stanz

iTrader: (1)

So I bought an 86 4Runner yesterday in LA and proceeded to drive it home to Portland immediately. Two hours into the trip, the glass moonroof delaminated from the metal frame at highway speed and ejected itself.

A strand of glue held on to the glass, so I was able to retrieve the shattered mess and rubber seal which is pretty dried out.

So I'm now frantically searching for a used moonroof with no luck - please let me know asap if you have any leads.


I'm also wondering if I can get new glass and a new rubber seal for it since the metal frame is in tact. Does anyone know?

How the delamination happened - apparently the rubber gasket had separated a bit from the glass allowing water in. The water appeared to collect around that glue and proceeded to rot and the point of bonding. The glue on the glass has rust particles - clearly the cause for separation.

I'm thinking I can have the metal frame cleaned up and patched where it rotted.

As for my trip. I drove 13 more hours last night, including through freezing fog and light drizzle. And then another three hours this morning to just get home now. I had multiple layers and gloves and was still freezing (glad the wife opted out of this trip).

To make matters worse, the heater gave out early into that endeavor. I started to smell an electric burn with it on somewhere around 1:30am driving through the Mt. Shasta area. So I'm thinking heater restistor for that, but haven't looked into it yet - I just got in the door and I'm shivering still from the ride.

The moonroof is of great concern because I don't have a garage. The rain should be hitting soon here in Portland and I need to fix it before then.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Grant Baker

Why not just find some thick plastic (like contractor grade garbage bags), cut to size, clean the roof off real good & dry, tape it down with 2" wide masking tape. unless you get hail or a foot of snow, what's to worry until you get the new glass? You could even layer the plastic a few times to make it stronger.

DetroitStyle

iTrader: (1)

Well, for a temporary fix, get a piece of plexiglass, trace out a template and take your time and cut it to fit. I replaced one of my rear sliding windows on my 94 pickup years back and it fit so nice I never bothered to get the glass

camo31_10.50

Detroitstyle has the idea i was going to post.

92dlxman

thats horrible, i know nothing of sunroofs but unless you find one at the junkyard, go to the dealer. when my rear glass broke (effing stout manzanita) i called every glass shop around. the only one that said he would do it could only get the glass from the dealer. he was gunna charge me 200$ i called the dealer, and ordered the glass for like 80$. and as luck would have it, glass wasn't near as hard to do as i thought

your heater concerns me though. quit working as in the fan stopped or it no longer gets hot?????? if its just the blower fan make sure your switched for outside air and keep er movin! just gotta roll up your wind-oh crap thats right


the above statement is officially the most awesome thing i've ever put in writing. thank you, thank you

stanz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all of the responses. I've had one member come through already and offer up a great used piece of glass to me. I also learned today that the dealer can get an OEM brand new unit. I'm likely to go new because I can trust that the rubber will have a long life.

As for sealing it up until I get the new glass in, I'm good with that. The bigger concern is hoping it's not raining for days straight when I need to put it in.

As for the heat. The heater core seems to be getting coolant. I smell and electrical burn coming from the dash when the heater runs (fan only works on high position and it's weak at best). I got a new blower, resister and fan switch and plan to put them in this weekend.

I'm thinking it's probably the resistor, but I tend to go overkill in my repairs and take out all of the weak links while I'm at it. The guys who get my vehicles after me always end up with fully functional equipment.

92dlxman

heck yes man, if its affordable, i agree. its kinda crappy to have all that happen right after you buy it though. good luck on 'er

BMcEL

That's a long ass drive...I think we need some pics of this thing!

Great website for hard to find parts:

http://www.car-part.com/

Blower repairs:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Blower.shtml

Good luck and welcome to Yotatech!

stanz

iTrader: (1)

To make the sting even worse, I paid Longo Toyota in LA over $350 to spend an entire day on it going over every detail while I was remote up in Portland. I told them I wanted a 400 point inspection of the entire drive train, body, test all switches, inspect all seals, windows, accessories, etc. I told him despite it's age, treat it as if it was a three year old car coming off of a lease. I asked to know about every item that was broken or problematic.

