Wow...great info. Thanks for posting. Not everything you gave us makes sense to me now (I just got my e53 this past Thursday)...but it has lit a fire within to make sure that I do at least an annual inspection/lubing of the pano/roofs tracks with some Tri-Flow lubricant (which contains TEFLON) which may help in some of the areas you mention that get stressed where some moving parts interact with each other.
Again, thanks for the great pics and documentations...good luck with your future endeavors on this project...and do keep us updated.
