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View Full Version : Power sunroof installation w/ pics **DUW**



Cooper
03-14-2004, 02:17 PM
I thought some of you might enjoy seeing the results of the powered sun roof installation that I recently had done to my Crown Vic. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time. The installation was done by a local company for $1,100. From beginning to end, the whole process took 4 hours. The sun roof is a Webasto Hollandia 700. It has a tinted glass panel that can be opened as a vent or completely retracted back into the roof.

The installer was very reluctant to allow photographs, but he did let me into the work area for about 5 minutes to watch him make the first cut through the roof...

The headliner is removed from the car for re-installation later.
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1084.JPG

Template for the hole is drawn on the roof.
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1079.JPG

Making the first cut with the nibbler. There's no turning back now! :eek:
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1081.JPG

View from inside showing the stripped roof. Yup, that's a hole in the roof!
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1083.JPG

All finished. View from the rear seat. Sunroof control panel is between the sun visors.
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1086.JPG

A look at the sun shade in closed position.
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1087.JPG

A viw from above. I think the guy did a helluva nice job! :up:
http://home.comcast.net/~cooper.eastman/wsb/media/170823/site1088.JPG

MM03MOK
03-14-2004, 02:38 PM
Nice job, Coop! How are you?

Smokie
03-14-2004, 02:56 PM
Looks Great !!!

Cooper
03-14-2004, 03:00 PM
Nice job, Coop! How are you?

Doing just great Mary, thank you! I would have enjoyed taking "the big guy" with me to watch this modification... I know how he loves drilling holes in shiny black cars! :D How's he doing, anyway? -Coop

jgc61sr2002
03-14-2004, 05:21 PM
It sure looks like a factory installation. Nice job. :up:

PhkinQk
03-15-2004, 11:30 AM
With the compass, lights and garage openers, looks like it'd be a tad different. I do SOOOOOOOO miss not having one. As my work car's I've had 4 LHS's before this and a SHO, two year leases on each and they all had moonroofs. I've not gotten to see a 04 factory job yet........but great job, well worth it I'm sure......... :P

THE_INTERCEPTOR
03-16-2004, 07:30 AM
It sure looks like a factory installation. Nice job. :up:

That's what I was thinking! What a clean install Coop! :rasta:

MarauderMark
03-16-2004, 08:46 AM
Wow Great job!!! inside and out.have you tested it out on the highway w/ rain ?

Cooper
03-16-2004, 10:27 AM
Wow Great job!!! inside and out.have you tested it out on the highway w/ rain ?

Thank you everyone. :bows: I have driven it on the highway both with and without rain @ 65 mph+ and am pleased to report that there is NO water leakage or additional noise (air rushing, whistling etc.) since the install. It sounds just as quiet as it did before. I also froze my butt off and tried it in the vent popped open position and also with the glass completely retracted. Obviously there is a bit more noise with it wide open, but very little extra noise in the vent position.

I also tried "flooding" the roof with the garden hose for several minutes and then sprayed the hose directly at the edges of the sun roof to see if I would get any leaking inside... nothing! This past weekend I took it to a "laser" car wash where they blast the car clean with high powered water spray and then "blow dry" it with 3 huge fans that sound like jet engines. Not a drop of water inside! Dry as a bone! The "jet engines" were powerful enough to vibrate the hood of the car and lift the wipers away from the windshield, but the sun roof was air tight!
:rock:

MarauderMark
03-16-2004, 10:45 AM
Damn good lookin job .was the $1,100 the total including the parts ,glass ,motor,labor , everything?,

Cooper
03-16-2004, 03:45 PM
Damn good lookin job .was the $1,100 the total including the parts ,glass ,motor,labor , everything?,

Thank you Mark. Yes, the $1,100 was the total for EVERYTHING from start to finish. (They didn't give me the breakdown for parts & labor).

