Spec tC Roof Swap (Moonroof to Sunroof)
05-08-2009, 02:10 AM
#1
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Spec tC Roof Swap (Moonroof to Sunroof)
The spec tC has a factory moonroof and not the standard sunroof. Well I ordered the sunroof and all its mounting hardware and here it is...
After UPS lost one roof back in February and broke another in March, both had insurance...here it is April and I finally received a roof in 1 piece thanks to some real solid and outstanding packing by the shipper.
The roof cost me $375 as opposed to $2515 from the dealer that didn't include all the parts.
Here is the spec tC roof.....one solid fixed panel of glass, aka moonroof, but it weighs about 20lbs less than the sunroof.
Now in order to do this swap you'll need a few household items.
1- A friend..preferably male
2- Phillips head screwdriver
3- 10mm deep socket
4- Small hook pick
5- CLEAN GLOVES (optional but greatly beneficial non-latex)
6- Spray bottle of Oxy-clean that you find in Walmart
7- 3M Super 77 Spray Glue
8- Masking Tape
9- NO RAIN
10- 15amp mini-blade fuse
The only gloves I had were the pairs I use to change my brakes so needless to say my headliner looked like poop when it came off. That's why you have oxy-clean
FYI: The reason I even bothered to put on gloves is that I ripped 2 nice sized holes in my fingers due to the "oh-sh*t" handles, there is a trick to getting them off and using a pick tool with force is not one of them.
The hook pick only needs to be used to get the front "oh-sh*t" handles off. The rear hanger hooks use a phillips screwdriver. To get the visors off use the screwdriver and to get the hooks for the visor off simply twist and then pull down. The dome lights are held in by push-clips. All the pillars need to be at lest loose to get the headliner down.
It's about 15 (10mm) nuts holding the roof on.
Here is the roofless tC.....
Put the new roof on and bolt it down. Put the headliner back on. Use the masking tape to mask off areas on the headliner and use the spay glue for a firmer hold on certain areas, for me it was where the dome light is.
Nearly finished product....
The windshield molding on the spec is different than the base model. However, it is only there for ascetics, the roof seals without it. How do I know? Because it rained before I got my new molding put on
.
Its amazing how the Toyota dealership will sell you the molding but when you go in to have it installed the refer you to a glass company. I called around to a few different glass companies and then to a different dealership and they said they could do it. They wanted to get me in before it rained but too late, that happened already. I have an appointment to have the new molding installed tomorrow, something about glue, cutting and all that made me not want to do it myself. Plus if it leaks I can just go to a dealer but I don't see a leak happening even without the molding.
I like the sunroof, it adds a little more interior cabin noise but I like it.
I could finally put on my "Fresh" decal....thanks weelo!
After UPS lost one roof back in February and broke another in March, both had insurance...here it is April and I finally received a roof in 1 piece thanks to some real solid and outstanding packing by the shipper.
The roof cost me $375 as opposed to $2515 from the dealer that didn't include all the parts.
Here is the spec tC roof.....one solid fixed panel of glass, aka moonroof, but it weighs about 20lbs less than the sunroof.
Now in order to do this swap you'll need a few household items.
1- A friend..preferably male
2- Phillips head screwdriver
3- 10mm deep socket
4- Small hook pick
5- CLEAN GLOVES (optional but greatly beneficial non-latex)
6- Spray bottle of Oxy-clean that you find in Walmart
7- 3M Super 77 Spray Glue
8- Masking Tape
9- NO RAIN
10- 15amp mini-blade fuse
The only gloves I had were the pairs I use to change my brakes so needless to say my headliner looked like poop when it came off. That's why you have oxy-clean
FYI: The reason I even bothered to put on gloves is that I ripped 2 nice sized holes in my fingers due to the "oh-sh*t" handles, there is a trick to getting them off and using a pick tool with force is not one of them.
The hook pick only needs to be used to get the front "oh-sh*t" handles off. The rear hanger hooks use a phillips screwdriver. To get the visors off use the screwdriver and to get the hooks for the visor off simply twist and then pull down. The dome lights are held in by push-clips. All the pillars need to be at lest loose to get the headliner down.
It's about 15 (10mm) nuts holding the roof on.
Here is the roofless tC.....
Put the new roof on and bolt it down. Put the headliner back on. Use the masking tape to mask off areas on the headliner and use the spay glue for a firmer hold on certain areas, for me it was where the dome light is.
Nearly finished product....
The windshield molding on the spec is different than the base model. However, it is only there for ascetics, the roof seals without it. How do I know? Because it rained before I got my new molding put on
.Its amazing how the Toyota dealership will sell you the molding but when you go in to have it installed the refer you to a glass company. I called around to a few different glass companies and then to a different dealership and they said they could do it. They wanted to get me in before it rained but too late, that happened already. I have an appointment to have the new molding installed tomorrow, something about glue, cutting and all that made me not want to do it myself. Plus if it leaks I can just go to a dealer but I don't see a leak happening even without the molding.
I like the sunroof, it adds a little more interior cabin noise but I like it.
I could finally put on my "Fresh" decal....thanks weelo!
05-08-2009, 02:26 AM
#5
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Originally Posted by BZinn1
how long did it take,few hours,I knowheadlliner on non airbag interiors can come out in under 30 minutes,but how long to get the roof out couple of hours or less.....nice write up.
Took about 3 hours total, the first hour I was by myself and too the headliner down alone. after that things sped up. Had to figure out why the sunroof wasn't working but the motor was clicking, that was due to the fuse not being in
after that put the headliner back in....spent 30 minutes putting those damn front handles back on and that's it.
05-08-2009, 02:30 AM
#6
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I was more worried about UPS actually getting it to me in 1 piece. They lost the 1st and broke the 2nd, I kept telling myself the 3rd time would be a charm. I knew once I got it we were going to install it as soon as it stopped raining.
The installation part for us is really simple, running wires and all that my buddy did for 8 years up until Circuit City went out of business and I did for 2 while I was in undergrad so that was cake.
The installation part for us is really simple, running wires and all that my buddy did for 8 years up until Circuit City went out of business and I did for 2 while I was in undergrad so that was cake.
05-08-2009, 02:51 AM
#9
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I don't think i'm the 1st to do this.....according to some SLers i'm the 3rd but I think i'm the 1st to post pics and as we all know, "pics or it didn't happen" so i'm the first in my mind
05-08-2009, 04:41 AM
#13
LOL wooh! Good to see u finshed! I didn't need glue to get my headliner back on. For me the hardest part was popping the solid roof off! I was scared to crack it. I would of taken pics of my install but I was impatient and did it a night with a flash light.
