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Remove Roof Sunshade?

troverman

Member
Joined
February 3, 2005
Messages
32
Reaction score
6
City, State
New Hampshire
Year, Model & Trim Level
1996 Limited 2WD
The headlining material has come partially unglued from the shade on the power sunroof. It looks like it would be a lot easier to re-glue with the shade removed. How do I get it out?

Also, best glue for re-gluing?
 



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I asked this same question last week and no one answered. :(

maybe you can get us the response we need

mine cam e unglued because i left the vent open and it rained so hard it got wet. D'oh
 






Well Phoenix if I don't get a reply I'll just go ahead and figure it out myself. I've taken a shade out of an old Range Rover with a glass moonroof, usually you just have the roof in the tilted up position and there are certain tabs that can pop up and let the shade slide out. If I have to figure it out myself I'll post the procedure here.
 






that would be great. I have a tendency to use force if I cant get something out easily and usually end up damaging it
 






I fixed mine last night. Here's roughly what you do:

Start with the roof tilted up and the shade back. There is an inner black plastic piece that doesn't tilt up with the roof but does slide back with it. It looks like a big "U-shape" that surrounds the roof opening and the open part of the "U" faces the back of the car. First remove each end of the "U" by simply pulling straight out; they are held by clips. (If you are removing the right side you pull left; left side you pull right). Once the ends are removed, close the roof and then retract it about halfway open. You will see four phillips screws to remove the rest of this piece; the screws are on the front edge of the actual sunroof. Remove this piece and set aside.

Next, return the roof to the tilted up position. On the lower left and right edges of the actual sunroof is a short black plastic trim piece. Both of these trims need to be removed and there are three snap-in plastic pins that hold them in place. Start by pulling / prying on the edge that is tilted up, once you get the first one out the others come easy. Be careful not to break these, I broke one.

Once the above trims are removed, you can see the sunroof bolts. There are three per side. Use an 8mm socket to remove these. Once they are all out, gently push the whole glass upward and off. I set my glass roof in the backseat while doing the rest of the work.

Now, stand on your door sills or a step ladder so you can see above the roof. There is a plastic tray that catches water on the rear portion of the roof opening and this must be removed. It is held on by two Torx screws, I think T25. Mine were pretty loose anyway, but once these two are out, simply pull this out. I had to move the roof to the 'closed' position to get it out, even though the sunroof is no longer attached.

Now you're ready to remove the shade. Pull it all the way to the closed position and from above the car look down. You will see four clips attach the shade to little feet which ride in the metal guide track. I had to pop the two clips on one side off and then you can lift the shade on that side up and just slide the other side out. Use a little screwdriver to pop the clips off on one side. You might be able to just shove the shade to one side and gain enough clearance to just lift it out, but I actually had to remove two clips. Once the shade is out, 6 little phillips screws remove the plastic handle / vent on the shade. I cleaned mine and reglued the cloth with fabric / tacky glue. Make sure not to use too much or the glue will soak through and not look great when it dries. Also, when removing the plastic handle, every last plastic clip broke on mine during removal. The plastic is very brittle. The screws pretty much hold it in place though, plus I glued my edge back down anyway.

When you put the shade back into the track, pop the two clips back on so all four are on. Put one side in first, then push towards that side. This gives almost enough clearance to let the other side drop in. The clips are spring loaded, so just push them a little or flex the shade a little until you get them in. Then, just put everything back in the order you took it off.

The only thing to consider is sunroof alignment. The six 8mm bolts to remove the glass also adjust the up / down position of the roof. I put all six loosely back on, then shut the roof and tightened them up that way.

All in all, took me maybe two hours, now no more sagging cloth on the shade! Hope this helps.
 












I appreciate the write up. I got a shade out of a newer Explorer, and found that mine was different.

I think it was out of a 2000 or so, which didnt seem to have the tray at the rear, or the trim pieces, plus it only had two screws on each side.


I found that, for the black plastic trims over the glass bolts, that if you push up on them (towards the glass) while pulling out, they'll pop out easier without breaking the tabs.
 






Great information. My recently acquired 99 XLT has a bit of fabric sagging from the sunroof shade so this project is on my list.
 






I've got the same sag. I was thinking of just removing all the material, cleaning it up and leaving it with the plain black plastic or just masking it off and painting it with some vinyl paint. Seems like a lot of work to get the thing out, but fantastic right up. It would make a great sticky with some pix.
 






I'd like to follow up on this thread for a couple of reasons. First because troverman's instructions are spot on and second, to give a little extra information.

I found my drooping fabric to be in far too poor condition to glue back on. It was too thin and stretched out. Rather than paying $200 to have it recovered, I simply painted it. I found a nearly exact match paint on the shelf at Home Depot. It works great. The only downside is that due to the lack of fabric "padding" the sun shade will occasionally make a clunk sound when you hit a bump. It's very minor and if it bothers you simply open the shade because then there is no movement.
 