STLThunder
03-16-2004, 04:12 PM
Very Nice! I would have had a hard time watching someone take a saw to my car :lol:

HotrodMerc
03-29-2004, 01:22 AM
Coop, i appreciate seeing the photos and info. Our new '04 is without the moonroof, though wife wanted one, so as part of the deal - which was a good one for the car in inventory - we are to get a Webasto roof installed. I was told the dealer cost was about $940.00, so you didn't do bad in that regard. My wife's '99 B'ville has a factory moonroof, which we didn't want because of problems with same in our '89 B'ville. It has never leaked, but for a couple of years has been progressively making more creaking noise around the front of the opening, driver side, and this is my main concern with having the roof installed in the new car. I do think, however, that technology has greatly improved on these things, and the installer told me the Webasto roof they would install is same as factory from L-M. In fact, he said Webasto actually does these for FLM across street from factory. I'm just hoping the long term all around performance of the hardware and installation is as good as short term, hate creaks and squeaks, and even my '98 Lariat has them - in dash and drivers door. What length of warr'y did you get, and does it cover squeaks/creaks? Thanks, Joe

Cooper
03-29-2004, 05:18 AM
What length of warr'y did you get, and does it cover squeaks/creaks? Thanks, Joe

Hi Joe. The booklet that came with the sun roof says the following:


WARRANTY
Webasto Product N.A. Inc. warrants to the original purchaser, a limited lifetime warranty on all component parts of the Hollandia 700 series sunroofs against defective materials or workmanship when installed and serviced by a Webasto Authorized Installer.

:up: It is certainly refreshing to see that there is a company which will actually stand behind the products it makes for longer than the usual 90 days! When I see a "lifetime" warranty on something I know it's either so inexpensive that the company doesn't care if it has to replace it, or it's made so well the company is pretty sure it won't have to replace it. I would assume that squeaks/creaks that occur in the future would fall under the "defective workmanship" category and should be covered. When you examine the quality of this product and how solidly it is built, it's hard to imagine it ever developing squeaks or creaks.

drwhy
10-30-2004, 07:27 AM
Hi Joe. The booklet that came with the sun roof says the following:



:up: It is certainly refreshing to see that there is a company which will actually stand behind the products it makes for longer than the usual 90 days! When I see a "lifetime" warranty on something I know it's either so inexpensive that the company doesn't care if it has to replace it, or it's made so well the company is pretty sure it won't have to replace it. I would assume that squeaks/creaks that occur in the future would fall under the "defective workmanship" category and should be covered. When you examine the quality of this product and how solidly it is built, it's hard to imagine it ever developing squeaks or creaks.
Please answer some questions about the moonroof.

How are the rails that the roof rides in attached to the roof structure?

How do they keep the roof from moving relative to the moonroof and it's rails?

How did they get your existing headliner to fit around the rails and still look ok?

Thanks,
Tom

Logan
10-30-2004, 07:28 AM
Very clean. Nice job.

Cooper
10-30-2004, 10:34 AM
Please answer some questions about the moonroof.

How are the rails that the roof rides in attached to the roof structure?

How do they keep the roof from moving relative to the moonroof and it's rails?

How did they get your existing headliner to fit around the rails and still look ok?

Thanks,
Tom

Hi Tom,

Unfortunately I was not allowed to watch the installation process. I believe the moonroof is mostly kept from moving relative to the rest of the roof by its housing. The whole unit fits very snugly into the hole that was drilled in the roof- and that keeps it in place (along with the adhesive that is applied). The rails are also attached with very strong adhesive. The installer warned me not to open the roof for the first 24 hours so the adhesive could fully dry and seat properly.

The existing headliner was dropped down about 2 inches and the overhead dome light was moved back a couple inches to allow the moonroof to retract fully along the rails. Although the headliner fabric is stretched tight like it was from the factory, there is no "filler" behind it now... it will push up if you push against it with your hand because there's just air behind it now. This could be a concern if you have small children who might cause the fabric to rip at the attachment points if they pushed too hard on the wrong spot.

MENINBLK
11-02-2004, 11:24 PM
I had a roof installed in my 04 MM by Auto SunRoof Corp of Larchmont, NY.

The install time was one day and the headliner in my car was REPLACED
with one that was formed to allow room for the sunroof.
The switch is installed on the rear side of the overheard console
and looks like it was a factory install.

