AstroRoof Service

AstroRoof Service

Sliding Door and Weatherstrip

All these instructions are complete to the best of my knowledge. I performed this task on my 86 GN to replace a deteriorating weatherstrip on the sliding glass panel. I have tried to make the text as complete as possible. There is nothing more frustrating than incomplete instructions. I have seen some parts of the Buick manuals read as simplified as the following:

Removal and Installation Removal and installation will be obvious upon inspection (Fig 13).

Then Fig 13 shows pics of "B, D Style typical, G series similar"

... and the pictures show 7 different views of a part that doesn't look close to my car.

NOTE: The procedures described here apply to the BUICK (FACTORY INSTALLED) ASTROROOF ONLY. The Buick astroroof differs from the one installed by ASC. The easiest way to determine if your roof is from Buick or ASC is by looking at the sheet metal of the roof of the car itself. The Buick astroroof will not have any trim attached to the sheet metal of the roof of the car. The weatherstrip seal is affixed to the glass and seals directly to the die cut opening in the roof of the car. The roof opening of the Buick astroroof will be rolled under by approximately 1/4 inch and will not have any trim at all. ASC astroroofs on the other hand will have a trim ring on the sheet metal of the roof.

IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHICH ASTROROOF YOU HAVE (BUICK OR ASC) DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THESE PROCEDURES DESCRIBED HERE. LOCATE A QUALIFIED SHOP TO HAVE THE NECESSARY SERVICE WORK PERFORMED. READ ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING. BE SURE TO THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE BEGINNING. IF YOU FEEL UNSURE ABOUT PERFORMING THIS WORK, LOCATE A QUALIFIED SHOP TO HAVE THE NECESSARY SERVICE WORK PERFORMED.

I make these statements because this was NOT a fun job and I don't want somebody running into trouble halfway through the job.

This entire process can be performed by one person except for the removal of the sliding glass panel. I would not remove the sliding glass panel without the assistance of another person because removing the panel is a tight fit and this part of the procedure is the most likely to cause damage to the roof of the car due to the process involved.

First in servicing the astroroof, the following tools are required:

Removal of the sliding sunshade panel: Phillips screwdriver or Dakota 1/4 hex bit holder
1/4 Phillips screwdriver bit 1/4 Phillips screwdriver bit
1/4 Box end wrench 1/4 ratchet handle
3" 1/4 extension

Removal of the sliding glass panel: Dakota Tools

Phillips screwdriver
10mm 1/4 socket
1/4 ratchet handle
T-50 Torx wrench or 7mm 1/4 socket
7mm 1/4 socket Dakota 1/4 extension
1/4 ratchet handle 1/4 ratchet handle
10mm 1/4 socket 10mm 3/8 socket
1/4 universal joint Dakota 3/8 extension
6" 1/4 extension 3/8 ratchet handle
1/4 ratchet handle

Since I have easy access to the Dakota tools, I made use of these in performing the service on my astroroof. These are great timesavers. I have listed the equivalent standard hand tools I would use for this job in the right column. The Dakota tools are not necessary, they just make life easier. In the instructions, I will describe using both sets of tools. When there is a choice of tools to perform the task, I will describe the my preferred method first [and then the alternate method in brackets like this statement.]

Before removing ANY parts of the astroroof, tape off the sheet metal of the roof around the entire opening. This tape should be heavy masking or vinyl tape. All parts removed will be removed through the roof opening. This tape is to protect the paint from chips and scratches during the process. Be sure the tape completely covers the roof edge and extends to cover the underside of the rolled lip also.

NOTE: There are 2 torx screws at the front and rear of each track for the sliding glass panel. These screws are for adjustment of the glass panel only. These should not be loosened or moved in the removal and installation of the astroroof sliding sunshade or sliding glass panel. Only after completing the job, if the sliding glass panel needs adjustment should these then be used to adjust the sliding glass panel for a watertight fit.

