968 sunroof, not typical problem I think...

Mike D. · Mike D.'s Garage

While raising my roof a while back I heard a pop/snap and the roof just fell back down and the arms retracked all the way back. Then, of course, I tried working the switch back and forth a few time, duh....Nothing....

I did a search for the typical gear repair and started taking things apart to see what I had. I found the plastic tube piece just off the motor was separated, not sure if it is suposed to be. And by working the switch, the motor had pulled the cable back into the fender compartment and now it wont go forward, only back.

Does anyone know what I'm dealing with here?

TIA,
Mike D.

1987944Sick · 11-23-2008, 02:20 PM

Broken plastic gears...$20 on ebay.. i am not sure what kind of gears the 968 use...check them

jbaeng · 11-23-2008, 02:57 PM

same thing happened on my 944 I bought earlier this year. same as Slick said, both gears were stripped. I followed Clark's-Garage guides to reset the cable position and checked all limits switches, the one in middle of the front of the sunroof needed to br replaced. if this switch does not close with the sunroof down it will not let the motor run in the up direction. once i checked it all and reset the cable position, it worked great all summer.

1987944Sick · 11-23-2008, 03:58 PM

after you get new ones..make sure its adjusted right,or they will strip again..

kdjones2000 · kdjones2000's Garage

Same thing happened to me on my '88. That coupler connects the motor assembly to the tube going to the gears. If it dropped all of a sudden like you mention, then I am guess that the coupler broke at that time.

You will need to fix that coupler, or the roof will not work. Get one from a junkyard, or maybe from a dealer. Not sure if it's available separately however.

The way things work is that as you extend the cable to lift the roof, the cable goes under compression and that coupler goes under tension.

The cable has backed out on you way beyond where it should have stopped. I think that one of your limit switches is not working properly, or (more likely) the plastic nylon piece where the cable attaches to has broken (ask me how I know).

Take the motor assembly out with the cable, hook it up to your battery charger or another 12V source, and make sure that everything is working properly. Once you have done this, and found a new coupler, then worry about the gears that others are mentioning.

Good luck,

Keith