So I bought a 98 gxe without a sunroof and i wanted to make sure if its possible to add a stock gle maxima sunroof

 

I wouldn't bother. Enjoy what you have. But if you must, anything is possible with a little money, time and mechanical skills.

BTW, please read the stickies. I revised your thread title to something with meaning. "sunroof" is a pretty poor title.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...ease-read.html

Welcome to the Org.

 

Decades ago it was common to add an aftermarket sunroof. No idea if it is still much of a thing.

If I was bold enough to attempt this I would get a donor car for the OEM parts. The headliner, map light, inner bracing, some wiring, drain tubes, etc. and of course the sunroof assembly. I'd cut as much of the roof out as needed and weld it in. The on to body and paint work.

BTW I almost never use mine.

 

Like JS above, I RARELY ever us e mine.

At this point after owning my 1999 since new, I wish I didn't get it. Higher head room, better insulation and quieter interior.

And most of all..... NO LEAKS! Been there.... Done that! Funny how 4th Gens get rust mostly where the water from the sunroof area is diverted to.

 

I'm in the same camp as you guys. Hardly ever use the moonroof, and wish it was a hardtop. The only hardtop Maxima I have is a 2000 SE, the rest have moonroofs.

 

For no sunroof im all for the weight savings, rigidity, less chance of leaks.

But darn it makes a world of difference tilting the sunroof when youre trying to cool the car off (ac or no ac and windows down) after its been sitting out in the sun all day above 100F.

 

Do you know that as you're approaching your Maxima and hold down the button on the FOB to unlock the doors, the two front windows open?

I'm sticking with NO moon-roof!

 

Yea, but opening the roof makes a huge difference after baking in the sun all day. My 98 was black on black, the A/C had a leak, a few summer days at 100°F ambient temps up here in the north east...been there. Imagine schmelly's car in AZ!

 

No sunroof = Good

 

Oh Im well aware, it scared the crap outta me when I accidentally found the feature. but that feature only works when youre in range halfway across the parking lot and hardly makes a difference in the ~3 min it takes to get to the car once you're in range of the FOB. The key here is air movement.

The best combo ive found to keep interior temps lower when parked is keep the windows cracked and use a sunshade for the windshield, keeps temps under 140 that way.

I assume youre on the east coast where none of this really matters much

Jsutter, Im also a giant moron and never reinstalled my ac compressor after my first 3.5 swap back in 2012.

 

Keep in mind that the factory S/R has a rolled edge, which will be close to impossible to replicate yourself. making the job almost impossible.

 

Be happy you don't have a sunroof. My car doesn't, and it's been great for all the reasons already listed. Generally speaking, this is one of those "if you have to ask..." kind of things where if you don't already know the answer to your question, then the project is probably out of your scope and isn't advised, because this would be a very involved project to do correctly. It would probably be easier to just sell your car and buy another that already has a sunroof. Anything IS possible, but not advised in this case.

 

After all that I just went through with my sunroof. FOGETABOUTIT. That's my vote anyway.

https://maxima.org/forums/4th-genera...oblem-now.html

 

ive owned my 97 since new as well and I had a leak one time in over 20 years.. I love my moon roof and still do use it.

for the rust area Just use a small wire brush to scrape and hit it with rustoleum paint... Easy fix to preserve some life.. tape off areas you need to protect of course.