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Replacement of Sunroof cables

33K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  voxmagna 
#1 ·
Hi Guys,

I wonder if you can help me.

Like many of threads shown within the forum I too have experienced issues with the closing of the sunroof.
I subsequently found out that I stripped the nylon cog wheel within the sunroof motor.

However, having replaced the motor I am still experiencing a slipping/jumping, ratchet noise from the motor.
I therefore believe the problem lies within the worm gear sunroof cables that drive the sunroof back and forth.

Having removed the headlining there are two sets of cables each side -

One set that you see from inside the car are the ones that pull the sunroof blind back and the second set that pull the actual sunroof back.

Unfortunately, the second set seems to be located within the roof arms above the doors.
I have purchased some new cables from VW but I need you help in how I should proceed in swapping them out.

So, I have to ask, has anyone ever changed these cables?

Any advice/guidance you can provide would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

Keefiez
 
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#2 ·
You are brave. I would take my car to the garage to have this down. They usually have an EOS specialist trained to do this kind of stuff. Good luck!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Everything is a learning excercise from which we can all benefit, even if you admit to mistakes along the way.

Just write everything down and post up some photos as you go - it helps others and if it works out you become a specialist!

You are heading into the unknown, unless you have some difficult to come by 'resources'. You must be careful that in removing something you think needs to come out, you do not misalign the roof or a sensor.

At the very minimum you need ELSAWIN which is the VW Windows based shop manual. You can get a paid for version from Bentley manuals or find it some other way. Your second resource is the ETKA parts list for your EOS year. Some good exploded diagrams you can use to help get parts on and off. Finally, in most seemingly simple repair operations, I always seem to have to use VAGCOM/VCDS diagnostics to do checks and resets. I never start a repair operation requiring trim removal until I learn how these parts come off without damage.

I have read the sunroof nylon gear is a weak point and can fail in the sunroof motor. But if the construction is similar to the door glass regulators, it can start when the wire shreds and blocks up the gear mechanism.

The EOS cabriolet is a unique model and you will find very few who have attempted roof repairs and from what you say there is some integration of the sunroof with the CC top. Otherwise I would suggest looking at Golf Mk V's to get some ideas.

Safety warning: Their procedure requires that the roof is held part open and supported on its hinges with VAS 6365, some luggage compartment trim needs removing, but you can probably make something from timber. Your problem now sounds like the Bowden cables. Their diagram views look like spaghetti. Apart from supporting the roof in a part open condition I see nothing about Bowden cables threaded inside the roof frame cavities. However the procedure to remove the cables requires the glass panel to be moved forwards using an emergency actuation of the sunroof motor. Dont know what this is, it might just be putting power on it.

This sounds similar to the procedure for removing the door window glasses. Unfortunately if the wires or cables are jammed and you cannot move the assembly by hand on the gear you may have to cut and destroy the cable that is jammed to get them out. There are 8 guide tubes in the spaghetti, which I guess are 4 for the glass and 4 for the sliding panel. It sounds like regular lubrication is very important to give long life on the nylon gear.

If you are removing/installing the guide rails you may need their assembly gauge VAS 6370. I suspect this is to make sure the rails are set square in the aperture. Make sure the rail diagonal measurements corner to corner both ways are exactly the same.
 
#6 ·
It may seem obvious, but if the nylon gear is damaged then it must be for a reason. The most obvious reason is the wires (cables) themselves have deteriorated (frayed) or the sunroof rails have not been kept greased. This would increase tension and forces on the nylon drive wheel.

The sunroof wires seem similar to the thin wires used in the door regulators. If so they are NOT stainless steel and any water leaking past the sunroof seals into the drain channels (blocked?) and on the wires could cause rusting and failure. The wire inside the cable jacket would start to break up followed by increased friction and seizure. One issue with door regulators is their design allows greased wire to pull grease, dirt and water inside the outer jacket accelerating wire corrosion and failure. When I've replaced wires in the door regulators with stainless, I don't grease or lubricate them now. It should be unnecessary since the jackets are plastic lined.

