BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

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Hugh Cameron
6 years ago
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1 These instructions will help guide you through the repair process for broken sunroof control rails on an E39 chassis. Before I get started, I want to give a shout-out to a couple people who also posted instructions that helped me. First, thanks to Cameron, who posted instructions here: All the links to the photos are broken but the instructions are still helpful. Next, thanks to william735i who posted more detailed instructions and photos here: I used a combination of both of these posts to guide me when I did mine, so they may help you,too. Step 1: Retract the sunroof back slightly, and remove the front stops on both sides (see Figures 1-4). Figure 1. Right Front Stop

2 Figure 2. Right Front Stop Removed

3 Figure 3. Left Front Stop

4 Figure 4. Left Front Stop Removed

5 Step 2: Close the sunroof and activate the tilt-up mechanism. Of course, the sunroof won't tilt up so you will have to push it up manually and prop it open with something soft (see Figure 5). Figure 5. Sunroof Propped Open

6 Step 3: Remove the top of the rubber gators from the sunroof. From inside the car, press both thumbs against the TOP edge of the gator and work it toward you (toward the center of the car, as shown in Figure 6). The bottom does not detach, so don't try. Do not pull on the thin baffles because they tear easily (see Figure 7). Figure 6. Use Thumbs to Remove Top Edge of Gator

7 Figure 7. Small Tear in Baffle of Right Gator - DO NOT PULL HERE

8 Step 4: Press the gators down and you will be able to see the two Torx 25 screws on each side of the rear of the sunroof (see Figures 8 and 9). Remove those. Slide the gator backward and you will then be able to see one Torx 25 screw near the front corner of each side of the sunroof (Figure 10). Remove those next (Figure 11). Figure 8. Right Rear Sunroof Screws

9 Figure 9. Left Rear Sunroof Screws

10 Figure 10. Right Front Sunroof Screw

11 Figure 11. Left Front Sunroof Screw Removed

12 Step 5: Remove the sunroof. I was able to do this very easily by just lifting the glass and sliding it backward and up. Set it aside on a soft cloth and take a look at your slide rails. You will probably see broken control rails as shown in Figures 12 & 13. Figure 12. Broken Right Control Rail

13 Figure 13. Broken Left Control Rail

Step 6: In order to get the broken pieces out, you have to disconnect the wind deflector from its arms or remove it completely. Electronically slide the sunroof guides back about 8 inches.

14 Step 6: In order to get the broken pieces out, you have to disconnect the wind deflector from its arms or remove it completely. Electronically slide the sunroof guides back about 8 inches. Cameron suggests using pliers to pinch the plastic pin that connect the deflector to its arm, then tilt the deflector arms back and remove them. I couldn't figure out how to do that, so I followed the instructions william735i posted and removed the whole thing. It's not difficult and gets more stuff out of the way. Just use a flathead screwdriver to pry out the spring mechanisms as shown in Figures Figure 14. Wind Deflector Left Spring Mechanism (attached)

15 Figure 15. Wind Deflector Right Spring Mechanism (dislodged)

16 Figure 16. Wind Deflector Right Side Lifted

17 Figure 17. Wind Deflector Left Side Lifted

18 Step 7: Detach the wind deflector from the arms by rotating the deflector until the pins on the arms can be slid out of the slots in the deflector. Figure 18. Wind Deflector Detached from Left Arm

19 Step 8: Remove both wind deflector arms. They simple snap out of a pair of C-shaped metal spring clips as shown in Figures 19 and 20. Figure 19. Wind Deflector Left Arm Attached

20 Figure 20. Wind Deflector Left Arm Detached

Step 9: With the wind deflector and arms removed, it's really easy to slide the tilt hinge slider forward, under the perimeter seal, and remove it as shown

21 Step 9: With the wind deflector and arms removed, it's really easy to slide the tilt hinge slider forward, under the perimeter seal, and remove it as shown in Figures 21 and 22. Do the same for both sides. Remove the broken pieces by sliding them forward and out as well. Figure 21. Push Tilt Hinge Slider Forward

22 Figure 22. Work Tilt Hinge Slider Under Seal and Remove

23 Step 10: Now move the sunroof guides as far forward as you can electronically. Remove the screw on the plate over the main rear slider (Figure 23) and slide out the pin as shown in Figure 24. Remove the cover as shown in Figure 25. Figure 23. Remove Cover Plate Screw

24 Figure 24. Slide Pin Inward

25 Figure 25. Remove Cover Plate Step 11: Slide the pin the rest of the way out and you can now remove the broken slide rail by sliding it all the way forward and out. Do this on both sides.

