Replacement of sunroof seal due to leak. How hard DIY?

Roadkill · #1 01-31-2011, 02:40 PM

Did some reading on the the dreaded sunroof overhead console leak. My sunroof drains are clear and I only get water leaking from the switch area and not on the floor or A pillars. Pretty much figured that it's the seal. Don't really use the sunroof so it sits in the closed position all the time. Has anybody replaced the seal themselves? How difficult is it?

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m5james · #2 01-31-2011, 06:09 PM

Probably similar to the E38's replacement. www.e38.org

Roadkill · #3 01-31-2011, 09:21 PM

Thanks James. Doesn't seem too difficult.

m5james · #4 01-31-2011, 09:41 PM

joemorelli99 · #5 10-31-2012, 01:38 PM

Hey dinan e39,

Did you replace the sunroof seal on your X5 (2-piece panorama glass)? Mine is coming loose in spots - want to do it before it falls out completely. How was it? Any tips? How did you get the back portion of glass off to do the area around that?

Thanks.

Roadkill · #6 10-31-2012, 02:25 PM

Joe, I did the outside seal that surrounds the entire sunroof. Pretty simple job. You have to remove the rear piece of glass which is held in by torx screws. The old seal is a bitch to remove because the adhesive sticks to the body so have patience. The new one is directional so match it up to the old one. Good luck.

Roadkill · #7 10-31-2012, 02:27 PM

Almost forgot. You may have to adjust the rear piece of glass to get the sunroof to properly close. It took me a few tries to get it right and then I had to reinitialize the sunroof closing procedure to make it work properly.

joemorelli99 · #8 10-31-2012, 02:36 PM

Thanks for responding so fast! A few questions please:

Where did you get the seal for the Panoramic roof? How many torx screws hold the back glass panel? Where are they located - are they fairly easy to get to? How did you get the adhesive off and clean it up before reapplying the new seal?

Also...any tips on leveling the main glass panel? Mine does not close perfectly flush (very slightly lifted in the back).

Thank you in advance!!

~ Joey

Roadkill · #9 10-31-2012, 03:24 PM

1. I got the seal from BMW
2. I think there are 4 screws but I could be wrong. They are accessible by looking into the track from inside the car.
3. I rolled the old adhesive off with my finger. It's a pain in the ass but its the only method that I found worked. Solvents didn't touch it.
4. It's mostly trial and error. Once you reinstall the glass and close the roof you can see how the glass seats and then it's fine tuning from there.

joemorelli99 · #10 10-31-2012, 04:42 PM

I went out and looked...yeah there are 4 torx screws holding that back panel on. Looks like that has to be removed first then open the front panel. Doesn't look too bad at all (knocking wood now). Adjusting the glass looks tough as the front panel has to be shut when you tweak the back panel screws.

Did you use only the adhesive that is already on the seal / gasket? Nothing extra, correct? Thanks again man.

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