I'm too tired to give all of the details but I will definitely post what I went through with my cousin's 97 GLE today. We took the sunroof out because the drive cables snapped. Replaced the parts and we have yet to put the interior back together. Sunroof's are a biotch to configure but we fixed it. The dealership wanted to charge my cousin $900 to do the job but the job ended up costing him $43 just for the parts. I have pics and all but if anyone runs into sunroof problems, I can sure tell you what could be the problem after my experience today.

 

Hey, on my sisters 95 SE, one of the plastic guides on the driver side snapped. It's a little piece of plastic that allows the glass to tilt and slide back and forth. Do you know if that will easy to replace? I've take her sunroof out twice and dealer did not want to sell me that part separately. They wanted to sell me a whole driver side rail for $500+
If you know where I can get that part or if you have a spare one, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks
Anton

 

I'm going to get you the part number tomorrow. Nissan sells a rebuild kit that costs $43. You might as well change both sides.

 

Deez., you're the man. My sunroof has been boken for almost year now. I hate it. The dealer told me $1400!! What exactly were your cousin's symtoms? Mine would open but need to be closed by hand. And it wouldn't tilt. (I'm speaking past-tense because I shimmed it flush with the roof and haven't touched it since). Anyway, I think mine might be different as my dealer said $500 for parts, $900 for labor. You're saying only $43 for parts. Thanks.

 

Good work...

This is one of the BIG ONES... definitely FAQ/HOW2 material...

Now I don't have to stress as much about using the sunroof...
$43!?!?! What a joke...

 

ptatohed: I am going to finish putting my cousin's interior back together and try to put something together for the org. You definitely need the parts I bought yesterday to fix your problem. My cousins sunroof would open but not close. There are acouple of modifications I mad to keep the gear in contact with the cable which slides the glass back and forth.

Chunger: I did take pics of the most important parts of this rebuild and I will post them when I get a chance.

 

i didnt know the max had sunroof issues??

mine's never given me a problem.. this is no good.. no i am nervous.

 

The cables disengage from the tracks then the glass doesn't move.

 

Oh sunroof guru, hear my prayer

The rear left corner of my sunroof sags slightly, so I've got to tilt it slightly to properly seal the opening. I know, there's a drain channel BUT the water actually drips in to the slide rail and makes its way to the front, where it then drips through the two bolts that attach the motor to the assembly (from the cabin side). Anyway, I've siliconed that sucker so no more water drip, but I'd still like to figure out how to re-align my sunroof so it's actually CLOSED in the closed position.

 

You may need a new track in itself. No water is supposed to leak in that area. On each corner of the whole sunroof track there are rubber hoses to drain the water down thru the pillars. Are they damaged?

 

deezo

Open up your sunroof and look at the track. The drain area is on the outer extreme (black?) and then there's the track (silver?) which encircles the front and trails off to the back under the roof sheet metal.

If you look in the channel of the track at the front, you'll see two 'bolts' that are flush with the track ... the bolts are accessible from the cabin.

My drain hoses are clear, any water that falls in the drain area will drain down the tubes but because the sunroof sags slightly on the rear left corner, the water can drip in to the drain area AND the track - once water ends up in the track, it builds up and reaches the two bolts in the front then it drips through. I don't see any drain holes for the track.

Does what I say make sense?

I suppose you could pour some water in to the track and pop your sunroof switch open and see if water enters.

I siliconed the two bolt openings on the track so no more water should go in. I just don't like the idea of having water stuck in the track.

 

I understand. It seems that the track is bent or not seated properly.

 

What is?

 

Nice work. Need to try and work on mine. Dealer wanted $450.

 

Duh!!! I'm an idiot. This is it...........

 

That's great! Thanks again Deezo. That's the part number, but what would the actual name be? You called it a 'sunroof rebuild kit' before, is that the "official" name? Thanks again.

-Josh

 

That what the parts guy at Nissan told me.

 

Good write up deezo!

I was going through your write-up and a thought crossed my mind. The left track is obviously bent or not aligned since the rear left corner sags, so what are the chances I could adjust the height of the glass?

See this pic from write-up

Looking at that pic, I'll need to adjust the left track. Based on your experience, is it doable? Any tips? What level of interior trim disassembly is required?

Thanks

 

Deezo, the pic below shows the part that is broken on my sister's car. It's on the driver side. Is that included in the rebuild kit? Also, if you have your old one, maybe you can just sell that to my sister so we don't have to buy the whole kit.

 

You will need to remove the sunroof and ly it on a flat surface. To even out the tracks so that the glass will sit level, you will need to remove the motor. If you look at the motor on the opposite side of where the gear is facing, there is a small nylon circle with a small line on it. You will need an allen key to turn the motor to get these lines to line up. There is also a line on the motor casing. These two lines should be lined up before you reinstall the motor onto the sunroof track. This indicates the closed position. Without the motor attached you can now adjust the part of the track which is shown in the pictures. Use a screw driver to move the track. If you push it forward, the glass will sit higher. If the track is sitting too low, the glass will be too low when in closed postion. Does that make sense? Then when you get both sides even in height and in closed position, put the motor back on. I drilled 2 extra holes where the gear sits in its guide to connect to the cables that move the track, then used tie straps to hold the motor tight to the sunroof assembly where the gear connects to the cables. What happens is the motor has a lot of torque and when the gear is tring to pull and push the glass, the gear is being pulled away from the cables pulling on side more than another. This is why one side is sitting lower than another.

 

They both were broken. This job was done on my cousin's Maxima. This kit is around $43. If the dealership says they can't get the part, give them a smack in the neck. People are getting ripped off by these dealerships to do this job. All the parts are in the kit. Even some small white shoes for the track to glide on while in the track.

 

woo! Deezo's the man! If my sunroof breaks, I'm all set now hehe. They wanted $300 to install my strut mount bearings ... they like to charge a lot. And you're lucky if dealerships have a competent service department.

 

Sheesh! That Deezo doesn't mess around, does he?

 

And I'm glad he doesn't ... thanks deezo. I'll look through the FSM and see if there's a blow-up of the sunroof assembly, then I'll probably tackle my sunroof when I have some time.

Until then, the tilt feature and some EPT 1010 or 1040 from Nitto Denko will have to do. You gotta love compressible seals.

 

Good to see you guys are happy about this. If my cousin could dance, he would have after see how much money I saved him.

 

where is it ? Thanks....

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=132724

 

Oh, now you tell us! I was waiting for your write-up. :P Looks real good. Thanks again.

 

Its not a complete writeup. Just some pics of our day.

 

so mr nice man...would u know anything about 3rd gens then? cause my chilton's has nothing on sunroof repair, and either my rear drains are plugged or the 3rd gens only have them up front...do u think its possible to replace the rubber surround as a diy?

 

I'm confident that 4th and 5th gens didn't change the mechanism much between the models. I'm thinking why would they if the job isn't going to be any different? I can't give you information on the 3rd gen sunroof but I bet its the same in most ways than not. Therefore you should have rubber drain hoses on the 4 corners of your roof.

 

Deez., ever get that full write-up done?

 

Yes: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=132724

 

Thanks Calvin but I'm puttng a more detailed version together.

ptatohed: I'm sorry its not done yet. I've been busy as hell at work and dealing with personal issues. It's on the back burner for now but I promise I'll get it done within the next couple of months.

 

You guys with the 95+ are lucky to have this kit. Just got off the phone with numerous Nissan parts dealers and for the 89-94 maximas, no rebuild kit is available. Rails and guides are $392, no thanks. Debating if the junkyard would be worthy of used rails/guides.