Peter The alignment of the feet is crucial to their getting caught by the little open hands at the end of the lateral arms, and to their folding flat when they enter the roof cavity. So, for the time being, I wouldn't touch them. Mine are asymmetrical too. Especially since you said that the roof did get lowered both sides at the beginning of the travel. This means that they are aligned correctly at least for that part. The bent and worn pin does indeed not look too good, but wouldn't be the reason the roof to get stuck. It may be worth fixing that though as it is all accessible. Could you confirm that the max. opening that you had was as in the below attached pic? That travel distance corresponds to the passage from the hands to integrated rail, where the feet need to fold up completely horizontally on the inclined part of the integrated inox rail. If they fail and remain at 45°, the roof gets stuck. That was the problem with on my car. That is also an alignment issue of those Zamac feet of which one of yours is not aligned. When you pushed your roof back, was the resistance symmetrical or only on one side? Cheers Urs Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Urs, The maximum it opened when it worked was exactly half way as shown in this photo. The one you are referring to is how much it opened freely when i pushed back by hand. After that i had to push quite hard but then again i was doing this on my own so as i pushed back from the right side it went slightly sideways so had to go on the left side and push back from there. It certainly wasnt an easy push and there is nothing in the way. Does that worn black plastic piece on the cable hook fit into the groove of the slider panel attached to the actual sunroof which is what guides it along then pushes the back end up when closed? I am wondering whether it slipped out due to it being worn like that? Reason I ask is because when i pushed it back by hand i then pressed the switch to close and as the cable came forward it did close the roof but did not raise the back edge up flush. But of course when i pressed to open it did nothing suggesting detachment. It seems it detached itself but why it only went back half way then that may be the bent hook on the slider? Not sure. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I cant find that black plastic part anywhere as its not available as a separate part but comes with the complete cable assembly as you had in your photos with the white version at an extortionate cost. Not sure if any other manufacturer makes it. It just pushes on and off the metal pin of the cable hook. Thanks.
Good morning Peter I think the pin got damaged because of the high resistance of the roof in the latter part of the travel. It has to move freely by hand, even when pushed from one side. I know it "firsthand ". I suppose your roof and mechanism itself is not damaged, all seems well except the pin. I also believe that you could have the plastic sleeve made by a machinist from a piece of Nylon or so, for a fraction of the price of an OEM cable. Your problem largely seems to be an alignment issue, as it was on mine. And I have to admit that I believe now that this is the case on yours. I suggest you get the pin fixed, clean it all up and replace/clean the headliner part before trying to refit it. Let me know how the cleaning/fabricating goes. Have a good week! Urs
Thanks Urs The metal pin looks ok, it's just the black plastic sleeve that goes over it that is damaged. In my earlier photos where I marked it as worn out, the black plastic sleeve is still over the pin. This is what I think has caused the detachment from the sunroof panel because it guides the cable mechanism in the slider and the shape of the plastic sleeve has an overhang on the top like a mushroom shape that helps to keep the pin in the slider from popping out. Been looking around and can't find anyone that has this part. As in your photo of the cable there should be a small plastic plug that goes into the pin to stop the sleeve from popping off and it's missing on mine. Another reason why I think that was the cause as it's not secure. The hunt it now on for that plastic sleeve and plug! Thanks to much for all your advice, I could not have removed it without your help and would certainly not have got this far with it. I'll let you know how I get along. Peter
Hi Peter I think you can have the plastic sleeve made, incl. the cap. Just measure the dimensions and give it to someone with a lathe. I would also look for that cap inside your roof. It might still be in there somewhere possibly causing an obstruction. Carefully check the side rails and the diagonal rail. Good day! urs
Hi Urs, Been phoning all the specialists here as well as Ferrari and other than actually making it as you suggested I cannot buy it on its own unless I buy the complete cable kit that I don't need especially at such a ridiculous price. Thanks again for all your help in guiding me in the right direction to remove it and get as far as I have, really appreciate it! If anyone else has had the same problem it would be great to hear. Will let you know how I get along. Cheers, Peter.
Hi Peter "Just do it" - have the piece made and let someone who actually needs the cable buy it. Let me know when you are ready to refit and I'll see how I can assist. Good day to all Urs
Hi Howard, Maranello parts here in the UK dont have it but can order it at a cost of £535 which is approximately $860 USD. Crazy price and all i need is a small plastic piece from that assembly that should cost just a few pennies. If i cannot source anything i will need to have it made somehow. Hope that helps. Peter
Hi Urs, good news here for a change! Firstly i found the small plastic plug thats fits into the pin, it was deep inside the roof cavity on the rail. What is rather strange is that the plug is white (as in your photos) but the damaged tube is black. Seems that it has been changed in the past maybe? Anyhow, the best news is that i have found someone with a CNC milling machine that should be able to re-create the parts perfectly although the plug part is fine so i may not need that. Not sure if you know whether the tube is supposed to be tight on the pin or be able to rotate as it moves along the groove? I assume the plug must be tight to hold the tube onto the pin to avoid it slipping off. The material of my damaged tube is like a hard rubber rather than plastic, not sure if that makes any difference although i would have thought a more durable material would hold up to the stresses better. (Unless is from being in their for 25 years!) Its all good!