The Webasto roofs that are aftermarket installed are similiar to the factory
roofs, but not identical.
The factory provides the hole in the roof for the glass to close within
WITHOUT the need for a frame to be mounted in the roof.
The headliner in vehicles with a factory roof is also different, as it is formed,
like my new headliner, to provide room for the sunroof mechanism.

The roof, installed, cost me $1,100 and came with a 3 year warranty.
I had asked about the lifetime warranty since it was advertised in their brochure,
and they told me that the warranties had been recently changed from the lifetime period to 3 years.
They also asured me that if anything would happen with the roof, it usually happens within the first year
and that they have never had any customers return after the first year for any repairs.

martyo
11-03-2004, 03:33 AM
^^^Same installer. Same Deal for me, Pete. And, I love my sun roof.

Note though that the "factory" installed Webasto roofs use a completely different contol module than the ASC roofs. And, the switching gear for the different brands are disimilar enough that they will not talk to each other, despite my best efforts to get them to do so.

MENINBLK
11-03-2004, 06:53 AM
^^^Same installer. Same Deal for me, Pete. And, I love my sun roof.

Note though that the "factory" installed Webasto roofs use a completely different contol module than the ASC roofs. And, the switching gear for the different brands are disimilar enough that they will not talk to each other, despite my best efforts to get them to do so.

But you didn't mention the best part of the aftermarket roof !

1 - It closes itself when you turn off your ignition.
2 - It has a safety feature that prevents anyone from losing any fingers
if someone should close the roof and they weren't aware of it !
3 - Some models have a Rain Sensor that will close the roof if it should start raining.

fastblackmerc
11-03-2004, 08:11 AM
Very clean install & it looks nice too.... just like my "factory" installed one!

:cool:

Bradley G
11-03-2004, 08:20 AM
Are the switches backlit?

MENINBLK
11-03-2004, 08:26 AM
Are the switches backlit?

Not on my ASC Roof Control.

Bradley G
11-03-2004, 08:27 AM
They used to be backlit.
Not on my ASC Roof Control.

MENINBLK
11-03-2004, 08:35 AM
They used to be backlit.

That was the older ASC control for the roofs.
They had, I think, 3 or 4 buttons on them.
Martyo may have this switch.

Now they use a soft rubber rocker type switch.
They call it their Euro-type switch.

You press up to to open the roof/close the vent.
You press down to open the vent/close the roof.
You can tap the switch mid travel to stop the glass at any position,
and you can HOLD the button to SAVE a glass position.
e.g. If you liked to have the glass only open 1/4 way, you could save that position.
Then every time you open the roof, it stops at the 1/4 position you saved.
They way you only have to touch the button once.

The Vent also have 3 positions. Full open, 2/3 and 1/3 open.
You have to hold the button for the 1/3 position, tap it for 2/3, and tap again for full vent.
A single tap in the closed position brings it to a full open vent.

You can also manually open the roof after tuning off the ignition.
After the roof closes, you've got about 10 seconds to open it and position it where you want.
Afte that the roof powers down, it stays in that position until you turn the ignition back on.

bigslim
11-03-2004, 09:22 AM
The aftermarket sunroof I had put in my old MM had backlit switches. The sunroof REPSON had put in his has them too.

Bradley G
11-03-2004, 09:33 AM
Wow, Those roofs are getting high tech, Nice Job!

Kramer
11-03-2004, 10:01 AM
I'm in the Maryland area....any suggestions on where to go to have a moonroof put into my 04?

Amsoil_Dealer
11-03-2004, 10:55 AM
Looks nice. I need to put that on my wish list.

Don

martyo
11-03-2004, 12:04 PM
I'm in the Maryland area....any suggestions on where to go to have a moonroof put into my 04?


Call ASC for theor authorized dealer near you. I believe that 800-521-9753 is their number.

Racerx88
11-03-2004, 12:11 PM
............The factory provides the hole in the roof for the glass to close within WITHOUT the need for a frame to be mounted in the roof..................
Not entirely true. The factory roofs still have a trim ring around the hole just like the aftermarket ones.