Replace 84-89 Carrera sunroof rails?
 

Has anyone ever removed sunroof rails on an 84-89 Carrera and replaced them with the newer rails and cables?

The pictures in the Bentley manual show a sunroof rail out of the car and it looks as if there are two rivets still attached when the rail is out of the car. The manual states to pull the rail straight forward and then up as if the rivet is attached to some sort of head that would slide in a slot to an enlarged hole and then release. The rails do not seem to move at all when tapped with a hammer.

Has anyone been able to remove the black aluminum sunroof rails from an 85-89 Carrera? Did you have to drill out the front rivet? What secures the rail in the rear?

I have tried to tap the cable guides out the front of the rails but there just isn’t enough space to clear even with the wind deflector removed. It seems as if the rails will have to be lifted slightly for the guides to clear . This does not seem like a well engineered design but maybe it was a quick fix for the 85 year only.

Any one have any suggestions?

drill out the pop rivets, open the zipper and drop the gearbox in the rear, remove the air deflector, lift the front of the tracks up and slide out the cables, finish by pulling the tracks forward and out. the later C2 tracks need to be cut off carefully so they are the same length as the old ones.

John,

Thank you very much for that quick response. Is it worth it to go to the new C2 rails? I think I can epoxy the old cables back to the guides. The rails are just loaded with grease and I want to clean them out. The front of the rails seem not to serve much purpose. Do you think it would be possible to leave them rivited in place and just cut them in the front with a dremel to allow clearance to remove the guides?

Thanks
John

It is worth it - you will more than likely never have to touch them again. It is an easy job also. I am not an epoxy guy unless I am putting it on my garage floor - YMMV

-Jeff