Is this correct (sunroof question)?

[rs6er]

Do I have the spring in the right place (i.e. below the pin)?

[KevinP73]

Yes thats correct but I'm not sure you have the clip positioned properly. The little tabs on the clip should be under the tabs on the sunroof side. It may be just the light.

[KevinP73]

This tab

[dentist90]

That's a good question, and timely. I just replaced my sunroof cables today, but have had my sunroof off a couple of times already. My spring just swings over the screws on the rear mount. It seems to me that you really have to strain that piece of metal to get it over that arm. And like mine, you have that little scuff mark on the sunroof that coincides with where the spring arm rests when it is just overlaying the screws.


My roof had the spring against the roof the first time I opened it up, but I'm not saying that is the correct position. I'm not even sure what that darn spring is for! Anybody know for sure what it's function is?

[mattmcginn]

The spring piece is positioned correctly in the photo, but the bracket is not.

What the flat, body-colored spring does is exert downward tension on the sunroof panel via the round bar (3mm or so that is attached to the sunroof cable ends) which keeps it from flipping upward before it is all the way forward. The Nylon pivots on the cable ends allow the sunroof roof panel to drop down instantly when the panel is moved rearward (due to the downward tension of the spring-not just gravity) as well as to rise into position when it encounters resistance when moving forward, and the springs counteract that to a degree.

If you don't put them that way, and are fooled by the little scuff marks on the roof, thinking (logically) that the scuffs indicate that the spring always sits there, the slightest resistance as the sunroof panel moves forward will cause it rise prematurely, scraping underneath the actual roof. Usually this does not occur if all is nice in the tracks and everything is balanced side-to-side, but let a burr get in there, and the roof will jack up and scrape. It is more of a problem on electric roofs rather than manual, because the switch is an on/off thing. (old BMW's had cranks with the same system, and you can feel the resistance better)

The scuff mark is where the flat spring sits when the roof is shut and the spring has no tension.

As was stated, the bracket "wings" needs to be positioned within the receiver tabs on the roof.

Many 60's-70's Golde sunroofs are built like this. BMW's of the era used the same system and many of the movable bits are interchangeable if you get in a jam.