76 Duster SUNROOF QUESTIONS

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pastortom1

pastortom1

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I picked up a 76 Duster with the crank back sunroof.........

I've NEVER had one of these before.........The seller had the half-vinyl roof professionally recovered, and a new headliner installed at the same time......According to the seller, the installer said that the "chains" inside the mechanism of the sunroof looked like they could break if you used it too much..........the seller put it in a way that scared me a bit, and now I'm wanting to open the thing but can't get myself to crank it for fear of a disaster.

Can you guys lend any advice, service tips, tricks, ANYTHING that can give me some insight into these mechanisms and what I can do? Can it be easily serviced? (I assume not).............Any advice on opening or closing it? There's no glass by the way, just vinyl on the outside and headliner material inside.

THANKS.............:dontknow::dontknow:
 
If you want to fix it properly. You sould remove the whole assembly and clean and lubricate the cables and cable guides. This would mean removing the headliner and the whole sunroof assembly from inside the car. The assembly is big, it takes up almost the entire roof above the headliner.
 
pastortom1 said:
So do I understand that the 76 uses CABLES and not chains of some sort? I've simply never seen one............
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The cables are like long springs. They are coiled metal cables that mesh with the teeth of the crank gear. Each tooth engages one spiral of the coiled cable to move the roof.

Unless the guy saw a flaw or crack in the cable, I'm not sure how he can say that it'll break soon - as long as the roof moves freely and smoothly. If the roof does not slide freely, I could see it snapping a cable.

I would give it a try, and as long as it slides back real nice, I wouldn't worry about it. If it's hard to open or close, I would remove the headliner and service the sunroof unit. Clean and lube.
 
I guess I'll pray for courage on that one. If anyone has a link to a good photo post of the inner workings of this sunroof, PLEASE post it here...appreciated.
 
I think I have instruction sheets from a service manual from a 73 or 74. I will see if I can find it scan it and send it to you. If I find it I will PM you for your email addy so i can send it to you.
pastortom1 said:
I guess I'll pray for courage on that one. If anyone has a link to a good photo post of the inner workings of this sunroof, PLEASE post it here...appreciated.
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If it's sticking or very tight with the crank handle you need to disassemble, clean and inspect everything. Once you get the sunroof panel out you'll see how it works. Basically the crank gear moves the cables in opposite directions thru the guide and cable troughs by cranking the handle. Very simple setup.

It's easier to do than to explain so just do it. Kinda like minor exploratory surgery.!:-D

There are very few parts actually in a manual sunroof assembly.
 
MY340 said:
If it's sticking or very tight with the crank handle you need to disassemble, clean and inspect everything. Once you get the sunroof panel out you'll see how it works. Basically the crank gear moves the cables in opposite directions thru the guide and cable troughs by cranking the handle. Very simple setup.

It's easier to do than to explain so just do it. Kinda like minor exploratory surgery.!:-D

There are very few parts actually in a manual sunroof assembly.
Click to expand...

Well put. Once you dive into it, you'll be amazed at how simple this setup is. I also want to say, MY340 and other members here were instrumental in my quest for a flawless working sunroof in my "convertriple" supplying me with information, pics, sales of parts, ect., and I want to publicly say, THANK YOU!
 
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