Sunroof Motor Cover Replacement

The fam and I are highway tripping it to see the folks one fine November day when I noticed an odd noise. I couldn't quite make out where it was coming from at first then, I realized it was coming from the sun roof cover.

I held in place for a minute then my wife messed with it for a moment. She said, leave it go, its fine. I tried to leave it but,  rattles that don't come from the stereo are not welcome in my car. They tend to try me crazy.

So like all times when I didn't listen to my significant other, bad things happened. I kept messing with the cover. I figured if I could just push it enough to stop rattling. Well a few miles later and, a bump over a bridge, it was dangling from the sunroof switch wiring. It about scared the life out of me when it fell.

It turned out that all but 2 of the clips were broken. Whatever was making the noise wasn't anymore but, I certainly couldn't leave the thing dangling there. We tried putting it back but it fell again so, we unplugged the sunroof switch and placed  the broken cover safely away.

When I put my water pump order in I went ahead and picked up a new cover as well. ECS tuning was one of the few, of the few I looked at, that had this piece. Less than $20 for a new, BMW, cover.

BMW Part number: 51448173537

Site link: https://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E36-328i-M52_2.8L/ES115695/

The only downside for me since the cover is  new, it has a plushier foam backing, and is a clean shade of grey. My old headliner does not have the same backing and is not the same shade. This is no fault on the new part at all. Looks like I'll need to update my headliner soon to.

Installed! I even put the button in the correct orientation the first time. Can you even believe it?!

E36 Visor Clips Disintegrating - A small yet annoying tid bit

  My stock visor clips have latterly started to crumble apart. Little pieces or plastic seem to chip away every time I open and close it. A buddy of mine has a smoker's E36 as well, his did this same thing. Could just be age but, I think the smoke has something to do with it as well.

  I headed over to PartsEuropean to chat and hang for a bit. I asked if that had a set. Indeed they did. These came of a 96 E36 coupe. They are a slightly different style but seem much more sturdy. They are also not crumbling to pieces.

Disintegration!

To access the screws, take a flat head screwdriver, insert into the indentation of the cover flap, push away from the center. I'm surprised these didn't fall off when I did this.

Once the two screws come out, there is a wire connector. It is just a push on spade connector. This is what allow the light above the visor to come on when the slider is pushed over on the visor. Just remember not to pick your nose in the mirror at night.

The coupe visor clips are a bit different. Notice they have exposed screws. The area around where the visor is held is also a bit thicker than the ones that came on this car.

 

 

  It looks as though on RealOEM.com, after cross referencing, shows that these are the older style. These have been superseded by the ones with the covers. Part #51168219048. Not an expensive fix by any means but, it certainly is nice to have a visor that doesn't drop flakes of plastic on you every time you touch it. On to the next one now.

Leather Seat Conditioning - Chemical Guys Leather Conditioner w/Scent

 

  The front seats in Helena are pretty well worn. The driver side is terrible. At this point I believe the only thing to do for it is have it reupholstered or, keep my eyes open for better taken care of seats out of another vehicle. Either way, I need to massage these guys in a regular interval to avoid them drying out and getting worse.

  There are half a dozen different options on the market. The Chemical Guys variation of leather cleaner and conditioner is my first one to try The cleaner seems to work well. I'm not sure what is in it, as the ingredients are not listed. It did seem to clean up the soot from the cigarettes that were smoked in this car once upon a time. Got some grime and general dirt of the back seat from my little one climbing in and out. I think it does a decent job.

  The conditioner certainly does soften the leather. It leaves a visible shine but, is not overly shiny. It leaves a nice polish on the leather if you will. The down side for me is that this stuff is leather scented. It does a good job of smelling like leather but, it is much too strong for my sensitive nose. If I do all the seats in the car, I have to leave the windows open to air out the smell. They do have an unscented version as well. Other than that, I have nothing to complain about for this product. I think it works well but, my knowledge of other leather conditioners is not good. I'd like to try another product once I use up what I have of this. I'll add a comparison of that later down the road.

I've got a few photos of before and after. I think it is hard to tell the difference personally. It is one of those, have to be there in person kind of things. This is not working any miracles on the old leather by any means but, it certainly does soften them and, leaves a nice sheen.

Before - rather dull

After - there is that bit of shine