Adjusting the Sunroof and Fixing Leaks, Series III XJ6 XJ12

Well gang, I think I'm done with my sunroof.

To refresh memories: I've been fiddle-futzing around with my sunroof for a few weeks trying to get the outer panel to fit properly in the aperture. It was a fitting bit "proud" on the leading edge and didn't seem to slide far enough forward.

Eventually I came to realize that the ramps and cables adjusting wasn't enough and my only choice was to adjust the entire sunroof assembly. With information and encouragement for several helpful listers (thanks, guys !) I decided that "today was the day".

Lowering the headliner: no big deal, just as I had been told. The side garnish moldings pop off easily with a trim removal tool and it's all quite self explanatory. I did manage to cut my finger a bit on what was surely a cheap left-over-from-the-Leylend-era clip but, as luck would have it, I my precious Irish blood only on a part of the fabric which is covered up by the trim. Much more meaningful, I think, than simply signing one's name on the trim.

As always, it was a bit fiddly and frustrating finding some of the holes for the trim screws when time came for reassembly. In a rare moment of lucidity I started all the screws loosely before driving any of them home, thus allowing the headliner to be "maneuvered" (TeeHeeHee) a bit to facilitate easier insertion of subsequent screws.

There came a point when the edges of material around the sunroof opening needed to be re-glued. Wish I had three hands. With no convenient place to keep the cement, I ended up with the bottle in my shirt pocket and that worked fairly well although I did feel a bit silly. Sadly, I somehow managed to smear a bit of cement on an exposed area of the headlining but some lighter fluid dispensed with that little problem....well, most of it, anyway. I wasn't very pleased that I goobered up the headlining a bit. Oh hell, I can always say the DPO did it, right?

Adjusting the sunroof assembly is not technically difficult....the adjustments are self evident....three brackets on each side....but it did take quite a bit of patience. The brackets ....indeed, the entire assembly.... seemed rather flexible and"springy". It took about an hour and fifteen minutes of back-and-forth adjustments to get everything even.....much longer than I anticipated, not that I had anything else to do today except, of course, my laundry.

Anyhow, I got everything just where I wanted....or damn close.... and cinched down all the bolts good 'n' tight and then rechecked the fit again. Ahhhhh...much better. Perhaps the odd little wind-rush noise will be reduced now, too.

OK, I pressed on with reassembly, which went quite well. No leftover bits and no more bloodshed. Somehow, though, the panel had levitated a millimeter or so. Other than poltergeists I have no explanation for this occurrence. As fun as all this was, I'll confess lacking the enthusiasm to take it all apart again. Hope you guys don't think any less of me ! :-)

All-in-all, a major improvement and I only wish I hadn't waited so long.

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Channell: I synthesized this from all the archive hits I could find. My compliments to all whose experience and snippets found their way into the summary.

I would appreciate anyone who has been through sunroof removal and adjustment letting me know what might still be missing.

XJ6 SIII Sunroof Adjustments

To get it to close further:

1. Begin by removing the rear seat. Seat itself is held by screws in front and the back by bolts visible when seat part is removed. Once the nuts are off the back brackets lift the seat back up and then pull forward. This will clear three clips which also hold it in position.
2. Behind the seat at the center,is a cover over the gear which drives the rods (or cables, I'm not sure how you'd classify them). Remove the retainer, allowing the rods to move freely and slide the sunroof back a ways, then forward as far as possible. The sunroof should move by hand from outside the car or by pushing and pulling on the rods. Do this a couple times to insure that it's moving forward as far as it can go, and is aligned correctly. This will insure nothing is binding.
3. Once closed securely,mate the rods with the drive gear,reinstallthe retainer, and try it with the motor.(oh, make sure you remember which rod goes to the top of the gear, and which goes to the bottom....) YOU MAY WANT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE MADE ALL ADJUSTMENTS BEFORE REASSEMBLING THE DRIVE ASSEMBLY AND REPLACING THE SEAT.
4. If step two doesn't allow it to close all the way he may have moved the position of the rack stop on reinstallation. Check to see if there is evidence of where it was and reposition. SEE BELOW.

