BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair These instructions will help guide you through the repair process for broken sunroof control rails on an

E39 chassis. Before I get started, I want to give a shout-out to a couple people who also posted

instructions that helped me. First, thanks to Cameron, who posted instructions here:

http://forum.roadfly.com/threads/11556388

All the links to the photos are broken but the instructions are still helpful. Next, thanks to william735i

who posted more detailed instructions and photos here:

http://forum.roadfly.com/threads/11912400?p=11913681#post11913681

I used a combination of both of these posts to guide me when I did mine, so they may help you,too.

Step 1: Retract the sunroof back slightly, and remove the front stops on both sides (see Figures 1-4).

Figure 1. Right Front Stop

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 2. Right Front Stop Removed

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 3. Left Front Stop

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 4. Left Front Stop Removed

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 2: Close the sunroof and activate the tilt-up mechanism. Of course, the sunroof won't tilt up so

you will have to push it up manually and prop it open with something soft (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Sunroof Propped Open

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 3: Remove the top of the rubber gators from the sunroof. From inside the car, press both

thumbs against the TOP edge of the gator and work it toward you (toward the center of the car, as

shown in Figure 6). The bottom does not detach, so don't try. Do not pull on the thin baffles because

they tear easily (see Figure 7).

Figure 6. Use Thumbs to Remove Top Edge of Gator

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 7. Small Tear in Baffle of Right Gator - DO NOT PULL HERE

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 4: Press the gators down and you will be able to see the two Torx 25 screws on each side of the

rear of the sunroof (see Figures 8 and 9). Remove those. Slide the gator backward and you will then

be able to see one Torx 25 screw near the front corner of each side of the sunroof (Figure 10). Remove

those next (Figure 11).

Figure 8. Right Rear Sunroof Screws

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 9. Left Rear Sunroof Screws

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 10. Right Front Sunroof Screw

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 11. Left Front Sunroof Screw Removed

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 5: Remove the sunroof. I was able to do this very easily by just lifting the glass and sliding it

backward and up. Set it aside on a soft cloth and take a look at your slide rails. You will probably see

broken control rails as shown in Figures 12 & 13.

Figure 12. Broken Right Control Rail

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 13. Broken Left Control Rail

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 6: In order to get the broken pieces out, you have to disconnect the wind deflector from its arms

or remove it completely. Electronically slide the sunroof guides back about 8 inches. Cameron suggests

using pliers to pinch the plastic pin that connect the deflector to its arm, then tilt the deflector arms

back and remove them. I couldn't figure out how to do that, so I followed the instructions william735i

posted and removed the whole thing. It's not difficult and gets more stuff out of the way. Just use a

flathead screwdriver to pry out the spring mechanisms as shown in Figures 14-17.

Figure 14. Wind Deflector Left Spring Mechanism (attached)

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 15. Wind Deflector Right Spring Mechanism (dislodged)

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 16. Wind Deflector Right Side Lifted

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 17. Wind Deflector Left Side Lifted

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 7: Detach the wind deflector from the arms by rotating the deflector until the pins on the arms

can be slid out of the slots in the deflector.

Figure 18. Wind Deflector Detached from Left Arm

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 8: Remove both wind deflector arms. They simple snap out of a pair of C-shaped metal spring

clips as shown in Figures 19 and 20.

Figure 19. Wind Deflector Left Arm Attached

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 20. Wind Deflector Left Arm Detached

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 9: With the wind deflector and arms removed, it's really easy to slide the tilt hinge slider forward,

under the perimeter seal, and remove it as shown in Figures 21 and 22. Do the same for both sides.

Remove the broken pieces by sliding them forward and out as well.

Figure 21. Push Tilt Hinge Slider Forward

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 22. Work Tilt Hinge Slider Under Seal and Remove

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 10: Now move the sunroof guides as far forward as you can electronically. Remove the screw on

the plate over the main rear slider (Figure 23) and slide out the pin as shown in Figure 24. Remove the

cover as shown in Figure 25.