I've only rebuilt wires in the doors (tricky), but I would try repairing the sunroof system with stainless steel wires if I had a problem. Then I would keep grease off the wire and fit ptfe or felt dirt traps to the ends of the outer cable sheath, preventing grease and dirt being drawn inside. Sometimes you just have to accept that VW got things wrong and do something about it!

Anybody attempting this job thinking they will be replacing a nylon gear should think again and thoroughly examine and test the cable system for increased friction for the entire movement. I haven't done this for the sunroof so I don't have any base amperage figures, but the motor current is a good indicator of how much friction it is working against. The lower the current to open/close the sunroof the lower is the friction and forces on the nylon gear. When the sun roof is re-assembled, pour a bucket of water over the glass and check there is no water getting past the seals into the drain channels each side.

It would be nice to see a write up with photos from those posting in this thread and doing the job?
 
#8 ·
I use white Lithium soap which comes in a convenient aerosol with an extension tube.

The OE lube is also white and although you can see where they put it, black would be cosmetically better. However, I think most Lithium based soap greases are either white or yellow. It seems to have a lot of stick. I used some on the roof hinge pivots and I can still see it there some months after putting it on.
 
#9 ·
I`ve just changed my cables and its not an easy job it took 3 of us about 6 hours taking all the roof trim and roof runners out to get to the cables make sure you put lots of grease in the runners as mine was dry and it broke the plastic cog in the motor which you can not get on its own its been a very costly experience
 
#10 ·
Can you contribute a write up, even from memory to help others?

Can you cut into the old cables and feedback condition of the wires? Can you turn the old cable assembly manually and get an idea if friction has increased?

Do you think any extra tension on the wires is mainly due to the sliders, wires fracturing, weakness of the nylon gear, Summer cabin heat weakening the nylon gear or everything? I mention the last point because when the car is parked in hot sun with the blind drawn, heat through the sunroof glass has to go somewhere and will stay trapped betwen the blind and the glass. A fix might be 3M tinted solar reflective film on the inner glass surface. Applied carefully it could look o.k. I used it on my conservatory roof.

Did you have any issues getting alignment correct i.e the sunroof sits square against the seal with contact all the way around? Are there parts or brackets you can avoid disturbing which would require going back to check or adjust alignment?

How did you get on removing the inner lining and spring hoops without damage?

If you think 6 hours is bad, wait until you have to get to motors inside the rear window slots!:(
 
#11 ·
Same problem here :(
A photo guide or something like that would be very helpful for me, I am from Transilvania here at the VW dealership no one knows how to change the cables because Eos is rarely seen here.
 
#14 ·
I'm having the same problem. sunroof partially open with a clicking noise - likely broken nylon gear as a result of broken or frayed cables from lack of maintenance. I'm a wholesale auto dealer who just bought an 09 Eos for my wife with 36k miles on it from the auction - it was a repo so I doubt maintenance was done to the car and when they got the estimate to fix it they probably just let the car go. I'll try and fix this myself with some help from the group and take pics and do a write up as i cannot find anything step by step with photos that would help all of us... wish me luck.
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Any progress on this? I need to swap out the sunroof bowden cables on my Eos, along with the 'cable guide assembly', which is going to be interesting given that I think you need to partially open the roof to do it... and that the roof won't open with the sunroof not opening....
 
#18 ·
Nah, the motor should have overload torque protection and the mechanicals should be designed to not break if the motor and protection is working. Remember VW have to provide pinch protection on all their windows in case some little kid has his hand through the sunroof whilst it is closing. When you get all your new parts you could test that out with a lump of rubber in the gap as the glass closes, but don't blame me if it doesn't work and you prove something else is wrong. On the subject of pinch protection, I don't know if there is anything around the pump to avoid serious hand injury if one was in the gap as the roof members close (?). Hearing how the roof flaps can get crunched, I'm not so sure and won't be testing the theory. :) You may find the Regulations specifically deal with windows, not cabriolet roofs.

I suspect you now have a worn out Bowden spider cable system and the new motor with steel cogs just proved it. When you replace that assembly you might find the've beefed it up as well! ;)
 
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