ASC Sunroof problem

ThePikey

Registered User
I need to know how to safely remove my headliner to get to the motor for my sunroof. THERE IS NO PANEL TO REMOVE. the problem is... the motor died and the window is open about 1in. last week when it rained got the whole interior soaking and now smells funny.

if someone can tell me how to get to that motor to get that window closed it would be greatly appreciated.

PS its the ASC sunroof not the factory one
 
nope, not at all... thats mainly why im wanting to know the best way to remove the headliner to get access to it... then put the headliner back up
 
I think you have to remove all trim panels and then just pull it off. But I could be wrong.
 
wait you have no access panel for the sunroof motor? The motor itself is near the seat and it has an access panel
 
shall i go take pics to prove that i have no access panel? it is possible that this was a total aftermarket sunroof. i bought the car off of a peurto rician from FLA. THERE IS NO ACCESS PANEL!

thats why i want to know the safest way to drop the headliner, as to not damage it and so i can put it back up.
 
i ended up just removing the back and passengers side of the head liner to get access to the motor. and what i found under there seems to explain as to why there is no acess panel. the sunroof was not orignal to the car in any way. it was later added on at some shop in southern fla. and then a new headliner was put in (poorly i might add)

i used some cheap spray glue to put it back up and as soon as i find a shop, im gonna get a new headliner put back in WITH an acess panel for the motor
 
My titanium '89 has a dealer-installed ASC moonroof also. According to the stickers placed in the glovebox by the dealer, it was installed about 3 days after the car was delivered. Mine also doesn't have an access opening for the motor. And like yours, mine also has a crappy headliner job. It looks like they cut away most of the factory headliner board, and just streched cloth from panel to panel like a drum head. Trouble is of course, after all this time, it's saggy and loose.

My planned fix is to incorporate a factory moonroof headliner. The problem is, the factory moonroof (and hence opening) is larger than the ASC unit.

My work-around for this is to use a portion of a non-moonroof headliner as a donor. First, remove the rear seat, interior quarter panels, "A" post mouldings, and the bad headliner. Next, I'll cut the front half of the non-moonroof headliner to cover the area of the ASC moonroof opening, plus a margin of approx. 3" all the way around. I'll tape this into position temporarily and trace the opening perimeter from outside the car with the moonroof retracted. After removing from the car, I'll cut out the opening, then trim the outside to fit and clear any obstructions.

Next, temporarily affix the newly fabricated "plug" back into the car with tape. Then install the factory moonroof headliner into the car as normal. After making sure the headliner is positioned correctly, I'll place tape in the center of all four sides of the opening on the moonroof headliner, and also the "plug" that will now show around the margin of the original moonroof opening. Then make alignment marks on the tape with a sharpie. After removing the headliner and plug from the car, carefully align the previously made marks, affix the plug to the backside of the headliner with 3M spray adhesive, and allow to cure.

I haven't decided yet if I'll try and find a nice moonroof headliner, and leave the original foam and cloth intact, or just use what I can find, and strip the original cloth, and recover.

If I use existing headliners as-is, I'll buy some appropriate welting from an upholstery shop, and finish the raw edge of the factory moonroof opening with the welting. This will leave a reasonably finished looking edge where it steps down to the plug. The edges of the plug will be covered with the moonroof opening welting, and hidden under the headliner where it was previously glued.

Option 2 is to strip all headliner components, build up the headliner and plug as described above, then recover the entire assembly with new headliner material. This will yield a "one piece" look, and should look reasonably stock, even with the step-down around the moonroof opening. Another benefit of going this way is that I can refinish the sun shade in absolutely matching material.

Since I'll be using a factory headliner, the motor cover should approximate the location of the ACS motor fairly well. I'm sure it won't be off by more than an inch or so. This should be close enogh to service the motor in place, at a minimum. Even if the motor access doesn't work out well, at least I'll have fixed my saggy headliner in a way that looks reasonably factory.

I also plan to use a headliner from a later model T-Bird so that I can use the switch/dome light assembly that these cars used. The switch and bezel assembly from the earlier years are fragile and hard to find in decent condition. I picked up a switch/dome light assembly with bracket at the pick-n-pull for $5. They seem to be readily available. I'll just wire the ASC wiring into the factory switch, and the dome light wiring into the new dome light.

When I do this repair, I'll photodocument the process and post on the interior forum. I'll also describe what the problem areas are, and how well the whole job turned out.

Good luck with yours,

JD
 
sounds like a lot of work and i wish you the best of luck with it.

unfortunatley for me, when it comes to working with headliners, ive never had any luck. thats why i decided to just take it in and let someone else do the work.
 
Back
Top