Ok so a got a problem with the cables of the sunroof and the slider boxes on the sunroof.

When you put the cables forward there are small T bars that cant be taken off anyway besides cutting them i guess. And that is my question, how can i take off these small T bars off without breaking the ends of the cables. ill get some pics later on.

 

I'm not too sure what the T bars are you're referring to, but I can say that the cables are part of an entire sealed assembly. I suppose you could take it apart but putting things back may be too much work. That's what happened to me. Those white plastic links at the rear broke so I took the cable assembly apart and decided to just buy a new one in the end. It wasn't cheap though.

 

someone here by the name of ed purchased the sliders from me. i took them off easily. and the sliders didnt break at all. that sucks though cuz the sliders are the only part of his sunroof that are broken. i guess ill wait and see if anyone else has input.

 

up

 

bump

 

i think i know what you mean, and quite frankly, they werent made to be rebuildable or replaceable.

its not going to come off cleanly.

i tried replacing something too. some plastic piece that broke off that made one side sit lower. there was no way to fix it cleanly. i ended up scrapping the whole assembly and fixing the roof in place when i turned the car into a race car.

 

I just redid my sunroof cabling and slider bracket assembly after purchasing parts on this list, which was a great transaction btw, thanks Mog. I’m sorry but the pictures are of very poor quality, but I tried. Also, I apologize for not writing this up sooner, I have many areas of demand right now.

I drilled out the rivets of the slider brackets to be able to replace the white plastic piece that slides within the bracket. It was necessary to feed the plastic piece into the bracket, and I wanted to clean out the interior of the bracket. After I did my repairs I spot welded the riveted holes.

The end of the cable must be freed of what I believe is being referred to as the “T bar” here. Special care must be taken not to damage this black plastic piece, as it actuates a lever switch which in turn actuates a micro switch. It must not be compromised, and therefore limits reassembly of the cable end options, for instance, soldering, welding etc. as the piece would not hold up well to heat. To liberate the cable end of its outermost piece without damaging this T bar, I used a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and cross cut the end piece before removing it with pliers. I include a picture of the cutoff wheel, in this picture I am cutting a patch panel to repair the rusted section of the sunroof panel. It is for reference.

I went to two bicycle shops here in Dallas where I do business for my other hobby. I asked my buddies what they used to terminate cables, as I was now ready to reassemble the cable slider. As it turns out their bicycle cables come to them already terminated (looks like soldered). They had no help for me. I then went to a hardware store and found a piece of aluminum that was close in diameter to what I needed with a hole already in it. I made a ‘lathe’ of sorts out of my dremel chuck, filed the new piece to the desired diameter, and finished the end in the shape of a bullet as the original. Now was the challenge of affixing it to the cable without distorting the T bar but having sufficient strength to not pull off the cable while opening/closing the sunroof.

I drilled a hole in the replacement end, while in place on the end of the cable, that was .040”. I then fitted a piece of steel wire from my mig welder into the hole. I had a fit. There is a picture showing this. To assist with this mechanical holding force I also JB welded the piece onto the end of the cable, and ‘staked’ it with a screwdriver and a hammer lightly to simulate crimping, which is how I believe the original piece was affixed. So actually, I had three holding forces when I was done. The JB weld dried for a couple of weeks.

A couple of things I learned.
1) I truly believe that the original white plastic piece broke because the suspension on my car had been changed to be very stiff. Therefore, when hitting a bump the sunroof would be bouncing up and down on that plastic slider instead of its original intended force plane. Also, my stops were broken in the back and I believe the sunroof came out of its guides at some point which also allowed for ‘bouncing’. I have gotten new suspension components to install in the vehicle that are a little more compliant.
2) I cleaned all of the old grease from every inch of the cables. It takes on a waxy consistency from age and thermal swings so I dug this out with a dental pick and a small wire brush. Included in this bit of **** cleaning was the motor gear and housing. The cable is now lubed with molybdenum disulfide grease, which is what Honda called for originally. The sunroof is action is smooth, quiet, and quick now.
3) Parts are NLA, and I realize this fix is not for the faint of heart, but without replacing the entire sunroof tray this is really the only way that I could see of repairing it.
4) This fabricated piece is maybe 1/4" long. Patience is the key here.

Finally, a special thanks to Scott (Mog) for sending me quality parts, that were even cleaned, for a fair price. He followed up with emails, pictures, and patience. You are a gentleman that is true to your word and I thank you.

Ed

Dallas, Tx

 

One last point of clarification: I trimmed the wire that I used for pinning to match the diameter of the end piece. I left it long here for illustrative purposes.

Ed