Robs Sunroof FAQ
Ok, I made this document because I know a lot of  7? owners have been posting to the list and other web areas with sunroof problems. I had a broken sunroof when I purchased my car, so I had to remove, buy, and install a used one, and know the workings fairly well (not that there?s much to it).
I would have put this on a web page, but it is too time consuming and this is quicker, but I might someday.
Part I: Basics- The sunroof in our car is very simple to understand. It consists of two aluminum tracks, a motor, and two metal cables that control all of it. Now, in the design of the sunroof, there are many things that can cause a problem after 12+ years.
There are 4 main reasons (IMHO) why your sunroof doesn?t work, stops halfway, goes too damn slow, or doesn?t move up and out?the list goes on forever. I have diagnosed the ones that I saw as a problem, and will try to explain them here.
#1-Lubrication
This is the most obvious cause, and is at question if the sunroof simply moves slow, both in the opening and closing processes.  If you inspect your tracks, you will see that they are black, gritty, and in some spots completely dry of all lubrication. You can just lube them there, or do the harder-but-better solution and pull the sunroof to be cleaned. I used a tooth brush and some Castrol Superclean( I don?t work for castrol), which worked well. There was quite a build up in there, and it needed it bad. I also used some spray white lithium grease on the tracks, mainly because its light and wont prohibit an alreadly slow movement. I used a generous amount, and got into all the cracks and assemblies that are involved.
#2-Track cables
This problem can be very obvious or not at all. You cannot visually see them, so you have to pull the sunroof and motor to see their condition. If your tracks begin to rust, they can randomly snap, move slow, or slip. In my case, from lack of use (what a dumb PO, people pay good money for a sunroof, and he didn?t use it!) , a cable rusted in place and the motor broke it. This is diagnosed by a one-side-moving-only sunroof.  When I tore apart my old sunroof, there was a crust in the cable that almost prevented the gear cogs from engaging  in it. Now I don?t suggest taking you sunroof apart all the way, because I could not get mine back together. (good thing it was the old one). The only alternative to a broken cable is sunroof replacement.
#3-Design flaws
								There are 2 problems in the design of the sunroof that were probably not obvious when new, but as the tracks age and wobble, they can crop up. The first are these 2 spring mounted slider things (for lack of a better term). Above is a drawing to explain what I mean:
The two red rectangles are where they are located, and if you look closely, you can see what the actual part looks like(blue). The small green square has to be ground off for the sunroof to work correctly, if it is binding there. If your sunroof stops about 2 inches before closing, this could be it. Once it has stopped, get out and look to see if the track is hitting this green square. It was on mine. Removing the metal top helped to diagnose these problems. Another problem in the design(in my opinion) is the wind flap that comes up/goes down on open/closing. If your sunroof stops just before it closes, this is probably a cause. You can see where the sunroof hits the windflap mechanism, and if its stopping it you?ll know(again removal of metal top helps). A few screws and this can be removed, but I think you have to remove the whole assembly to get to it. (by the way in that drawing, the left side  is the front of the cars roof, if you didn?t know)
#4-Motor
Now if you don?t hear the motor, it may be a loose wire or connector. If not, the motor could be shot. I do have one if anyone needs it, for the low, low price of 20$ or so. I?m not trying to sell it, and I suggest you look for other causes of a slow sunroof, not the motor. Mine was still good, I think its mainly the cables and tracks that cause our sunroof troubles.
Overview:
So as you can see, with a poorly lubed track, 2 obstructions, and a weak motor, we can see why are sunroofs move slowly. I experienced most of these, but now I have only one problem. I sometimes need to give it a push when it first goes up, but I found that if you hold the button for a sec, let go, and hit it again it will go back without reaching up to hit it. If none of these problems are present, and your sunroof still moves slow, there could be other things. Just remember, lube everything that moves, I mean everything. I hope this helps all you guys and gals out there with messed up sunroofs, I know I hated mine until I fixed it. Doesn?t look so good when you?ve got the girl of your dreams in the car, and you elbow her in the head while pushing up on the sunroof that only goes back halfway as it is (especially in such a smooth car as a 7?). So everyone fix their sunroofs and have a nice day. I have a removal/installation guide on my website if anyone needs that. Just shoot me an email at fc3s88rx7@aol.com for questions or comments. Later.88GTU