Hi, After a bit of a delay i'm back working on the car - i'm just after a few tips to save a bit of time! I've cut through the four sun roof brackets and drilled the 4 small spot welds, the cassette seems to be glued in place, so whats the best way to remove ? Screwdriver up and around all the seams / heat / brute force / all of the above ? Also, i was assuming i could remove the sun roof cassette in one piece, but looking at it i'm not so sure after all - is it easier to angle grind it in two before removal ? Thanks for any tips :-) Cheers Alistair
I used a grinder to grind off the flange round the aperture then used a heat gun to soften the glue at the rear part and gently pulled it away (be careful not to damage the paint on the roof if you're not painting it..!). I seem to remember cutting it into two pieces front/rear. Good luck-it's a bar-steward of a job!
As Mike says the grinder is very useful for this job... I cut all the way round the apperture & then cut the cassette in half front to back. I think I then pulled it off with the aid of a screwdriver. Be careful though as myself, Marshy & Gav have a few tiny pin dents in the roof. The front section is hard to grind through at the front corners but do-able with a new disc. Just remember to cover your glass otherwise you will end up with pitted glass with grinding rash!!
just been trying to remove the sunroof tray, what a ***** of a job! A small grinder wasnt big enough to get up to the side spot welds so i used a screwdriver/chisel and hammer to snap the four brackets/welds. released the tray from the sealant and cut the tray in half. drilled out 9 spot welds on the front IIRC. but cant seperate the tray from the roof at the front, couldnt see the four weld on either side of the sunroof opening so tried to seperate with a chisel, then found the welds when it wouldnt seperate. ened up cutting round one side with a grinder. might have to do this to the front too. its a real hard job without damaging the roof. managed one pin dent and a little chip of paint so far :-( oh well get there in the end.
Yes all of the Bristol Possy removed the sunroofs with muchos use of the grinder!!! we all have about 3 pin dents in the roof skin. ahh well.
Have to say in retospect i'd leave the tray in as itdoesn't weigh that much at all, but remove all the unboltable stuff and plate over the aperture, then obviously fit a sunroof cage.
guess you havent bothered removing the bitumen flooring then? the weight all adds up mate. its coming out. plus i want the cage as high as possible to the roof skin.
Here's a link to another sunroof removal thread, which was done very neatly, by steve r, a couple of years ago: http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19206
just been catching up on all the race series threads and thought i'd have to comment on this one i've fitted a sparco cage to a sunroof model and found it fit straight in without having to modify the legs or remove the sunroof skin. i'd removed the sunroof before i recieved the cage mainly because of its weight and just incase the cage didn't fit with it in. i'll have to get some pictures up on this, i've got lots of detail on the sunroof removal and cage fitment.
oh i take it a rivveted cover for the sunroof hole is fine? i've smoothed off the edges and sealed it already and wouldn't like to remove it
Would I be right in thinking that many people have used a plate rivetted on to the roof? Rather than permanently attatching the original steel sunroof panel? (I've forgotten to look at peoples roofs from all the meetings I've been to, d'oh!)
