Update!
That "metal bracket" I referred to in my last post had nothing to do with the inner cover as I had thought originally. It is, in fact, the
rain gutter!
My wife recently complained about rainwater dripping from the sunroof so I sat in the car and had her run the garden hose over it. Yup, I got wet. That's when I realized the metal bracket's true purpose! (It's my first sunroof-equipped car, so go easy on me, k?)
I then sheepishly proceeded to reinstall the gutter and surprise, surprise, the sunroof would no longer retract... <_<
Upon closer inspection I realized that the sunroof mechanism was lowering ONTO the gutter instead of in FRONT of it. Hmm.
There are 2 u-shaped (think rainbow-shaped) metal arms that (are supposed to) push the gutter back into the car roof as the sunroof retracts. These arms had a funny twist in them I thought was deliberate. That twist caused the arms to be shorter than they would be if they were flat; causing the gutter to be in the way and get mashed on by the sunroof mechanism.
Thinking these arms were somewhat bendable aluminum I proceeded to try to straighten one with pliers... SNAP!... FFUUUUU...!!!
They turned out to be a very brittle, painted die-cast metal; the kind "Hot Wheels" cars are made of. The reason for the twist in them was immediately made apparent by the sudden release of a spring which pressed upwards on each arm. In my opinion, these springs are not only unneeded, but WAYYY too massive for these flimsy arms. They push upwards on a tiny ledge cast in the arm, bending the arm towards the center of the car over time. These springs were removed and transported to a holding facility in my junk drawer.
Not one to give up so easily, I unleashed the fury of my fiberglass-reinforced-cutting-wheel-equipped Dremel tool on the pop rivet securing the arm to the base the gutter sits on. I had to go a bit easy on it, as the base itself is plastic and the heat could have melted it into crap. I shaved the end of the rivet off, and pushed it through with a thin screwdriver.
The other end of the arm was a bit trickier, since it was molded around the steel pin it rotates on. The arm was already broken, so I sliced carefully into the end of it around the pin and twisted it off, leaving only a slight groove on the pin. The pin's end turned out to be conical, with the end being wider than the base so the arm would not come off unless broken off.
I now wrapped (what's left of) my OCD-addled brain around how and what I would use to fab up some new arms. I looked around in my (way too massive) collection of odds and ends and found a 3mm thick aluminum cover from and old satellite LNB box. Must be some sort of alloy, though, because I could NOT bend it with my hands. Ever. I cut two 1cm strips about the same overall length of the original arms. BTW, all these measurements are approximate; I eyeballed 'em. They're not perfect, but they do work and don't look like a hack job... Which is what they are. ^_^
I rounded off the ends with the dremel into a popsicle stick shape (I used an actual popsicle as a sort of prototype first. It didn't work. LOL. The arms have to have a bend in them to clear part of the machinery.
I'll briefly pause here to promise I will take some pictures soon to clarify, if anyone cares and if I can get my lazy @ss to take them, that is...
I bent each arm about 2cm in to 45 degrees (the bend is in the 1cm thick section, not the 3mm - I had to use a hammer) into a sort of dogleg shape which cleared the machinery nicely. Flatten out, bend, flatten out, you got it!
I test fitted the pop riveted end using a small screw to replace the rivet in order to get the length of the arm just right. I lowered the sunroof till it sat at the bottom and placed the arm and rain gutter into a position where it would be close to, but not interfere with the sunroof works. I used a sharpie to mark where I would drill the second hole where it would fit over the conical steel pin.
Drillled this hole and rounded off this end and went back and forth enlarging the hole to where I could press it over the steel pin with some pressure. I would need a semi-snug fit over this pin so the arm won't just fall out and "feces-hitting-fan-or-Hades-breaking-loose scenario would occur.
Once I was satisfied with my creation, I proceeded to fashion a likeness of it; for the other side. OK, maybe they are not
identical twins, but they could be relatives, at the very least, I guess... :blush:
After ripping into the second unbroken-yet-twisted arm and removing the second unwieldy spring, I proceeded to install my evil creations. I used screws in the riveted sides and press fit the others over the steel pins; giving them a firm squeeze, deforming them slightly over the pins with my pliers, just in case they thought about escaping. :gunsmilie:
Tested the action and retraction of all the machinery and I am happy to say it works very well. Silent and smooth operation! Still don't know what the Iron Man springs were for, other than to warp and destroy... Redid the garden hose test. Passed with flying colors! :banana:
I'll take this time now to say I'm sorry for the looooooong post! That was one heck of an update, huh? I will try to take pics soon for any interested parties!