Originally Posted by Fifty150hs (Post 1112026)

After finding out what my indy would charge to repair my pano ($4000) I slid the part forward that was holding the rear glass up and pulled the fuse. I wasn't using it anyway. If I decided I wanted to use it I'd go the cut off the tabs route.

Originally Posted by jcorreanyc (Post 1112018)

I am probably one of the few people outside of the dealerships to actually repair these pano roofs with the new updated plastic parts (there are 3 separate repair kits) that replace your old broken ones. It's like brain surgery but it can be done and it won't break again. The updated parts are actually different from the original ones. Chalk it up to a bad design to start with. I have done 5 or 6 of these at this point. It takes the better part of a day (focusing and without breaks) to do the job. I do have a spare working cassette for sale but haven't listed it in the classifieds since I figured someone local would need it one day. I have also considered doing the job for people for a reasonable fee if they come to New York with the repair kits, but haven't acted on that since working on cars is a hobby for me. I just think it's a shame that people practicallly junk their E53s because of these pano roofs. It's a fixable problem but so few people want to touch the job.

Originally Posted by jcorreanyc (Post 1112018)

I am probably one of the few people outside of the dealerships to actually repair these pano roofs with the new updated plastic parts (there are 3 separate repair kits) that replace your old broken ones. It's like brain surgery but it can be done and it won't break again. The updated parts are actually different from the original ones. Chalk it up to a bad design to start with. I have done 5 or 6 of these at this point. It takes the better part of a day (focusing and without breaks) to do the job. I do have a spare working cassette for sale but haven't listed it in the classifieds since I figured someone local would need it one day. I have also considered doing the job for people for a reasonable fee if they come to New York with the repair kits, but haven't acted on that since working on cars is a hobby for me. I just think it's a shame that people practicallly junk their E53s because of these pano roofs. It's a fixable problem but so few people want to touch the job.

Originally Posted by Moments (Post 1123758)

I replaced the two mechanisms in the roof, I couldn't be dealing with cutting the wedges for the back window.
The hardest part of the job was getting the screws that hold the larger glass back in place. Removing the glass, headliner and cassette is easy. Practising the mechanism dismantle and re-assembly with the old components is the sure-fire way to get skilled before putting the replacement parts in.
£335 for the two mechanisms and a can of lithium grease. Workbench needed for the cassette, somewhere flat for the headliner, gaffer tape to hold the pyros, no special tools; 5-6 hours of work. Works perfectly.

Originally Posted by 14thbmw (Post 1123659)

Do you have the repair kit numbers and any sort of tutorial or hints on this?thanks!