Sunroof position adjustment

1. Open the sunroof all the way. This exposes a black plastic wedge about 1 1/2 inches long on the edge track of the sunroof on each side (viewed from the top). This wedge controls the position and lift (height) of the sunroof as it closes.
2. Put one finger behind (aft) of the wedge and with the other hand, CAREFULLY push it toward the rear, and it will pop off (the reason you put your finger behind it is so that it doesn't fly rearwards and disappear into the space underneath the sunroof ... original poster states he learned this the hard way!)
3. There are then two 10mm nuts exposed that hold the metal clip to which the black plastic wedge was clipped.
4. Loosen the two 10mm nuts and adjust the metal clip forward (perhaps 1/16" at a time), adjust both sides, left and right track wedge clips. Before loosening and moving the clips, put a mark to indicate where they were when you started. This gives you a baseline position.
5. Make small incremental adjustments.
6. Tighten the nuts and reattach the plastic wedge by pushing it back onto the clip.
7. Test the adjustment by closing the sunroof, and continue to adjust as needed.

Sunroof height adjustment

1. While the black plastic wedges are off. On the underside there should be a set screw which can be turned counter clockwise to raise the roof or clockwise to lower.
2. Adjust each side as necessary and replace the wedges and test.Re-do as necessary to get each side even and at the proper height.
3. Again use small increments as you don't want to bind the roof or raise it high enough to scratch the paint.

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Some of you may remember my sunroof adjustment trials and tribulations. I never mentioned, though, that in the process of all the fuss I determined the weatherstrip was shot and I ordered a replacement. I was in the right mood today to install it and I will detail the simple job in a few moments. But first.....

I discovered something that may be interesting to some of you as it relates to s/roof leaking and rust. The weatherstrip is hollow inside, a tubular affair. The underside of the weatherstrip....the "cabin side", lets' say......has openings in the tube at the corners. This is a little hard to put into words....but, if the outer portions of the weatherstrip (the "weather side") have splits (as mine did) water actually enters the weatherstrip "tube", travels along, and exits the "tube" at the two rear corners...or any other place where the tube is split open from age. The "corner leaks" are not that big of a deal as the water would drip into the sunroof tray and be carried away via the drains. But the areas where the weatherstrip is split where it is seated against the panel itself are likely to develop rust. I know this to be true........... ! Just something to think about.

Replacement is easy. Open the sunroof about 10 inches and remove the four screws at the forward edge of the panel. Now partially close the sunroof ....leave it open about 4 inches or so. Grasp the leading edge and pull the outer panel forwards and upward to disengage the panel from the rear-edge hold down clamps. It takes a good tug so don't worry about breaking something. Once the rear is disengaged you can wriggle the panel out.

I used my blanket-covered coffee table as my work bench. You'll see that three sides of the weatherstrip are held in place by retaining strips. Lots of tiny screws to remove here...be careful. They are very soft and I couldn't find I couldn't find a Posi-drive or Phillips screwdriver with exactly the right head for a good purchase on the tiny screws . Remove the screws and retainers and peel away the old weatherstrip.

You'll see that the trailing edge of the weatherstrip doesn't use a retaining strip but, instead, the w/strip fits into a small channel. I started here and found it very easy to work the rubber into the channel using my thumb nails. I made mistake, though, with my choice of lubricant. Being out of silicone spray I used Armor-all instead and it worked fine but........it dawned on me that I was introducing a water based product into the small channel ! Not a good thing ! I redid that section using (don't laugh) a small amount of vegetable oil. Hope this doesn't hurt the rubber.....I don't see how it would.

Anyhow, you'll also readily see how the steel retainer strips actually engage the weatherstrip and it's a very simple matter to slot the retainers and the w/strip together and screw the retainers back onto the panel. There is some sliding adjustment available so you may draw the w/strip tightly onto the edge of the panel. Of course you'll want to just get all the screws started into their holes first....then drive them home when the fit looks proper all way round.

Reinstalling the panel is easy. There are two tabs at the rear edge which are slid under the spring loaded retainers of the sunroof mechanism. Holding the panel at a rather steep angle eases the task of engaging the tabs under the retainers. Wriggle the panel in place, slide the roof rearwards a few inches and reinstall the four screws on the leading edge. Voila ! You're done!