Figure 23. Remove Cover Plate Screw

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 24. Slide Pin Inward

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 25. Remove Cover Plate

Step 11: Slide the pin the rest of the way out and you can now remove the broken slide rail by sliding it

all the way forward and out. Do this on both sides.

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 12: Here's where I got stuck. I could not figure out how to remove the main slider, which is the

part that still remains in the slide after you remove the broken arm. Cameron says to "disconnect the

main slider (E) from the rear guide arm (D)", but with no photos for his references, I couldn't figure it

out. The main slide absolutely would not move and I could find no way to dislodge or disconnect it.

Since it wasn't broken and appeared to be in good shape, I decided to just leave it in place. The

replacement parts came assembled as shown in Figure 26, with the main slider part circled in red. So I

just removed the pin (same as we did above) and disconnected the main slider from the rest of the arm

assembly. Then I just reversed the steps above to reassemble the control rails.

Figure 26. Replacement Parts (right rail)

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 13: Clean all the surfaces and rails, then apply a generous coating of heavy lithium grease. Then

slide the new arm into the rails and all the way back. Attach it to the main slider, align it with the pin

holes and slide the new pin into place. Repeat for the left side,

Figure 27. Right Arm Reassembled

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair

Figure 28. Left Arm Reassembled

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 14: Reinstall the tilt hinge sliders into the rails on both sides, then electronically slide the sunroof

back about 8 inches.

Figure 29. Reinstallation of Right Tilt Hinge Slider

Step 15: Push the tilt hinge sliders back as far as you can, then reattach the wind deflector arms. In

Figure 29, I had already connected the wind deflector arm (you can see it in the lower left corner), but I

had to pop it out, move the tilt hinge slider back, then pop it back in again. That's because the tilt

hinge slider has a pin that rides over top of the wind deflector arm, so it needs to be behind the arm

when you reattach the arm. Then reattach the wind deflector by connecting it to the arms and

popping the spring mechanisms back into place.

Step 16: Electronically slide the assembly forward a little bit at a time until it's all the way forward.

Then tilt it up and leave it.

Step 17: Reinstall the sunroof. This can be challenging, so be patient. It helps to have an assistant for

this step. Place the sunroof on the mounts let it rest there. Work to align the front mounts with the

alignment pin on the brass arm and get the front screw started (don't tighten it down yet). Once you

do the first side, the other should be much easier. Then doe all four screws in the rear brackets, again

leaving them snug but not tight.

Step 18: Close the sunroof electronically and check for alignment. If you have to make adjustments,

tilt the sunroof back up, loosen the screws, make your adjustments, and tighten them back down.

Check again. Do no slide the sunroof back - just tilt up and down for this step. If you slide it

backwards, you can crush the gators.

BMW 528i E39 Sunroof Repair Step 19: Reinstall the gators by simply pushing the top edge back into place. Be sure to seat it fully for

the whole length of the gator. Check all modes of operation to ensure that it is working properly.

Step 20: Reinitialize the sunroof by pressing the tilt button for 30 seconds.

Someone else posted this warning and it seems that a number of people had fallen victim to this

mistake, so I'm going to re-post it here just in case:

"If for some reason the motor drive looses the sense of where the slider is, relative to the track,

then the system enters in a "find it" procedure. This is regardless any change you make, and even

not influenced by the hard reset (fuse remove). There is no sensor that indicate where the slide is,

so here is how the motor computer find it: when you touch the roof switch, the motor drive pull the

slider all the way forward, until it force the mechanism against the track and limiters. The motor

drive computer then sense the high current driven caused by the motor sudden stop when it

reaches the resistance. It register the position as fwd limit, then immediately count some time

back for the resting position. The trick is, if you allow the system enter in this mode

WITHOUT THE GLASS installed, there will be no firm mechanism resistence, then the

drive motor will break your plastic sliders again. Like a lazy idiot, I lost 5 kits until I realize

the procedure should only be entered AFTER the glass reinstalled."