Hi Peter Great you find the pin, one less part to make, and one less potential obstruction. The white plastic tube (your black worn part) must be able to rotate around its axle. It will naturally turn while sliding in the guide rail, by the geometry of the movement. It's held down in position by the pin you found. If it doesn't turn, it'll create a lot of resistance and wear, which may have been your problem with a non-original part that didn't turn, and was sticky to the groove. It should be made from a similar material in terms of hardness as the pin. I would suggest ABS, Nylon, or similar hard plastic, clearly not hard rubber. Let us know when you have it done Best Urs
I had this problem back in 2004 and was able to fix it by making a pulley out of a cutting board and using a bolt and aluminum shaft. The repaired pulley and shaft/mount is much stronger than the original which is pretty weak metal. Here is the post from 2004: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=134451254&postcount=25 The picture is missing from that old thread, but I found the old photo. I made a couple of these for other fchatters and sent some instructions with it, will post if I can find the instructions document. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Peter, that is a great fix. If you can please send me any info you have on this fix I really could use it. I need to do the same repair on mine. The roller/pulley split and the broke the shaft off. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Hi Peter thanks for that. Looks like a great fix. I have found someone to actually fabricate the pulley with a cnc machine from a strong material called Delrin which is a high density plastic. I had a test sample already but was tight over the pin whereas it should turn freely as mentioned by Urs in the above post. Hopefully the next one will be ok and should get it in a few days. I did notice however that my pin is at a slight angle, probably from the stress it's been under. Would be great to have your fix just in case it does need replacing at some point. Many thanks, Peter.
The full thread is here (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15102&page=2). Fchat user Terry was kind enough to provide directions to remove the sunroof and to detail the dimensions of the pulley. I made a couple of extra kits with pulleys/shafts/bolts and sent them out to fchatters. I have attached to this post the instructions I sent along with those kits -- the instructions don't go into a lot of detail on the parts themselves because they were intended as instructions to accompany the kits I was sending them, but hopefully the instructions help. The replacement pulley was easy to make by using a white plastic cutting board (from any grocery). I used a hole cutter to get a cylinder base for the pulley and then used a drill and dremel to shape it (poor man's lathe) into a pulley. The dimensions for the pulley are at the end of the instructions document. Because the pulley is made from cutting board material, it is very, very strong (I think much stronger than the original). The bolts/aluminum shaft/plastic washers were all available from Home Depot. I see from my notes that the center stud for the pulley shaft was made by screwing a #8/32 x 3/4" allen bolt from the bottom of the plate. The 3/4" height is important because it to be tall enough to fit a nut to hold the pulley, but short enough to not hit anything when the roof is sliding (You can see from the photo that the nut and stud are pretty much flush). I used an aluminum shaft over the stud to be a hub for the pulley. I think the resulting shaft assembly is much stronger than the original metal which seems to be quite brittle. Hope this helps. Wish I had a few more kits I could send, but don't think I have any more and wouldn't even know where to start looking. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Fantastic! Thanks and hopefully it should be ok and the pin doesn't break off after I fix and will keep hold of your instructions just in case! Great stuff!
Hopefully the bent pin will work without breaking. You can probably reduce the stress on that pin if you remove all of the old dried out grease from the sunroof assembly and apply fresh grease. It was almost 10 years ago now, so I don't remember, but I think my original pulley broke into pieces when the pin broke. Your new pulley made with Delrin pulley should be very strong, so it probably wouldn't be hurt if the shaft breaks later. It is pretty easy to fix if the pin does break eventually. Good luck with it!
Thanks Peter thats great, and yes i will be cleaning and re-greasing everything. When it did work it would only open half way so Im not sure about that but hopefully when i re-install everything it will work ok. Ill soon find out! Cheers, Peter.
Thanks for posting the dimension of the roller. Delrin is a good material for it. I also think that lubrication in the rails is not necessary. The nylon (?) feet slide really easily inside those inox tracks - if they are clean.I would recommend cleaning it all and leaving it dry. Mine works like that without any issues.
Finally the rain and snow has gone and it's a bright and sunny day here in London. I received the newly fabricated white pulley made from Delrin and is a perfect fit onto the metal pin. I ensured that all the mechanism was was in the open position by pressing the sunroof button to open fully and I also made sure that the sunroof cable was protruding out of the cable tube in the rear trunk at about an inch. So far so good. I placed the sunroof panel into the roof cavity and ensured the white plastic feet are under the metal guides of the roof cavity. I slid it back by hand all nice and sooth then at exactly half way it hit against something and will not go back any further. You can actually feel it against something. I checked that the metal feel either side of the sunroof panel folded upwards and into the white plastic open arms of the mechanism. I cannot figure out why I can't push it all the way back. Pictures are posted further up and you can see the metal feet add white plastic arms. Because it cannot go any further I cannot fit the metal sliders either side in the roof. Any ideas? Thanks.
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Finally the rain and snow has gone and it's a bright and sunny day here in London. I received the newly fabricated white pulley made from Delrin and is a perfect fit onto the metal pin. I ensured that all the mechanism was was in the open position by pressing the sunroof button to open fully and I also made sure that the sunroof cable was protruding out of the cable tube in the rear trunk at about an inch. So far so good. I placed the sunroof panel into the roof cavity and ensured the white plastic feet are under the metal guides of the roof cavity. I slid it back by hand all nice and sooth then at exactly half way it hit against something and will not go back any further. You can actually feel it against something. I checked that the metal feel either side of the sunroof panel folded upwards and into the white plastic open arms of the mechanism. I cannot figure out why I can't push it all the way back. Pictures are posted further up and you can see the metal feet add white plastic arms. Because it cannot go any further I cannot fit the metal sliders either side in the roof. Any ideas? Thanks.