Step 12: Here's where I got stuck. I could not figure out how to remove the main slider, which is the part that still remains in the slide after you remove the broken arm.

26 Step 12: Here's where I got stuck. I could not figure out how to remove the main slider, which is the part that still remains in the slide after you remove the broken arm. Cameron says to "disconnect the main slider (E) from the rear guide arm (D)", but with no photos for his references, I couldn't figure it out. The main slide absolutely would not move and I could find no way to dislodge or disconnect it. Since it wasn't broken and appeared to be in good shape, I decided to just leave it in place. The replacement parts came assembled as shown in Figure 26, with the main slider part circled in red. So I just removed the pin (same as we did above) and disconnected the main slider from the rest of the arm assembly. Then I just reversed the steps above to reassemble the control rails. Figure 26. Replacement Parts (right rail)

27 Step 13: Clean all the surfaces and rails, then apply a generous coating of heavy lithium grease. Then slide the new arm into the rails and all the way back. Attach it to the main slider, align it with the pin holes and slide the new pin into place. Repeat for the left side, Figure 27. Right Arm Reassembled

28 Figure 28. Left Arm Reassembled

29 Step 14: Reinstall the tilt hinge sliders into the rails on both sides, then electronically slide the sunroof back about 8 inches. Figure 29. Reinstallation of Right Tilt Hinge Slider Step 15: Push the tilt hinge sliders back as far as you can, then reattach the wind deflector arms. In Figure 29, I had already connected the wind deflector arm (you can see it in the lower left corner), but I had to pop it out, move the tilt hinge slider back, then pop it back in again. That's because the tilt hinge slider has a pin that rides over top of the wind deflector arm, so it needs to be behind the arm when you reattach the arm. Then reattach the wind deflector by connecting it to the arms and popping the spring mechanisms back into place. Step 16: Electronically slide the assembly forward a little bit at a time until it's all the way forward. Then tilt it up and leave it. Step 17: Reinstall the sunroof. This can be challenging, so be patient. It helps to have an assistant for this step. Place the sunroof on the mounts let it rest there. Work to align the front mounts with the alignment pin on the brass arm and get the front screw started (don't tighten it down yet). Once you do the first side, the other should be much easier. Then doe all four screws in the rear brackets, again leaving them snug but not tight. Step 18: Close the sunroof electronically and check for alignment. If you have to make adjustments, tilt the sunroof back up, loosen the screws, make your adjustments, and tighten them back down. Check again. Do no slide the sunroof back - just tilt up and down for this step. If you slide it backwards, you can crush the gators.

30 Step 19: Reinstall the gators by simply pushing the top edge back into place. Be sure to seat it fully for the whole length of the gator. Check all modes of operation to ensure that it is working properly. Step 20: Reinitialize the sunroof by pressing the tilt button for 30 seconds. Someone else posted this warning and it seems that a number of people had fallen victim to this mistake, so I'm going to re-post it here just in case: "If for some reason the motor drive looses the sense of where the slider is, relative to the track, then the system enters in a "find it" procedure. This is regardless any change you make, and even not influenced by the hard reset (fuse remove). There is no sensor that indicate where the slide is, so here is how the motor computer find it: when you touch the roof switch, the motor drive pull the slider all the way forward, until it force the mechanism against the track and limiters. The motor drive computer then sense the high current driven caused by the motor sudden stop when it reaches the resistance. It register the position as fwd limit, then immediately count some time back for the resting position. The trick is, if you allow the system enter in this mode WITHOUT THE GLASS installed, there will be no firm mechanism resistence, then the drive motor will break your plastic sliders again. Like a lazy idiot, I lost 5 kits until I realize the procedure should only be entered AFTER the glass reinstalled."

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