Remove the Sliding Glass Trim Ring

The first step in servicing the astroroof is to remove the sliding glass trim ring from the sliding glass panel. This is done by positioning the glass fully closed and pushing the sunshade to the fully stowed position (inside the roof). There is one phillips screw in the plastic trim ring in the center of the rear portion. This screw is buried very well and very hard to remove. Using the 1/4 hex bit in the Dakota 1/4 bit holder, drive the Dakota extension with the 3" extension and ratchet handle.

[Using the 1/4 hex bit in the end of the 1/4 box end wrench, hold your finger on the rear of the hex bit to keep pressure on the bit and turn it with the box wrench to remove it.]

Trivial as that sounds, that screw is in a tight spot and difficult to remove.

Next position the sliding glass panel open approximately 8-10 inches. Leave the sliding sunshade in the stowed position. Use the Phillips screwdriver and remove the screws along the front of the trim ring.

To remove the trim ring, pull down and forward to disengage the clips holding it to the sliding glass panel. The clips are on the sides of the trim ring.

Once free, I found the trim ring had to be removed thru the roof opening as the opening to the interior was not large enough. This is accomplished by VERY CAREFULLY moving the sliding glass panel to the fully stowed position inside the roof. Mine had a tendency to catch on the trim ring, but I found you can pull it downward enough to get enough clearance to move the glass back. Move the glass slowly a little at a time to ensure you don't catch the trim ring on the underside of the glass panel and crack it. The astroroof motor will break the trim ring before it bind on it if caught.

Remove the Sliding Sunshade

First remove the sliding glass trim ring as described above.

The sliding sunshade is made of sheet metal, hence it has some give to allow you to get it out. It is basically a flat sheet with stiffeners on it from front to back, and a tab that us bent upward an the very back edge. This tab catches on the sliding glass panel when it is moved rearward so the sunshade opens along with the sliding glass panel for normal operation.

To remove the sunshade, first remove the silver handle. This is held in place by 2 phillips screws. Using the 1/4 hex bit in the Dakota bit holder, remove the screws by driving the Dakota tool with the 1/4 ratchet handle.

[Using the 1/4 hex bit and box end wrench, hold the rear of the bit with your finger to keep pressure on the bit in the screw and turn with the box wrench to remove the screw.]

Now grasp the sliding panel and pull it to one side of the car (I pulled towards the driver side). You will see the slider piece on the passenger side of the panel. There are identical sliders on both sides of the panel. You only need to remove one slider from the track. This takes a bit of effort, but it can be pulled free. Once free, the slider can be pulled off the sliding sunshade panel.

Once one side is removed, you can easily slide the panel to the opposite side of the car and remove the second slider from the sunshade.

With both track sliders removed and the sunshade disengaged from the tracks, rotate it and slide it out through the roof opening. It is too large to come down thru the interior opening.

Remove the Sliding Glass Panel

Start by removing the following from the drivers side:

A-pillar molding (remove 2 phillips screws) Sun visor (3 phillips head screws)
Molding along windshield at headliner (3 clips, mine pulled down and forward fairly easily)
Molding along headliner at top of door opening (3 clips, mine came off by pushing the molding out and pulling down on the outer edge)
3 Clips that held molding, these also hold the edge of the headliner up (3 phillips screws - 1 for each clip)
Aluminum door sill trim (4 phillips screws, this is to remove the next molding)
Molding from roof to floor along the rear of the door opening (4 phillips screws)
Clothing hook (1 phillips screw)S
Seat belt guide on inside of door opening near top (1 Torx T-50)
With all these pieces removed, you will have enough room to lower the headliner enough to get to the fasteners on the drivers side.

