familytr33

After hearing a horrible popping noise when initially opening the panoramic moonroof, followed by a nasty grinding noise as it slid back and forward, I recently used the most excellent videos by Pacfanweb to repair the rails/arms using parts from http://www.sunroofdoctor.com

I am not very car-technical and it took me maybe 2 hrs or so. It was not difficult but there are many individual steps. I must’ve gone into the house 30 times to play/pause/replay the video with greasy hands. I could have done it significantly faster with a printed doc at the car so I wrote this guide in case I needed to do this again.

All KUDOS to Pacfanweb. The videos are super-helpful. This written guide should be used as a supplement to Pacfanweb's excellent videos.

If you discover any problems in this guide just let me know and I am happy to amend.

ft.





REQUIRED ITEMS

New arms (about $150 plus shipping, available at http://sunroofdoctor.com )
Screwdriver with magnetic bit (magnetic bit not 100% required but screws are VERY small and in difficult locations - I would hate to have lost one)
Torx T25 bit
Philips #1 and Philips#2 bit
Flat-bladed scredriver, mid-size
Needle-nose pliers
Step-stool for access to roof


BEFORE STARTING

Note the glass and black sunroof parts get REALLY hot in direct sun so try and do this in the shade. I did it on comfortable high 70’s low 80’s day but some of the parts and glass got too hot to touch without gloves.



PART A - REMOVE THE SLIDING GLASS ROOF PANEL


Timestamps refer to above video by Pacfanweb

1. Start with moonroof fully closed.
2. Fully retract the shade (to the way-back position).
3. Vent the sunroof
4. Unless you are very tall, position the driver’s and passenger seats as high as possible to make it easier to access screws and lift glass.
5. [video 0:25] Remove the left concertina blind from your vented sunroof. Start at the top-rear and pull gently outwards until the top side is free. [video 0.42] Repeat at the bottom. Note that the bottom channel fits on the sliding plastic piece with tabs, NOT the metal ledge below it. Repeat for the right blind. Note the orientation with the smaller side at the top.Place the blinds out of the way, outside of the car or you will inevitably kneel or stand on them like I did.
6. [video 1:11] On the left remove the 3 torx 25 screws from joining the class panel to the roof rails. Repeat on the right.
7. Place some old towels outside on the rear, fixed glass roof panel to protect it.
8. Sitting in the driver’s seat carefully push up on the sliding glass panel. My guess is it weighs 30 pounds, but you only need to lift an inch or 2. Move the panel backwards onto the towels, and gently slide it back on top of the fixed glass, to avoid scratching glass or bodywork.

PART B - REPLACE THE RAILS



Timestamps below correspond to above video by Pacfanweb.

1. [video 1:29] pull the rail slightly outwards and move the sliding plastic trough guide about 6 inches towards the rear of the vehicle.
2. [video 1:53] On the left rail use a flat-bladed screwdriver to pop off the trough arm.
3. [video 2:38] Use the philips #1 bit to remove the stopper screw at the front of the rail, then remove the stopper. Note the the smaller side points up.
4. [video 3:03] Use philips #2 bit to remove 2 screw holding the plastic guide in place. Use the needle-nose pliers to remove the guide (you may need to push the plastic slider towards the center of the car).
5. [video 3:30] Use the flat screwdriver to lever the rail onto position where the locking stub can be pushed through the hole.
6. [video 3:48] Use flat screwdriver to lever the locking stub through the hole in the rail.
7. [video 4:02] While pushing down on the visor at the front, slide the rail towards the front of the vehicle to release it. It should come out without too much force.
8. YOU HAVE NOW REMOVED THE RAIL. NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO CHECK ALONG THE CHANNEL WHERE THE RAIL SLIDES FOR BROKEN PIECES OF PLASTIC FROM THE OLD RAIL. Do this from the front and back seats of the vehicle. You may wanna wear gloves since there may be a little grease in the channel. It’s worth checking the channel a few times to make sure there are no small pieces of plastic remaining.
9. [video 4:25] While pressing down on the front visor slide the new rail into place. Pacfanweb added significant grease to his ral, but the rail I purchased from SunroofDoctor already had some kind of grease on it so I did not add any extra.
10. [video 4:50] Line up the locking stub with the round hole on the rail and push it through. Not too much force required.
11. [video 5:15] Replace the stopper in the end of the channel. Careful not to over-tighten screw.
12. [video 5:58] Line up tabs on arm with holes on side of channel. Using a flat head screwdriver as a lever will help the adjustment.
13. [video 6:10] Replace the plastic guide/cover on the holes & use #2 bit to tighten the screws snug. Do not over-tighten.
14. [video 7:00] Replace the trough arm by popping back through the hole. No tools required.
15. [video 7:08] Pull the arm out slightly with your fingers and slide the trough guide back so the tab on the arm will engage with the guide. EASY TO FORGET THIS IMPORTANT STEP.
16. Replace the rail on the other side.

