Eddie Bauer Sunroof Handle Replacement/Broken

[bdander]

Hey all,

I am guessing this may not be as common as I thought but I have a 97 EB and the sun roof handle cracked and split into several pieces to the point where it is not repairable. I've done a search but can't find much info on this and was wondering if anyone knows where I can find a replacement or has a suggestion to fix it.

Thanks

 

[bdander]

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Torqueranger]

Any input is appreciated.

Did you try LMC ????

 

[bdander]

Didn't have the handle, just the glass.

 

[bdander]

Still no luck. Has anybody run into this issue before?

 

[shadowless127]

why not see if someone has one for sale in the For Sale thread? Also check local JYs.

 

[koda2000]

try PM'ing this guy. he has a lot of used parts for sale. ped5stang

 

[bdander]

Problem with buying them used is that most are already cracked. In the EB it has an almost vent like handle for whatever reason, and after 17 years I'm certain that most I could find in a JY will be just as bad as mine.

 

[koda2000]

Problem with buying them used is that most are already cracked. In the EB it has an almost vent like handle for whatever reason, and after 17 years I'm certain that most I could find in a JY will be just as bad as mine.

it would be great to find a new one, but the odds of finding a new plastic handle for a 17 year old vehicle are about as slim as they get.

 

[shadowless127]

Problem with buying them used is that most are already cracked. In the EB it has an almost vent like handle for whatever reason, and after 17 years I'm certain that most I could find in a JY will be just as bad as mine.

I forgot you had a pre-98. Those handles are garbage. All pre-98 sunroofs have those vent holes. My 01 has the newer normal handle with no vents. Another option is to convert to a 98-01 shade.

 

[bdander]

I forgot you had a pre-98. Those handles are garbage. All pre-98 sunroofs have those vent holes. My 01 has the newer normal handle with no vents. Another option is to convert to a 98-01 shade.

How tough is that? Just had the sun roof lining redone and if I could just get a handle from a 98+ and put that in I am okay with that since the "vent slots" are not cut out of the new lining yet.

 

[bdander]

Has anyone ever done this before?

 

[masospaghetti]

I'm interested in this too. My handle hasn't broken yet but I could tell how brittle it was when I recovered my sunshade. It's just a matter of time before it shatters into a million pieces

 

[shadowless127]

How tough is that? Just had the sun roof lining redone and if I could just get a handle from a 98+ and put that in I am okay with that since the "vent slots" are not cut out of the new lining yet.

I would just go purchase an entire shade from a JY from a 98-01. It should be a direct replacement. I wouldnt even mess around with the current shade.

 

[chefduane]

I had the plastic parking brake handle on my '98 crumble in my hand last year. Completely irreparable. I carved a new one out of a piece of pine (I'm good with knives), sanded it and stained with some extra stain I had in the garage. Reattached it with Gorilla Glue. Good as new, and pretty nice looking to boot!
Chef Duane

 

[bdander]

I would just go purchase an entire shade from a JY from a 98-01. It should be a direct replacement. I wouldnt even mess around with the current shade.

I just had the whole headliner completely redone. This would have been a great idea but I didn't think it would be this hard to find a new handle.

 

[gsbarry]

Necroposting here but... anyone have any ideas (other than replacing the whole shade with a '98 or later - which I might end up doing) or parts sources for the '97 sunroof shade handle? As you can see from the pic below, mine is in very bad shape and driving me nuts. I wasted an hour at the local junk yard this weekend but no luck, need to have exactly a '97 with the vents on the handle.

 

[J_C]

^ It would help to have the whole thing apart, on a table. I wonder if you could patch what you have, put clear packing tape over the exterior facing side, then lay in a layer of epoxy, then fiberglass matting, another layer of epoxy, etc repeat layering until you run out of clearance, then if it looks weird, paint it. To clarify, the epoxy won't bond to the packing tape adhesive side, it's just a barrier to create a flat surface for the epoxy to set, like where the cracks and gaps are, then peels off easily once the epoxy has cured.

 

[gsbarry]

^ It would help to have the whole thing apart, on a table. I wonder if you could patch what you have, put clear packing tape over the exterior facing side, then lay in a layer of epoxy, then fiberglass matting, another layer of epoxy, etc repeat layering until you run out of clearance, then if it looks weird, paint it. To clarify, the epoxy won't bond to the packing tape adhesive side, it's just a barrier to create a flat surface for the epoxy to set, like where the cracks and gaps are, then peels off easily once the epoxy has cured.

Gotcha, basically replacing the plastic with a custom expoxy fill. I had toyed with the idea of creating a custom wood inlay as well. Kind of looking for an easy way out that doesn’t involve dropping the headliner (again) to pull the shade, but that may be what it takes.

 

[J_C]

I don't understand, there is something else you could do if given the right part(s), without dropping the headliner? Does the broken part just unscrew or something? If so then I meant just taking it off to patch.

I had an edit to my post but stepped away and something happened, gone, but it included options of making it out of wood (lol) and a more global search at a place like linked below and narrow the search by picking non-interchange search for 1997, and you get listings for the whole sunroof, but also phone #'s and could call and negotiate a price for just the shade. It's going to cost more, to have anything shipped. I would wonder how much value the shade has. I opened mine a few years back and haven't moved it since, but I don't drive long trips with my '98 so if the sun is strong, it's bearable open.

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

I'd need it in my own hands to better decide what I'd do, and measurements with a caliper for clearance to the rest of the vehicle, and ultimately if you can replace the whole shade with a '98 or later and it matters enough to you to bother, then at least it's a direct course of action.