98 audi

Just got car Sunroof goes up not back.

First thing I do is take glass out.
Clean and lube tracks, hit back button still don't go back sounds stuck little clicking sound.

There is a little arm hook looking spring thing over up and down.
Me and my buddy push arms down it button roof goes back.
Now stuck open. Pull head liner down look as I hit close switch arms are going up like to pop it up, hitting roof getting jamed.
So now only way get closed was hit close position and pull frame with all my might to close.

So questions hooks bad or did cause glass out. Afaid the try it go back with glass in it get stuck open again.
And if hook looking thing can were do u by them.

 

If it's closed, don't open it.

It sounds like it's getting stuck because the plastic coating around the rail guides has broken off. It's not that the plastic is getting in the way (most likely), it's that the rail is running on smooth plastic, then hard metal, then plastic, then metal. It can't slide well on the metal and it can't move upward from the metal back to the plastic.

You can't buy individual components and it's a pain to work on and unless the track has the plastic coating intact, it won't work -- I completely disassembled and reassembled two of them. You can buy the complete sunroof from the dealer which will charge ~$1500. You can try eBay and hope it works correctly.

You can remove the glass to get a better look at it by remove the plastic cover and then 3 screws (each side) from within the car.

 

If you openned the sunroof with no glass, that's a big no no. Without glass, there is a deflector in the back that stays up and it gets caught on the bows that run right under the sheet metal. If you snake a long, flat piece of metal (I have an aluminum ruler that's perfect) back in there, you can pry the deflector down and keep it down while you close it with that deflector being held down the the ruler. Hope it closes again.

 

Thanks, mtroxel. You just brought back some fond memories of extreme frustration!

 

I had the same problem and did the same thing, clean and lube the tracks. I then opened the moonroof without the glass in, which trashed the mechanism. I had to use the metal handcrank to get the roof closed.

The problem in my case: There is a metal piece with a rubber stopper on each side of the track that catches the moonroof shade -- these metal pieces get bent and break the spring-loaded plastic pieces that keep the glass from vibrating at highway speed. The plastic pieces partially break apart over time and get caught in the tracks or break off completely. It's hard to picture but it makes sense with the whole moonroof unit removed.

In my case, I pulled the headliner, removed the whole moonroof unit, epoxied the broken plastic pieces back together, and re-assembled. I forgot to re-connect the drain hoses at the rear of the car, so had to pull the headliner again and fix that. Was a huge pain in the ***.

The fix worked for a day and then broke.

After driving around for a week without a functioning moonroof, I ended up buying a complete unit with glass and motor for $60 at a junkyard and it has been working flawlessly for the past two years. I can pull the headliner in a B5 in about 30 minutes now, having done it three times (took hours the first time). There is a DIY headliner writeup someone online.

Also: No matter what I did, I could not get my moonroof shade to stop rattling. I ultimately removed it and threw it in the garbage. Haven't missed it.

 

Can't tell you how many repairs of mine ended that way. My car probably weighs aboiut 50 lbs less than when it left the factory.

 

Wait... We're supposed to have a sunroof shade?!

 

I never had an issue with the moon/sun roof ( knock on wood )

I want to ask you fellas a question, do you always flip the switch all the way to open the sun/moon roof? I almost NEVER do this as i just don't like it all the way open.

I actually like the way the car looks from the front and back, with the sun/moon roof, "tilted up" rather than all the way open.


I get enough ventilation with both front windows down, no need for the roof to be all the way open.


I'm thinking, this is why i don't have any issues with my moon/sun roof as i only tilt it upwards and never open. Every once is a long while, I'll open it all the way but its once in a "blue moon"....pun intended.

Also fellas, can you tell me what kind of grease to buy, so i can re-lubricate the path along the roller thingies? and also is there a tutorial/write up on how to clean the drain hoses?

I know Audi of America sent out a notice to clean these drain hoses and grease the paths, once every couple months and mine is about due.

 

Here's a writeup on cleaning the sunroof drains. Note that you have to be really careful because the hoses that drain to the bottom of the chassis will pop out of their connectors and then you need to drop the headliner.

Audi A4 1.8T Volkswagen Sunroof Drain Cleaning | Golf, Jetta, Passat & Beetle | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article

 

Open mine all the way several times a day. Then I can keep my windows up and still talk on my wireless bluetooth.

Only time I had real trouble is when I wasn't thinking and tried to tilt it open in the winter....right after an ice storm sealed the thing shut. That one was never right again. That was on a 1996 90.