Ok, I’m still struggling with the roof. I had it all in a while ago with new cables but without the inner panel. It sort of worked but went through 3 gear cogs straight away. I took it all out cleaned all the runners , cleaned all the cables, ordered another cog, while the inner panel was being trimmed. So today I thought I’d have a go at it again. I put the tracks in with the inner panel , the inner panel is slid to the back as per instructions. Then I hit a problem shown in the picture. The new cables have straight fittings where the original ones were bent . Do I risk bending the new ones ?
Bend em Common mistake people make is to remove the rails to clean and not refit them properly in a bracket at the back of the roof cavity. Makes the roof stiff to move. The only movement I make “unassisted” is a small gap when opening then assist by pushing. Then the other way when closing. It doesn’t need it but it just takes the pressure off. I shouldn’t be stripping cogs. Something is too tight
I don’t think that will make any difference tbh. The spring clips on the roof panel just rest on the brass bits. In fact to start with, we didn’t fit the roof springs just to make it easier going from the low to high transition. We also laid everything out on the floor and preassembled first before fitting to the bus. I purchased as many spares that were available before assembling, but didn’t find the repro sunroof parts much good and ended up reusing og parts, except the cables which were repro. I also found the gear plate had to be tight to stop it slipping. I have yet to do the inner panel as that seems incredibly heavy to move and extra strain on the cables etc. I am thinking of another option, but have yet to decide on that. Maybe trimming some foam and sticking direct to the roof.
I’ve left the inner panel off and trimmed the inside of the outer panel, helps air flow in the void and puts less strain on the cables. I’ve also put a metal plate over the plastic cover above the cog because the 40 year old plastic warps and doesn’t help hold the cables tight down on the cog!
that’s exactly what I was thinking of doing. I had toyed with making a lite weight ali frame to trim rather than the heavy pressed steel, but seemed overly complicated. I’ve been using mine all summer and it’s been fine, so once you get it set up it’s great. Hopefully it will survive another year. I find it’s best to operate it whilst stationary, rather than driving along. I’m away till new year, but happy to send some pic or email once I’m back.
Ok, another couple of days spent playing with it. I bent the lifters , then discovered you can’t wind the roof back to see how well it’s works as the lifters won’t go over the panel anyway . I’m reluctant to clip the inner panel to the roof to try it. I would love to see how well they worked when new . I too am tempted to loose the inner panel, or just put a pop top on the damn thing...or I should have bought a tin top
No, to be honest I need to redo it a bit neater, slapped a bit of acoustic carpet on it back in the summer just before we went away
I was thinking of leaving the lifters exposed, so any future problems and you can get access to the mechanism. One problem I have had is it doesn’t always drop down into the lower track, so without the inner panel you can see that. It’s all worth it in summer when you are parked up with the roof open and that amazing view.
Its worth putting a bit of some insulation or carpet on an exposed exterior panel in the roof. Otherwise when the ice on the inside melts it can surprise occupants. My Devon vent was replaced by a PO with a bit of tin and my kids werent pleased by the icy drips.. Solar cell cables go off to side.
Update .... I’ve removed the roof again, I made a metal plate to go over the plastic where the gears are to help keep it rigid as suggest earlier. The new cog is already showing signs of wear. Now when I turn the handle the cable jumps and the near side cable moves at a different rate to the other side. Has anyone fitted a pop top over the hole ? I’ve waisted enough money and hours on this thing
Vw fitted Westy pop tops directly over them on the rear lift roof ( I have a spare if you go that way) the sunroof will never work with a worn cog, the reproduction ones are useless
Another small but vital part is the square stainless plate that goes on top of the cog to hold the cables tight against it, have you got that?