Great info. I did mine and had no problem..just time consuming covering the old shade. I used 3m Super Spray glue from Autozone. The moon replace place wanted $90 to do it and said it would tie up a guy for about 2 hrs. They gave me a yard of the material and said I could have it if I wanted to tackle the job. Just pulled two 5/16 bolts out of sunroof on both sides using two people to make sure the track didn't get bent. Get small flat blade screw driver and push in table on slide 2 front, 2 back. Get 2 front first then slide forward to access the rear. Take two torex screws out of plastic above shade. Slide shade toward you to remove the rear other side so you don't have to push the tabs. Slide shade out.
 






This thread would be absolutely amazing with pics! A definite sticky for sure!
 






Pics please! I need to do this as well.

Sent from my H866C using Forum Runner
 






Thank you Troverman! Now how to identify color...

I don't think it's possible to write a better description! Exactly what the doctor ordered. I thought I would need pictures but honestly it's a really simple removal if you follow the honorable Troverman's directions. Torx bit is indeed the t-25.

My headliner was too worn out to reuse, so I'm going to need to replace it... unfortunately it's not a color that I can get from the Ford dealer any more, although they say it is the "FX" color. I'm attaching a pic - does anyone know an exact color/vendor where I can get this headliner fabric?

Thanks!
DSC_0007.jpg
 






Digging up an old thread. Do you guys know If a newer sun shade from a 1998 explorer or newer will fit my 1997 explorer. my sun roof shade needs replacing and I want to pull one from the junk yard?
 






I'm attaching a pic - does anyone know an exact color/vendor where I can get this headliner fabric?

I have the same interior as you. It's called Medium Prairie Tan. Ford Color Code is either 000AX or PNAYB (one is interior code and one is exterior paint code but I don't know which is which.) Hope it helps!
 






Moonroof shade removal for headliner replacement

I followed these instructions supplied by troverman back in 2009 and they worked perfectly. Thanks to him if he's still on this forum.

I fixed mine last night. Here's roughly what you do:

Start with the roof tilted up and the shade back. There is an inner black plastic piece that doesn't tilt up with the roof but does slide back with it. It looks like a big "U-shape" that surrounds the roof opening and the open part of the "U" faces the back of the car. First remove each end of the "U" by simply pulling straight out; they are held by clips. (If you are removing the right side you pull left; left side you pull right). Once the ends are removed, close the roof and then retract it about halfway open. You will see four phillips screws to remove the rest of this piece; the screws are on the front edge of the actual sunroof. Remove this piece and set aside.

Next, return the roof to the tilted up position. On the lower left and right edges of the actual sunroof is a short black plastic trim piece. Both of these trims need to be removed and there are three snap-in plastic pins that hold them in place. Start by pulling / prying on the edge that is tilted up, once you get the first one out the others come easy. Be careful not to break these, I broke one.

Once the above trims are removed, you can see the sunroof bolts. There are three per side. Use an 8mm socket to remove these. Once they are all out, gently push the whole glass upward and off. I set my glass roof in the backseat while doing the rest of the work.

Now, stand on your door sills or a step ladder so you can see above the roof. There is a plastic tray that catches water on the rear portion of the roof opening and this must be removed. It is held on by two Torx screws, I think T25. Mine were pretty loose anyway, but once these two are out, simply pull this out. I had to move the roof to the 'closed' position to get it out, even though the sunroof is no longer attached.

Now you're ready to remove the shade. Pull it all the way to the closed position and from above the car look down. You will see four clips attach the shade to little feet which ride in the metal guide track. I had to pop the two clips on one side off and then you can lift the shade on that side up and just slide the other side out. Use a little screwdriver to pop the clips off on one side. You might be able to just shove the shade to one side and gain enough clearance to just lift it out, but I actually had to remove two clips. Once the shade is out, 6 little phillips screws remove the plastic handle / vent on the shade. I cleaned mine and reglued the cloth with fabric / tacky glue. Make sure not to use too much or the glue will soak through and not look great when it dries. Also, when removing the plastic handle, every last plastic clip broke on mine during removal. The plastic is very brittle. The screws pretty much hold it in place though, plus I glued my edge back down anyway.

When you put the shade back into the track, pop the two clips back on so all four are on. Put one side in first, then push towards that side. This gives almost enough clearance to let the other side drop in. The clips are spring loaded, so just push them a little or flex the shade a little until you get them in. Then, just put everything back in the order you took it off.

The only thing to consider is sunroof alignment. The six 8mm bolts to remove the glass also adjust the up / down position of the roof. I put all six loosely back on, then shut the roof and tightened them up that way.

All in all, took me maybe two hours, now no more sagging cloth on the shade! Hope this helps.
 






Glad those instructions helped! I drive an F-350 now, so I'm not on these forums much anymore, but still once in awhile.
 






I recently ripped off the saggy piece of cloth that was still attached to the sun screen after all the foam disintegrated.
It's currently just it's natural black plastic.

(I've told myself that) I'm going to stick some cloth onto some foam on a card and stick that to the plastic.
 



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Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I recently ripped off the saggy piece of cloth that was still attached to the sun screen after all the foam disintegrated.
It's currently just it's natural black plastic.

(I've told myself that) I'm going to stick some cloth onto some foam on a card and stick that to the plastic.

I'm in the same boat with my 97 V8 sport , I have a bolt of grey ultrasuede to recover the whole thing just gotta get around to it but this will definitely help with the shade ,
 






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