Super easy sunroof fix

[motorheadeb]

Hey I'm new on here. My name is Evan. I have an 81 and an '82 "s" model I plan to turbo soon.

So I have an easy fix for a common sunroof problem I've seen on the early cars. Many will run the sunroof back but when closing it will go only about 90 percent. The problem I have found is that with even very minimal wear to a couple of the parts the sunroof won't raise up to finish closing. Inside, their is a metal piece with a special groove on each side of the rear of the sunroof. A pin protruding from the "track slider" on each side engages the groove and when shutting the sunroof the pin is run up thru the grooved piece to make the sunroof return to its closed position. The problem is that they're frequently too weak to make that climb and the angle these pieces interact at is quite steep. Easy fix on the way...

Remove the lower sunroof panel (interior piece) buy opening the sun roof part way and loosening the three phillips head screws that are facing forward. You have to look close to see them as they're between the upper and lower halves of the sunroof (like put your head in the sunroof opening almost and look backward with a flashlight). The panel should pull forward and come out. Here comes the good part. The front of the sunroof mounts to a black slider piece the width of the sunroof with four gold colored (cadmium plated) bolts. Those four bolts go into a hinge on each side. Get a couple springs (you'll have to play with getting the right tension) to "wedge" between the bottom of the sunroof and the hinge itself. It's about a one inch space. The two together should provide about 5 pounds of lifting force it seems to me. I honestly believe Porsche should have done this from the factory. It's working great on my car. If the springs are too stiff it won't want to drop down to open. Good luck! Oh yeah, don't open the sunroof more than a couple inches with the lower cover off or those three metal finger springs sticking down will get caught.