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BMW E39 Sunroof Repair (Video Tutorial)

DIY: 
31K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  Javador 
#1 · (Edited)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SJQckNfIjA

Video Tutorial on how to replace the sunroof rails on a BMW E39. This particular tutorial was done on a 1997 BMW 540i with a glass style sunroof. The sunroof rails do have plastic parts which can break over time due to a lack of lubrication, sunroof being forced open/closed, or just from the plastic fatiguing over time. I would recommend replacing both sunroof rails while you are doing this procedure. This can be a time consuming procedure and the old sunroof slider may break and put excessive strain on the new rail which could also cause it to break. You can only buy a kit from the dealer which comes with all the new parts rather than just the individual part you want to replace. I did use OEM parts for this repair as well. An easy way to detect if the sunroof rail is broken, you should be able to tilt the sunroof by hand, but the sunroof will not tilt on it's own by the sunroof motor.

Tools/Supplies Needed:
-flat screw driver
-T-25 torx bit
-small Phillips screwdriver
-brake cleaner
-lithium grease
-right control rail kit PN 54-12-8-202-296
-left control rail kit PN 54-12-8-202-295

Procedure:
-when doing this repair, make sure you don't get any grease on your headliner
-start my pulling back the rubber accordion pieces on each side by simply pulling straight out
-tilt the sunroof up by hand and use a rolled up cloth to hold it into place
-remove the 3 T-25 torx bolts on each side (total of 6)
-lift sunroof glass out and place in a safe area (I used my trunk)
-next remove the wind louver at the front of the sunroof opening by popping out the 2 springs on the front side, then pulling the louver straight up, and sliding out the arms on each side
-remove the stoppers at the front of each sunroof rail which are held in with T-25 torx bolts (1 on each side)
-remove the sliders from the rails on both sides
-now in this particular tutorial, we won't be replacing the rear sliders because that does involve removing the sunroof driver cables
-on the metal flat brackets at the rear, remove the T-25 torx bit (1 on each side), then slide the pin out
-slide the arm portion of the sliders from the rails out on each side
-clean sunroof rails out using brake cleaner or some other form of de-greaser, then re-lubricate sunroof rails with lithium grease
-split down new rear sliders and reinstall on existing rear slider
-re-installation in reverse
-as for re-installing sunroof glass, remove the brackets from the front slider rails by removing the Phillips screws (1 on each side) and install on the sunroof glass itself
-place sunroof glass back into place, then push front sliders forwards
-align sunroof and tighten bolts
-pushing sunroof back into roof, then tight Phillips screws on front sliders
-recheck to make sure sunroof is aligned with roof properly
-reinstall rubber accordion pieces

PS. Been trying to get the YouTube video thing to work, but it's not so I just left the link instead.
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for the details.

:cool:
 
#5 ·
I'm having an issue with the sunroof on my 2003 540. Opens and closes fine, but doesnt tilt up. If i push the tilt button, the sunroof motors move but the glass doesnt. I can push it up by hand to the full height it would be open tilted.

I was looking through ECS parts site for the sunroof rail parts,.. the ones you listed arent on their page but do come up by a search.

See here: BMW E39 540i M62 4.4L Exterior Body Sunroof - ECS Tuning

I am getting a leak of water past the sunroof drains too so I may need to change the sunroof gasket also. It seems the drains cant handle a large amount of water gushing down them without overflowing and the gasket is allowing too much water to pass through.

Your video gets pretty dark after about the 9 minute mark, but it seems to have a lot of the info I need to do this. My only fear is realizing that the rear sunroof guides are broken or need to be addressed too. Wouldn't that mean that the ENTIRE sunroof cassette needs to come out? :confused3
 
#8 · (Edited)
Resurecting an old thread from the dead for a nice update... I just repaired my sunroof tilt function for the second time... first time was about 4 years ago. I used the same video that the OP posted above...

Back then I could not find the part that broke individually - I had to buy the whole rail repair kit above - they ran at the time about $70 per side.

I don't know if it just didn't exist at the time or I didn't look well enough but I found the individual parts on ebay a couple weeks ago for a whopping $7 a piece.

