Looking for specs on sunroof part

[ludovici]

Hi all,

I am a Reatta owner trying to repair the sunroof mechanism and I know the Riviera of the same year shared the sunroof assembly, so I'm hoping someone out there might be able to help out, I've had zero success in the Reatta world thus far.

The '89 Reatta used a drive cable mechanism, and the two cables fed through steel tubing that looks similar to, but is not, brake line. Unfortunately the tubing is completely nonstandard, and I've tried every plumbing supply, auto parts store and GM dealership to either find a suitable replacement or at least get the specs on the tubing.

Does anyone out in the Rivi community have any info on the tubing, or have ideas on where it can be found? I hesitate to do the junkyard run (though that may be my only option), only because the deterioration I discovered in mine I may well discover in anything else of that vintage.

Any help is most greatly appreciated, thanks in advance...

[NTX5467]

As you might have found out at the dealerships, there were not too many "serviceable" parts in that sunroof mechanism. By that point in time, things were moving toward the "unit replacement" rather than "repair".

You might check with American Sunroof Corporation. It's possible that they might have been the vendor to supply those roofs to GM back then. I believe they are now based in Michigan? A Google search should, hopefully, get you to their website.

The OTHER thing is to use the Service Parts ID label in the car to make sure the sunroof came as "factory equipment" rather than being something a dealer had a local shop do after it left the factory. This can be highly important.

I suspect the tubing you might be needing is more like a speedometer cable housing with a metal outer casing on it--maybe? Rather than a cable running in a bare steel/metal tube. It's possible the tube could be metric rather than standard size.

In the case of tubing, if it is only metal tubing, that you could find something in the "sticks" of tubing at a larger auto supply, as they come in both metric and standard size diameters. Of course, you'd need a tubing bender, too. Yet, for noise suppression of the working cable, I suspect there's some inner lining in it or it's as I described with the "tubing" being a metal casing to keep the basic cable in "a particular shape" rather than allowing the casing to flex (as with some speedometer cables that must make a sharp bend as they come out of the transmission attaching location).

Another source of cables might be in the power seat realm of things, but those drive cables would be of much shorter lengths, but possibly of a desired diameter. Not to forget their attachments at each end of the cable housing.

What is the "failure mode" of your cables? Just curious . . .

You are also probably correct to presume that any item you might find in the salvage yard, for your car, would have or be getting ready to have the same problems your vehicle has. PLUS, I highly doubt they'd sell you a part for a power sunroof assembly if it was a complete assembly--just depends.

Just some thoughts,

[ludovici]

Hi NTX,

My research has uncovered the sunroof is OEM, manufactured by Webasto Corp out of MI, and used in the Riviera, Trofeo, Toronado and Reatta, as well as the RX-7 and other vehicles. They are still around and continue to supply sunroof assemblies for OEM and aftermarket applications. It's the Starlight 5 model. According to a friend assisting me in the search, GM issued a TSB on the sunroof in '94, and provided an 800 # to Webasto tech support. That number is still good and a call has been placed. Of course, this is all still informational, I haven't as yet landed replacement tubing, but I endeavor to persevere.

I spoke to a couple of Webasto authorized resellers yesterday, one in my area (MD) and one in CA, and both said they might be able to assist. We'll see, I'm hopeful.

As for the issue, the drive cables are exposed once they exit the tubing, coated in grease, and since the cable is similar to an auger (threaded, as it were), bits of debris collect in the cable slot and are drawn into the tube. Analogous to the drain in your sink, after a while there's buildup on the walls. I'm guessing my Reatta sat for quite a while unused, and the grease thickened with its detritus and ultimately froze the cable in place. I had to cut the tubing off with a mini pipe cutter, and to my surprise the cable was salvageable.

I hit every auto parts store, plumbing supply and GM dealership in my area to no avail. The tubing is nondescript, and definitely non-standard. I agree that more than likely it's metric, since it's just a little bigger the 1/4" and smaller than 5/16". AND, Webasto is a German company, so I have no doubt they used metrics...

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for your post.