944 sunroof is raising up and down (crooked) but does not unlatch for removal

[Archer944]

Ive got a 1985 944 with the electric sun roof and im in need of some help.

the sunroof works, it goes up and down properly but with one side higher than the other (photo attached)
there is also a noise that sounds like gears skipping when going up and down but only when its trying to fully open or close.
the other main problem is that the sunroof does not go into the "unlocked" position for removal so I cannot remove it for seal replacement

Ive read a bunch of different posts on the forums but nothing has helped too much. I also looked on clarks garage and 944 only

any help or tips are welcomed.
Brand new to the forum and 944's
Archer944

[Eskozki]

My sunroof didn't come off last summer, though it is fully functional and opens and closes evenly so what did it for me might not help you. The mechanism that pushes those "fingers" in and out was not secured properly to the car. What I found was that when the finger should have come down a bit more, the pin on the finger got stuck on the groove on the sunroof. I had to move the mechanisms a bit to find the correct position where the fingers went properly on the groove and slided to the unlocking position. Note that my car was missing the securing brackets that should hold the mechanism in a proper place

You can also use brute force in bending the fingers out of the groove. Stick a screw driver in the latch pins while the roof is open and force the latch pin out of the sunroof groove.

[Archer944]

Eskozki it sounds like we have the same problem. I think I have another problem on top of this one though.
What mechanism are you talking about? is it in the sun roof itself or under the interior body panels?

Ill try bending it out of the way for now
Thank you

[Stoneguy]

Looks to me like one of your gears that actuate the lift arms has jumped a tooth or two.
These gears are known to fail. Replace them. I think Pelican has them

[Stoneguy]

Also, on my 86 ( Not sure if it's the same on your 85) one click on ignition switch with roof down,sunroof button push unlatches roof for removal. With ignition switch in run position ( 2clicks) or running, only goes up and down.

[Eskozki]

Originally Posted by Archer944

Eskozki it sounds like we have the same problem. I think I have another problem on top of this one though.
What mechanism are you talking about? is it in the sun roof itself or under the interior body panels?

Ill try bending it out of the way for now
Thank you

You need to remove the roof lining material. I was talking about the cable driven system that the fingers move in and out from. Be extremely careful with the roof lining. It is very prone to tearing. see the photo

[Archer944]

Originally Posted by Stoneguy

Looks to me like one of your gears that actuate the lift arms has jumped a tooth or two.
These gears are known to fail. Replace them. I think Pelican has them

Thats what I was thinking too.
for now im just trying to get the seals fixed so it can be driven without fear of water leaking in.

thank you!

[Archer944]

That makes sense, ill take a look at that.
any tips for gluing that lining back in place? mine is already sagging because of water.

the help is much appreciated

[originalowner]

Your car has the early lifting mechanism*, which does not have the plastic gears. Your lifting fingers are cable driven from what Porsche calls a "gearbox," located in the center of the roof. Unfortunately, the workshop manual basically says don't disassemble any of this stuff, and service consists of replacing everything on top, including the drive cable to the motor, as one piece**. You're just going to have to get the trim off and see what is up.


*I was surprised to find the workshop manual has instructions for changing to the newer mechanism, so maybe you do have plastic gears.

** I was also surprised to find the part is still available, 94456494100, but not surprised to see it at over $1000.

[Monkey Wrench]

if Its just that a plastic gear is striped you could try to recreate it.

You can use what's left of the old gear to create a push mold, press it down into a block of plasticene. If some teeth are missing , lift it out and rotate it carefully to get an imprint of what is missing. when happy with the look of your mold. fill the void with epoxy or JB weld and let it set really well before trying to use it.

another way may be to use heat proof putty and then pour in molten aluminum.

cutting the gear teeth by means of machining is possible but a rather complex task, but you may be able to make a copy with a molding process.

they use a heat resistant putty to pour old style babitt bearings

https://www.rotometals.com/casting-retainer-putty-1-pound/

its good to 950 degrees, aluminum melts at 1220 degrees F so it looks like it's not heat resistant enough.. perhaps there is aone that is more appropriate.

there is an aluminum putty , that will harden up and evidently make something similar to aluminum.

https://www.grainger.ca/en/product/PUTTY-ALUMINUM-%28F%29-1LB/p/DVC10610


you can make a push mold from a product like FEMO or Primo, these are plastics wiht a consistency of plasticene.. you can mold like plasticene and then harden in a household oven, Its used for making jewlery etc. Not too expensive.

could try making a mold from FEMO from the old gear, then firing it to make it hard, then use the aluminum putty or JB weld or epoxy to create the gear from..

I typed "casting putty" into mcmaster carr. they have some different products. there will be lots of Utube on reproducing things by casting techniques.


I think there are various products you might use but the basic idea is to create a mold of yours and produce a copy of it, without any broken teeth.

if you succeed at making a mold you can send each of your friends a couple as copires from that may be easy.

one method is to use a disposable one time mold, and that may be hard, like plaster and break away.
another approach is to use a molding compound which has a rubber like texture like silicone , then you can pour in epoxy or a similar material and when it's hard the rubber mold can deform to release the gear and be reused to make more.

I'd perhaps try to get down to the actual failed part of the assembly. try to recreate it using some combination of the above ideas..

there are a large number of different products you may try, some of the molding compounds are designed to pick up and reproduce fine details, other stuff like silicone , JB weld, or epoxy are cheap to obtain.

a word of caution if you do try to pour any hot metal like aluminum , make sure your mold is not wet because even a drop of water in the mold can cause a hot metal explosion if the water vaporizes when molten metal is poured into your mold.


thousand bucks ,, wow Lots !

I have heard that if the back window fails, you may get water into the headliner area entering from near the top of the window of the hatch, so I'd just check and make sure that's not the issue.

[Stoneguy]

Monkey wrench,
I applaud your enthusiasm to fabricate a replacement gear. I just think it's a lot easier to order either a nylon or brass replacement one from Pelican for $10-$15 bucks but hey, that's just me.

[Monkey Wrench]

if you can just buy the gear that cheap of course that's a better solution. i was thinking he needed this whole assembly to get it.