BMW E36 E39 E46 E53 Sunroof Slider Rail Repair Clip - Fast Quality from Michigan | eBay

and sure enough when they arrived they did indeed have the BMW logo on the pieces just like in the pictures. Hope this helps someone out.....



- Matt
 
#20 ·
Ah I see, that the rear slider, typically those don’t break so the DIYs don’t include it (sorry I know that’s zero help). I believe to detach those from the cables you are correct- you need to remove the entire cartridge, but I may be wrong, hopefully someone else has an easier way?
 
#23 · (Edited)
also found these in the rail as well. Where the hell did these come from?? View attachment 937277 View attachment 937278
Those are the standoffs found on the front top portion of the inner slider rail found on each side of the sliding shade. The shade sits on top on each side, there's a divet it mounts to, and then screwed on.

The headliner does not need to come off to get the rear slider out. Each rear corner end of the sunroof cassette, there are the 2 drain and a cover which can be removed. I think there's a clip or 2 on the sides of each that secure those covers to the cassette. Remove the cover. Remove the sunroof motor so the cable can move freely. The cable operates in a circle around the cassette perimeter. Push cable back until rear slider is at rear and it'll pretty much fall off. Note the slide needs to be fit in a particular spot on the cable. Same process each side.

To get to rear of cassette, remove C pillars and rear handle grabs. Be aware reinstalling C pillars is tricky.

Sunroof has a zero position all parts need to be at when in closed position. On top of bracket, theres perpendicular space where a long flat pencil can be placed to align. The ends of long stick go into square on the sidewall bracket to the rear mechanism. When all rear sliders line up with square, that's zero position.

Line it up first. Then put the motor back in.
 
#21 ·
So I figured out that those last two pieces belong to the Gators and are stops for them. I cant seem to find a place where I can get just the stops, it appears I have to buy the whole gators which are like $250 each lol. Anyway I am hoping someone can tell me where the stops go on the gators so I can put them back.

It appears I have to remove the entire cassette to fix this problem.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Sunroof side water channel:
937657


Rear sliding bracket:
937655
937656


Calibration will reset the cable's stop/end points to match the end movement of the sunroof, either tilted (maximum closed press) or open (maximum open press). It doesn't arrangements components to the working state. This is where brackets keep breaking for peeps. This is what they don't tell you.

This is what position zero manual adjustment is for and the most critical step to sunroof repair. All components have to be in correct positioning in relation to cassette and equal on both sides.

Make sure sunroof motor is out and sunroof cable is free to move by hand. Pic 1 above shows the 2 guide brackets (part called water channels) mounted to the cassette wall on each side, which guides the sunroof arms to lift and lower. See the square at one end. That's point A and D for the other side.

Pic 2 shows rear bracket. Pic 3 show the square slot that runs perpendicular to the bracket and wall. Those slots, B & C, per side, need to all be lined up. A + B + C + D.

There's actually an adjustment tool that fits the square slot on each side that runs from side to side. A very long stick, like chopstick will work. Or Home Depot, or just eyeball it.

Once those are lines up, that's zero, put motor back in, then do the calibration, hold back, keep holding.

Oh, and before motor in, first plug power into motor, before putting it in, and wind it to the maximum closed position, then install motor so motor position will match up with sunroof bracket placement.

(y)(y)
 
#32 ·
LIKE SOMEONE SAID 2 TO 3 YEARS AGO....RESURRECTING AN OLD THREAD. I HAVE IN HAND THE LEFT AND RIGHT RAILS FROM BMW. MY SUNROOF IS STUCK. WILL NOT MOVE. I CAN HEAR THE MOTOR WANTING TO ACTUATE THE SUNROOF BUT I DONT FORCE IT. THE SUNROOF IS ABOUT AN INCH FROM CLOSING. THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR CORNER OF THE GLASS IS SITTING LOWER THAN THE REST OF IT. IT'S HAS A LITTLE GANGSTA LEAN GOING ON. DO I NEED TO REMOVE THE HEADLINER TO ATTEMPT A REPAIR. THE 2003 VIDEO TUTORIAL IN THIS THREAD IS VERY DESCRIPTIVE AND AWESOME BUT THE RESOLUTION AND LIGHTING MAKES IT HARD TO FOLLOW ALONG. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED.
 
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