Move the sliding glass panel to open approximately 2 inches or so (you should see the glass in the lowered position away from the roof). Using the 10mm socket and 1/4 ratchet, remove the 8 nuts on the studs holding the sliding glass panel to the track guides. The rear guides are affixed to the cables inside the track, do not try to remove these. The front guides will fall free of the window once the nuts have been removed. While holding the sliding glass panel in the up position (sealed to the roof), move the rear track guides fully to the rear inside the roof with the power mechanism as if you were retracting the glass panel in the roof. Once out of the way, carefully slide the glass panel inside the roof for now to keep it out of the way.

On the inside of the astroroof opening, the headliner is held in place by a gray closeout lace. This lace will be along the very top edge where the headliner meets the roof opening. Pull the closeout lace from the corner of the drivers side front edge to the middle of the opening along the front edge. This will allow you to pull the edge of the headliner down to easily see the 2 7MM screws that need removed from the front edge. The headliner is only tucked into this channel. The closeout lace provides a finished edge while keeping the tucked headliner edge in place.

Use the 7mm socket on the 1/4 Dakota extension, drive the Dakota extension with the 1/4 ratchet and remove the 2 screws holding the astroroof mechanism bracket in place. One screw is in the bracket only, the other secures a ground wire along with the bracket. [Using the 7mm socket and 1/4 ratchet handle, remove the 2 7mm screws.] You may approach these screws thru the opening of the headliner or from under the headliner near the windshield edge. I prefer to look through the opening of the headliner and remove these from the windshield side since the screws are closer to the windshield.

Now remove the 2 10mm nuts from the studs on the side of the astroroof mechanism. The first is located about 6 inches or so back from the front of the door opening. The second is located at the very back of the door opening. The headliner should pull down far enough to just see these and reach in to remove them. When removing the rear nut, I found it much easier to get in the roof by gently pulling the trim in from there the upper seat belt went thru. This allowed a little more give to pull the edge of the headliner down to get to the rear nut. Using the 10mm socket on the Dakota extension, drive it with the 3/8 ratchet and remove the 2 nuts.

[Put the 1/4 universal joint on the end of the 1/4 extension and put the 10mm socket on the universal. Using the 1/4 ratchet handle, remove the 2 nuts.]

* Here is where two people are needed. * Gently slide the glass panel out from inside the roof into the opening. One person should pull down on the track mechanism on the drivers side while the second person rotates the glass panel on an angle and removes it thru the roof opening. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL HERE SINCE THIS IS THE EASIEST TIME TO DAMAGE THE ROOF OR THE MECHANISM. THE ROOF CAN BE DAMAGED BY SCRATCHING OR THE ASSISTANT LEANING ON THE ROOF TOO MUCH TO GET LEVERAGE. THE MECHANISM CAN BE DAMAGED IF PULLED DOWN TOO HARD. THE TRACK MECHANISM CAN BE PULLED WITH A GOOD BIT OF FORCE, BUT REMEMBER, IT IS STILL ATTACHED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAR AND CAN BE BENT. The glass panel is heavy and hard to maneuver.

The person on the inside will have an excellent view of how the panel is moving and will need to help direct the person removing the panel to ensure the roof isn't damaged. When I took mine out, we angled the glass so the drivers rear corner went in the opening made by pulling down on the track mechanism. This allowed the glass to be turned to just enough of an angle to clear the roof and remove it. While removing the glass, the person pulling the track mechanism will have to watch they don't get their fingers caught by the glass panel as it is turned since the person pulling the panel out cannot see the persons fingers inside the car.

Installing New Material on Sliding Sunshade Door

The cloth on the sunshade door is affixed to the door in the same manner as headliner material is to the headliner substrate of any car. The big difference with the astroroof cars is the material used on the sunshade has a DIFFERENT foam backing that is thinner than standard headliner material. This is due to the extremely low clearance for the slifing sunshade to slide into the stowed position inside the roof. Be sure to use the correct material when recovering the sliding door. If you use regular headliner material, the material will wear prematurely from the constant scraping as the sliding sunshade is opened and closed.

