Sunroof stuck in vent mode: Help!

[guyatou]

I picked up a new project this week. It's a 1983 633CSI. I've got several things to get done before it's drivable, but the most pressing issue is the sunroof.

It's stuck in vent mode. The motor works, and I've tried cranking it by hand to no avail.

It will extend all the way up with the motor, but will only come down about a half inch before it makes a really bad grinding noise from the driver side. The thing that slides in the track and attaches to the lid is visible on the passenger side, but not on the driver side. Also, it appears that the lid is not attached to anything on the driver side.

Is there a way to remedy this? I have pulled a sunroof panel in an e28 before, but haven't encountered a situation where the top is stuck like this.

There's a good sunroof at a pull-a-part place locally, so I know I can get parts if needed. Any thoughts? Is there a way to remove the lid when it's up?

Passenger side appears to be correct:
633CSi sunroof issue by Michael Downes, on Flickr

The driver side appears to be missing something:
633CSi sunroof issue by Michael Downes, on Flickr

[guyatou]

UPDATE: I was able to carefully unclip the inner part of the lid and slide it out of the way. The rest should be easy. It looks like the entire plastic part is missing on one side.

There's a pull-a-part place in town that happens to have a 635CSi. I went over there to practice on their car before I attempted the repair on mine. (And snagged the plastic pieces and cables for $2 each). The rest should be easy from here.

[hornhospital]

Bit of advice: go back and strip every part you can off the salvage yard E24, even if you think you'll never need them. You may not ever have another chance like this to gather a spare parts supply.

[Dmckim]

Had similar issue in my friends '83. Issue was stripped sunroof cables. Cables have a spline on them that the motor engages on. I am guessing that the sunroof got stuck at one point, and PO just kept cranking on it until they stripped. This is why the manual crank wouldn't work either.

I had someone install them; they need to be aligned right so the sunroof opens correctly. I bought the cables OEM from BMW, but assume you could use them from that parts car it didn't face the same issue.

Dale
Buffalo, NY

[guyatou]

It turns out there were multiple issues with my sunroof, and there are evidently 2 styles of sunroof cables. The parts car was the late type, but my car is the early one.

I installed new cables and I think it's lined up close to right, but I found out it was missing the plastic gates. They're on order now, and I'm hoping that is the end of this mess. The car came with a new sunroof gasket that I was going to install after paint, but I might do it while I have the top apart next week to replace the gates.