They came up with a list but failed to report an obvious power steering leak, a broken oil dipstick and of course the cracked and split sunroof molding. They even failed to tell me that the driver's door lock cylinder had had a screwdriver taken it to it - you have to climb in the pass side to unlock the driver's door. You think maybe I would have wanted to know that before buying a plane ticket and committing to the vehicle.

It was still worth it, I did get a relatively fair deal on it so I took it anyway (having already purchased a one way ticket and having already walked away from one up in Vancouver, BC -- costly trip). Body and chasis are super clean and straight. Has a half ass paint job, but no rust anywhere. Motor and tranny are new, has nice wheels and interior is all stock and intact - although all of the power windows groan. Also has A/C and rear heater.

Believe it or not, every 4Runner I looked at up in Oregon had some form of cancer. I'd rather put my money into other upgrades.

As of tonight, Longo is only offering me $110 credit since they are only taking responsibility for overlooking the lock cylinder. They claim that they saw no issue with the sunroof. I am demanding a full refund given the number of things they overlooked and the fact that someone could have been killed by the flying glass.

I have an old Bronco and have had similar experiences with mechanics and old vehicles in the past. Some of them seem to not try too hard when it's an 'old vehicle'. I don't understand, a paying customer is a paying customer.

Mandy Tuning

LOL,exactly what happens to my ride! eject at 80mph and fly like jetman! i use a lexan glass ,the glass shop glue it,then you need to rivet it to the metal frame in all 4 corners cause moonroof is curve and lexan or plexiglass is flat but flexible and will fly again,dont forget to seal the rivets holes with glass silicon or poliurathane and some 5% window tint,looks like new on my runner and i live in the tropic ,a lot of rain here.

sechott

I think have good reason to ask for the 350 back and put it towards your glass.

stanz

iTrader: (1)

I picked up a brand new moonroof at the dealer today and I am getting a good bit, but not all of my money back from Longo. So, it's been a productive day.

So my next question is how does the remainder of the factory moonroof frame come out? I don't have an owner's manual and it's not obvious from looking at the latch.

Thanks again!

bwhite824

curious how much the new glass was and what dealership you went to? I got one with a major crack in it.

stanz

iTrader: (1)

I paid $380 at Broadway Toyota in Portland (they ordered and got it the same day), retail is $450 - I talked them down since I ordered a ridiculous amount of stuff from them this week. Maco35 on here was offering me a really nice used one that I almost took. I decided that brand new rubber seals would go a long way.

stanz

iTrader: (1)

I could really use some help on how to detach the existing moonroof frame. I spent 20 mins in the dark and cold last night and couldn't figure it out. I don't have an owners manual to tell me how to do it.

Thanks in advance!

BMcEL

Squeeze the sides of the latch handle (red) and it will separate from the base.



Then just lift it up until the safety latch on the driver's side grabs and disconnect it.

stanz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks BMcEL. I was able to do the full change out in under 20 minutes. The new glass looks good.

Really appreciate everyone's input! I'm glad to have this resolved, especially before the rain started coming down.

BMcEL

Glad ya got it fixed. They're nice in the summer...I take mine off every chance I get. Now where are the pics?

stanz

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. I need to create a snapfish account or equivalent. I'll get some up shortly. I'm diggin in hard already into it - interior overhaul, new tires, new bumpers, fog lights, etc. Gonna be busy for a while.

stanz

iTrader: (1)

It took a while for me to get some pics uploaded. Here they are, including some shots of the moonroof damage.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943575/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943575/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943375/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943375/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943795/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519943795/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944241/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944241/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944489/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944489/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944787/http://www.flickr.com/photos/72188695@N05/6519944787/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/72188695@N05/, on Flickr