My Astro roof experience

[tc86gn]

I contemplated how I was going to do this for a while. I had a leak and a sagging headliner. I read the stuff on gnttype.org and decided it would be a real pain to do it that way.

After a lot of thought, I decided to take out the headliner, and interior, then just drop the whole astro roof assembly since I had to put carpet in anyways, the interior had to come out.

If you have had any water leak and need to replace the seal, there is a lot more damage and things that need painted and lubed inside there than you think.

If you have an astro roof that has been leaking for any length of time. Do yourself a favor and take out the whole assembly.

If anybody has any questions on how to do this just give me a shout. I would be more then happy to help.

My 2 cents

 

[The Darkside]

Mines been leaking & it ruined my head liner,so am thinking about getting it repaired. I've already removed the head liner. My seal that you can see from the top of the car is pretty worn out & was wondering where you got yours from & the cost? Are there any other seals, etc that need to be replaced & if so, where to buy them & the costs on them too??

Thanks, The Darkside

 

[tc86gn]

That is the only seal that you need. I got mine at the local GM dealer. I do not remember what the price was though. There is a large seal that seals the whole assembly to the underside of the roof but you probably will not need it anyway as it has never been exposed to the elements.

Sounds like you were in the same predicament that I was.

I completely disassembled everything and it needed it bad! there was rust on the metal parts and paint was all peeled off of the galvanized metal parts. The two wheels on the window would not even roll. I even managed to clean up the roller guides and repaint them also.

The glass itself is sandwiched between two pieces of metal and held together with rivets. I found that three sides of this was not riveted together from the factory. I seperated it and cleaned and painted it then used some urethane and riveted it back together.

Also when I put the assembly back in the car I noticed that the part of the roof that the seal contacts was rusty also. Good thing I decided to completely remove it. This made it easy to remove all the rust and prime and paint the surface.

Also make sure you blow some air through the 4 drain tubes that attatch to the assembly. I found each one of them plugged up from mud dobbers.

In hind sight, I should have taken some pics as I did it.

 

[turbo39151]

Kirban has the outside astro roof seal. I paid $90 for mine a few months back.

 

[The Darkside]

Thanks for the info.

 

[novaderrik]

while you've got it apart, spend the extra $10 at the GM dealer and get the cables (or was it some plastic pieces? i forget- i helped my cousin do it about 11 years ago) that the motor uses to move the window. otherwise, when they fail, you will be taking it all apart again.

 

[tc86gn]

I also did a thorough check of those too. Cleaned em up in the solvent tank, removed all the caked up grease. Washed it clean as a whistle. Everything still looked great. even the Plastic parts molded to the cable. Lubed all the cable and plastic slides and it works very well.

I probably opened it a dozen times or so. It really had no signs of wear.

 

[gnfanatic]

Tc86gn, Thanks for the post and I need your advice. I have an 86 gn with a fac moonroof that started to leak. I bought the new outer seal from kirban and painted the metal lining. When I reinstalled it I noticed in the middle part of the moonroof(front of car) there were waves in the rubber seal. due to the waves the seal was not hitting the roof so I have massive leaks! I called Kirban and he said "well the seal has been in the box for about 7 years, I can you sell you another one at a discounted price, but no guarantee". wtf?? and thats not the only problem. I also believe there is a leak between the metal frame that wraps wround the glass (2 pieses revited) and the glass. is there a seal in there or jsut sealent ?? I have 3M windshield sealant tube I can use. What do I do about the big seal?? order one from poston??

thanks!
Ralph

 

[tc86gn]

There is a piece of rubber in between the glass and the black metal strip. It wraps around the edge of the glass and forms a seal. Mine was fine. I would take it down to a local automotive glass shop and get them to replace this small strip. To get it to fit right you need the right thickness of rubber in there. They will have it and it should be a minimum cost.

As for the weather strip seal on the roof, I bought mine quite some time ago from GM. A couple years. I don't know if you can still get them from GM but I would try to. That way you could look at the seal first. Also, check to see how smooth the roof is where the seal makes contact. It may need to be sanded down smooth and painted. Mine was so rough that there was no way a new seal would keep it water tight.

Also seperate the 2 pieces around the glass before you take it to the shop and clean and paint. Then get a small tube of urethane and run a bead around the 2 pieces before you rivet them back together.