I just got an '84 733i for dirt cheap today. At the top of my long list
of "little" things to fix is the sunroof. It leaks, and the car has been
parked for a long time, therefore the trunk and floor are waterlogged. The
sunroof opened up a little bit but wouldn't close, and I suspect that
corrosion has seized things up. I was just barely able to manually drive it
closed, but it move any more. I discovered that one of the switches for it
is actually a circuit breaker, but that was about the time I saw smoke
curling out the hole! In order to get at the motor, I have removed
everything that I can find to get the roof liner out, but the aft edge seems
to be eluding me, unless the sunroof has to be slid back in order to get to
the fasteners. If that's the case, I may be screwed. Can someone help me
out of this pickle?
I'm brand new to BMW's, I will admit up front. I know other cars like
the back of my hand, but this is a whole new ballgame to me. It seems that
a service manual for the car isn't to be had, unless I don't know where to
look. I was given a Chilton's with the car, and that thing sucks, but no
Haynes manual is available so it'll have to do, I guess.
Glenn W - 20 Nov 2005 11:31 GMT
Try Ebay for workshop manuals on cd - everything to do with bmw, at least it
gives you a head start....
> I just got an '84 733i for dirt cheap today. At the top of my long
> list
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> look. I was given a Chilton's with the car, and that thing sucks, but no
> Haynes manual is available so it'll have to do, I guess.
Dave Plowman (News) - 20 Nov 2005 12:22 GMT
> Try Ebay for workshop manuals on cd - everything to do with bmw, at
> least it gives you a head start....
Don't think they cover this model - too early.

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John Burns - 20 Nov 2005 14:19 GMT
> I just got an '84 733i for dirt cheap today. At the top of my long list
> of "little" things to fix is the sunroof. It leaks, and the car has been
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> the fasteners. If that's the case, I may be screwed. Can someone help me
> out of this pickle?
The waterlogging could be a few things. There are drain holes in each
corner of the sunroof housing, check they're unblocked. Do NOT force
anything down them, if you puch them off you'll need to remove the
headlining to get them back on!
Also check the sill drain holes and door drains are unblocked.
You'll need to regrease the drive wire. Do this with gloves on, the
grooves on it are very sharp!

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carl mciver - 20 Nov 2005 21:46 GMT
| > I just got an '84 733i for dirt cheap today. At the top of my long list
| > of "little" things to fix is the sunroof. It leaks, and the car has been
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
| You'll need to regrease the drive wire. Do this with gloves on, the
| grooves on it are very sharp!
I plan on lubricating everything, once I get it apart. What does it
take to get the thing apart in this situation? Right now I taped up the
roof joint to keep any more moisture out (it rains a lot near Seattle) while
I dry out the rest of the car and work on everything else that needs fixing.
I plan on trying again before too long. Since I think I smoked the motor,
I'm getting another one, but getting to that is my second issue. How do I
remove the liner between the windshield and the sunroof? I took out the
mirror, visors, and it will move around up front but not in the back (are
there fasteners that require the sunroof to be open?) but it seems that
there's more than just that holding it in.
All I can do with the sunroof is to tilt it up. That's it. Is this
enough to get the liner off? I can get the very back off, where there is a
channel that rides on pins, but the front I don't know about. I read
something about four pins that hold it in, but I don't know how I can pull
on it to get these loose. I have an tool for door panels and such that
could pull on the liner, but I want to feel comfortable pulling on it before
I start tearing stuff up.