PART C - HOUSEKEEPING

1. With the vent still open replace the glass and lightly tighten the 3 screws down each side,.
2. Lower the vent and level the glass. According to guidelines in this thread [ [url=https://www.f150forum.com/f118/moonroof-adjustment-procedure-help-324603/index3/]https://www.f150forum.com/f118/moonr...324603/index3/ ] the front of the panel should be either level with or 1mm maximum lower than the metal roofline at the front of the vehicle. The rear of the panel should be either level with or 1mm maximum higher that the rear stationary flat panel glass.
3. Clean and lube the roof seals using Kryotex or silicone paste (exact prcedure and product name is in the forums)
4. Initialize the sunroof electronics. Steps for this are on the forum.
5. In vented position replace the concertina blinds.

flynavy812

iTrader: (2)

I’ll be the first to say what a great write up! It’s awesome that someone is willing to put all this effort forth and I’m sure it will help someone in the future!

mtech

Thank you for making this write up. It will be sure to help many of us here.

Oldsmuggler

I’ll print this out and keep it in my glovebox

B737

are the parts from the sunroof doctor better than the parts from ford?
Pacfanweb channel is awesome, there is so much good information in his videos.

Hackker

Thanks for putting together this guide, I have a '15 and a few weeks ago went to open the sunroof and heard a nasty *crack* and immediately realized what broke. Just ordered the parts and will hopefully be doing the job within a week.

Pacfanweb

Thank you. I did it for the fun of it, because when I run across something I've not seen, first place I go to is the forum for whatever kind of vehicle it is, so I figured this could help return the favor, so to speak. And it just kind of blossomed from there when people started asking me questions, so I made more videos, lol.

As far as Sunroof Doctor's parts.....I don't know. I've not used their parts for this particular repair, other than a set a customer bought and had me install. I recommend them because I've used their repair kits for the 2014-down sunroofs that also break. Those are great. Done a load of them, so I know their customer service is top notch.
But I mostly use arms from dealerships, since most of the ones I do for them are under warranty.

Since then, Ford had updated the arms twice. Fall of 2019, and then about a month or so ago. There was a definitely change in Ford's arms in 2019...they had noticeable differences, and also came pre-lubed with a gray grease.
Only change I've seen with the newest part # is the little plastic pieces that you remove, with the 2 small screws.....the new parts now have those parts with 4 new screws in the box. Don't know why, unless they found out people were breaking the old ones. But that's the only difference I've noticed.

Latest parts have a suffix of "E". 2019 update was "D", so if you get a Ford set you want one of those to make sure you have the updated arms.

familytr33

Pacfanweb,

Just wanted to say thanks 'in person' for the super-helpful vids. I did this repair a year ago and there's no way I would have been able to do it without your vids. The moonroof has worked great ever since (touching wood).

Out of interest have you ever seen the problem re-occur after the arms have been replaced?

Many thanks agin,

ft.

8202632

Awesome write up and video. Gives me the courage to try this

Pacfanweb

Not since they came out with the current version of the arms in fall of 2019. I've not seen those break, yet. The older versions, I've replaced them twice on the same truck, but not since the new ones were released.
The only thing I see now is, after you put on the new arms, the lower guide in the track might let go later...usually much later, but I've seen a few. Just did a track last week that I replaced the arms on July 2020. Finally gave up the ghost this month, but there's a TON of "your mileage may vary" with that. Most never have a problem, but the arms breaking and all the crunching and popping sometimes does lead to failure down the road....but not usually.