Sunroof cover decided it was done

[tmoore4512]

Well, came out to the old girl to find the sunroof cover sitting like this. The window mounted attachments just gave up and no luck finding any replacements.

 

Anyone need a cover? Not perfect but works.

 

Sent from my Armor 27T Pro using Tapatalk

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

Know someone with a 3D printer?  Listed for an R50, but looks right to me. Would need to be printed in ABS or better.

 

My '95 had a piece of cardboard up there, held with baling wire through the attachment points on the glass. Worked fine. Didn't look great, but neither do the OE sunshades, thirty years on. I tried cleaning and flattening the sunshade that came with my '93. Went about how you'd expect. Ended up making a new one from a political sign and the plastic bits off the factory one.

 

I like your console box!

[tmoore4512]

I did not think about 3D printing anything, great idea... Although, it is the glass mounted bits that failed not the twisty things.

 

Regardless... My sunroof seals are in such bad shape that every time it rains it rains inside. Drains get clogged up with failed/disintegrating rubber bits EVERY TIME.

 

Seriously considering just removing the sunroof all together and putting sheet metal in its place. Would not be difficult to do, about a thousand tacks and a few beers...

 

Maybe it is just crazy talk for a 30-year-old vehicle. But I do hate having a wet seat.

 

Thanks! That is an old TROY console from a decommissioned police car, worked great. Only thing I have not finished is relocating the E-brake to under the dash like a D21.

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

Ah, that sucks. I assume those are glued to the glass, or otherwise a pain to work with. Guess you could paint the underside of the glass grey and pretend the shade's still up!

 

Which seal is going to pieces? I ran without an outer seal (the one around the glass) for ages, and the inner seal (around the hole) did just fine on its own. I might have a spare off my parts car, can have a look for that if you want.

[level9]

JB Weld it back ?
I have JB Welded parts of the suspension where the tension rod bushing cup tends to rot out - and it's fine.
2-part epoxy... strong stuff 

[tmoore4512]

The outer seal is just plain falling apart and clogging the drain, did not think about just removing it all together. Different perspective I guess.

Part of me really hates the sunroof anyway, it is not an option I would have desired, specifically because I generally always am carrying stuff on the X rack and one of these days I will put the basket back on top as well. I guess it was always. Concern that I would somehow bust the glass out and be up a creek.

The OEM shade cover thing is literally held together with some thread from the manufacturing process. It held up for a long time though so I am kind of impressed.

That space would be good for several things, as it is recessed... So I am really tempted to just remove and sheet metal it as I initially mentioned. Someone did some neat stuff with the rear side glass as well, I saw it on the FB NPORA and it made me kind of miss turning wrenches on this old girl.


Sent from my Armor 27T Pro using Tapatalk

[Slartibartfast]

The outer seal on mine removed itself! Made a hell of a racket when it came loose at highway speed. I was kind of alarmed at first, until I looked out the window at the truck's shadow and saw the seal flapping around up there like the flailing inflatable tube man things outside a used car dealer.

 

And yeah, glass on a roof is sorta dumb. I like that I can prop mine open when it's hot out, better than leaving windows down, but otherwise it's a liability. And I'm not sure it isn't letting in more heat through the glass than it's venting. I'd be interested to see what you come up with if you delete yours.

[gamellott]

The outer seal on mine failed some time ago. I have it removed, and I have a new piece of rubber from Nissan waiting for me to get it glued to the glass. Not finding anyone who is willing to do it.

 

In the meantime, I have 2" electrical tape covering the seal to prevent debris from falling into the gutter. It's not perfect, but it IS keeping the debris out.

[hawairish]

A few years ago, I briefly had a 00 Frontier with the pop-up sunroof.  I think I recall that it was the same as the W/D21 and WD22 X units.  I realized it also shared parts with the T-top panels from Z cars, including the twisty things, which were broken on my cover.

 

If you do decide to keep/repair things, try Amayama for parts.  They appear to have new gasket (73873-15F05) and seal (73872-01M05) available, and if the cover clip part on the glass is just glued on and is broken some other way (can't tell in the pics), I suspect 73565-03P00 might be what you're looking for.  The twisty part I needed was 73556-16P00, but I don't recall what color it ended up being.

 

Had to take a guess on your exact body code using WHYD21 (your specific body code is on your VIN plate somewhere, but should be all the same): https://www.amayama.com/en/genuine-catalogs/epc/nissan-japan/terrano/whyd21/5415-vg30e/body/H7301

 

But I get not wanting to keep it, especially if a rack would prevent operation.  Some sort of overhead box or mount would be cool, though.

 

 

[level9]

It's all about perspective - I've considered paying for someone to custom cut a sunroof into my XE. It can be somewhat dark in the interior otherwise IMO and I like bright (but no glare).
On my '04 BMW E46 which had a sunroof what I did to deal with the heat is unbolt it (4 screws), took it to the tint shop (cheaper this way) and had them apply ceramic tint, then reinstalled it. Barely any heat gets in to deteriorate things. That was 10+ years ago, no issues, and the car sits outside 24x7. I keep the Pathy safe in the garage

[Slartibartfast]

On 8/21/2025 at 7:00 PM, level9 said:

It can be somewhat dark in the interior otherwise IMO and I like bright (but no glare).

 

I can kinda relate. The PO of mine tinted both front door windows way too dark, significantly darker than the rear windows are tinted from factory. I don't know how people drive like that. I don't normally get claustrophobic, but I felt a whole lot better in there after I peeled that crap off.

 

I've heard good things about the ceramic tint. I'd like to try one of the lighter shades on the side windows. I'm not sure how well it would stick to the sunroof, though. There's some kind of painted crosshatch on the underside that I suspect might be just thick enough to stop it laying down properly. But I've never applied tint, so I don't know. It might be a lot less fussy than I'm assuming it is.