4 drain hoses with an air compressor, then the sunroof bolted up no problems, it just fit perfectly You have to love prep work that pays off. Then, I cleaned up, and everything works!

I did find a burn hole on my passenger and drivers side seats from the welding (even though we covered it all up). Each seat only has a very small burnhole, which doenst even bother me, but...... i'm getting seats out of a 99 Legacy today, so it really didnt matter to me at all!

I will get pics up soon, but its great! I just have to paint it when I get some free time (and when I prep a few other spots for paint), and then it will be mint.

--mark