I just bought a 1999 VDP and I just tried the sunroof. It goes up but not back all the way. Maybe a few inches back. So has anybody had this problem? Do I just forget the sunroof or????

 

I say close it and forget it.
You almost certainly have broken track guides. They are more than $100. per side and require headliner rempval and several hours to install. After you get them installed, they are still fragile. When they break, you might not get the roof closed which can be awfully inconvienient in some circumstances..

 

Sparkenzap is being a little modest...
Headliner removal is a long and tedious job in itself - I've done 10 of them & still takes 7 hours, even when you know all the trix. Luckily for you, your car is a LWB & the headliner will slip out the rear door apeture after inducing a *slight* bend into it.....

 

bloweraddict -I have a LWB and need to replace the headliner. You just made my day as I thought I had to remove the rear window. Is it still a 7 hour project for LWB?

I have reglued the existing liner with spray adhesive 3x and it is all in place but the glue is visible in a few spots

______________
'01 VDP S/C

 

The first took me 6 or 7 hours. The problem is removing all of the interior trim pieces without breaking them. The JTIS or Alldata manuals are not too good at showing the interior fasteners. The LWB would help get the thing out, I bet, but I just folded the backer right behind the sunroof opening on both side and you cannot see it after it goes back.

 

@rocklandjag - remember exactly how you had the seats tilted, which corner came out first and on what angle. I did this about a year ago and was trying not to bend the board... I believe it has to be bent short of removing the rear windshield. BTW I have an 01 VDP S/C as well!

 

@Rockland Jag....

The issue with (all) european car headliners is not the adhesive failing, but the quarter-inch foam between the headliner material and the fibreboard backer. Adding glue
will not repair the 'perished' (as thet say in Blighty) foam layer.

I shall detail the step-by-step process below...May be more detail than you need, but someone else might find it useful -

Tools required:

Number 2 Posidriv screwdriver
(please don't be a barbarian & try to use a Phillips, you will only frustrate yourself & damage the screw head)

Assorted Torx bits & driver

Procedure:

a) Remove sunvisors (3 screws+plug)

b) Sunvisor clips (1 screw)

c) Overhead switch panel (1 plastic screw in centre of sunglasses cubby, turn 90 degrees & drop aft)

d) Remove front seats (4 Torx mounting screws, then 2 electric plugs, then 1 more Torx (outboard seat belt fixing point)

e) Pull off rear seat kick panel relay covers, rear seat base (2 small Torx)

f) Remove 4 Posi screws from bottom edge of seat back assy

g) Lift seatback one inch, tilt top edge of seatback towards font of car 'till it lays flat

h) Remove 3 grab handles from upper edge of door apeture (prise out chrome trim with small screwdriver @ outboard edge) then 2 small Torx screws

i) Rear headliner supports - 2 plastic rectangles about one inch square: These have a thin, hinged trapdoor tucked up inside, prise down one edge with a really tiny screwdriver, to reveal a Posi screwhead

j) Snap off and lift out plastic headliner edge trim (sometimes helps to pull down the felt door seal at each door)
Rear pieces have courtesy lights in, for some reason the plugs are a '%£*&£' so the entire lamp will fit endwise through its hole
Front pieces have tweeter leads, be circumspect in removal because tweeter coils are barely glued on, if one pops off just superglue it back)

k) Tilt sunroof up, pull felt trim ring off

m) Headliner now held only by 4 small tabs of bodywork, & can be lifted over them, tilted down diagonally & slid out rear door, whilst introducing a slight longitudinal curve into the fibreboard

n) A stiff brush is adequate to remove the perished foam residue, so that the new liner will adhere properly

Each time I take one of these to an upholstery shop they are amazed to see it in one piece and undamaged....??


Needless to say, installation is the reverse of removal.

Hope this helps!

 

dneider - do you have the CATS suspension? How many miles are on the car?

bloweraddict - thank you for the write-up, I see that even with out having to remove the rear window this is still a lot of work.
The 2nd time I re-glued my existing headliner I did remove all of the foam from the headliner and the headboard for about half of the car for the area that had drooped. I had to use drop cloths and create a tent in the back seat while I used a vacuum and a brush to get all of the foam off and it still got everywhere. I was finding it for weeks in the car.


___________
'01 VDP S/C

 

130K. As for CATS suspension I'm actually not sure. I'm under the impression that in sport mode that maybe the shocks are supposed to be firmer?.... If this is the case I can't tell the difference....

Feel free to enlighten me ... was this jags answer to active suspension.

 

I will tell my wife to stick her head out the window if she wants fresh air!
Thank You for the input.

 

dneider - The CATS suspension adjusts the shocks between soft and firm based on imput from roll and yaw sensors. The tops of the shock absorbers have black plastic caps with a wire leading under the caps.

The control module monitors the system and sends a suspension fault message for some problems however I had a bad front shock and no faults were shown on the message center.

 

If you do have to bend (fold) the headliner to get it out of the car, it is not the end of the world. I "folded" mine to get it out and back in after replacing the material, and after about a week, there was no sign of a fold with the foam disquising the imperfection.