Repairing Paint Damage on the Sliding Glass Panel

Prior to installing the new weatherstrip, if any paint work is necessary, do it now to avoid problems later. You will see the adhesive sealant is glued to the painted surface. If the paint gives and peels off, this will cause a water leak. My paint was peeling visibly on the top edges when I removed the glass panel. I stripped all the paint and refinished it with POR-15 Chassis Coat Black paint. This is a satin black intended for extreme abuse, chemical resistant, and not UV sensitive. So far it is holding up just fine. The black paint from Buick is painted directly over the stainless trim, hence it tends to peel over time from UV damage and from drying out. Some places, the paint on my glass panel the paint lost its bond with the surface and flaked off in rather large pieces.

Installing new sliding glass panel gasket

The gasket (or weatherstrip) on the sliding glass panel is different for the Buick and ASC astroroofs. Be sure to purchase the correct one. Standard weatherstrip installation precautions apply to installing the new weatherstrip. The weatherstrip must be stretched into place around the glass. For this process you may want to have an assistant hold the portions you have completed so you can place the weatherstrip in place once around the perimeter of the glass without it coming up on you. It is a real good idea to give this a test fit and plan how you want to stretch it so you can maintain a good seal with the adhesive when you finally seal it in place. I used tape to hold my gasket in place overnight while the adhesive cured. Be sure not to directly tape the gasket itself, but put a piece of paper over the gasket, then tape over the paper sticking the tape to the top and underside of the glass to hold it. The gasket is prone to ripping when tape is stuck to it. I have seen some gaskets get damaged just removing the "Made in Canada" sticker that Buick puts on the gasket when it's made.

Installation

....reverse previous procedure. Oh, sorry. Thought I was writing a Buick Manual there for a second. :-)

Putting It All Back Together

Basically, you do simply reverse all the above procedures. Install the sliding glass panel thru the roof with your assistant inserting it on an angle like it was when removed. Be careful not to damage the new gasket when doing this. The gasket will be near sharp edges of the track while it is an angle to fit back in. Once the glass panel is back in between the tracks and oriented correctly, put the 2 nuts and 2 screws back to hold the track in position properly. Be sure to reconnect the ground wire on the one screw when replacing it. Once the track is secured in place, press the glass panel in place sealed to the roof in the up position and hold it there. Operate the power switch forward to get the two rear track guides out from inside the roof. Bring these out far enough to reattach them with the 10mm nuts. Insert the 2 front track guides in the track and position them under the glass and reattach these also. You can now move the glass again with the power mechanism. Move the sliding glass panel to its full forward and up position and then move it to its full rearward and stowed position inside the roof to assure there is no binding. There should not be, but now is the time to check.

Reinstall the coat hook, trim around the door, along the front of the headliner, and drivers sun visor. The headliner that was tucked in with the windlace can be re tucked in with anything like a credit card, dull putty knife, regular screwdriver, body putty spatula, almost any thin object that can push it into the crevice. Do not use any sharp objects that may puncture the headliner material. Once the headliner is tucked in, simply push the windlace back into the crevice to snug up the headliner material.

Install the guides on the sides of the sliding sunshade panel by pushing them back on and insert it into the opening thru the roof. Position one side in its track and firmly push to get the other side in its track. You may want to use a flat blade screwdriver to coax the slider in, it is a tight fit. Once installed, slide the sunshade back into the stowed position. Press the back down far enough to get the tab that is sticking up to clear the sliding glass panel so the sunshade will function properly.

Move the glass forward and install the trim ring on the bottom of the glass. Engage the tabs by pushing it up and to the rear when doing so. Once the side tabs click into position, finish off by replacing the screws. I personally don't think the one in the rear is necessary and did not reinstall it since there is already a hidden tab holding up the rear by engaging the glass. This screw is the obligatory "extra" part left over after the job is completed. It is not needed, throw it away. If you like, you may reinstall it. After 30 minutes of trying to get it started, you will fell much more satisfaction throwing it out the garage door as far as it will go.

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