Sunroof

[BennyM]

My poor 5er's sunroof whistles like mad, in turn driving me mad. But the real problem is that, while examining the sunroof gasket, I noticed paint bubbling around the front edge. It looks like the gasket has failed to keep a solid seal on both sides. So, with a budget of <$200, I have two options. Do I:

1. Order a new gasket and get the sunroof stripped, patched, and repainted before the snow flies. $80 + ??? for body shop labor?
2. Buy a used sunroof panel (of the same color) from some warmer dry climate and hope that the gasket is still in decent shape, which becomes less likely with every day. $200

[Russell]

About $150 to strip and paint. At least.

[Ross]

I have a sunroof cassette that has been for sale forever. the panel is black and rust free, pretty sure gasket is fine too. If the color is wrong, scuff it up and shoot it with a rattlecan. It's a small piece and even I could make it look nice that way.
I can remove the panel and ship it to you.

[BennyM]

Thanks, Ross.

Hmmm....I was looking for oxford grün, but this might be a good option, especially since Vines auto won't sell me just the panel. I will let you know shortly.

[ScottyWM]

I'm probably wrong, but I was told that the sunroof gasket is not meant to be a sealing gasket (I have a touring). The car has the sunroof drain gutters to eliminate water that gets past the gasket (which shouldn't be much). Just sayin'... might be wasting your money on a new gasket that doesn't seal any better than the one you have. You think the whistling is due to a bad gasket?

[BennyM]

Yeah, Scotty, I'm guessing you live in a warm climate. Rubber gaskets in the colder north shrink like . I've compared it to that of my other E34 and it is definitely not in the condition it should be in. They do start to peel away from the panel after a while too, which is where it really does have to be a water tight seal, which has caused my panel to start rusting. I've also read that when you install a new sunroof gasket, it seals so tight that at first the roof doesn't even want to close all the way. So, they start out life much more robust. Perhaps the touring setup is different, though. I also taped over the edges last winter and the whistling went away completely.

[Ross]

Thanks, Ross.

Hmmm....I was looking for oxford grün, but this might be a good option, especially since Vines auto won't sell me just the panel. I will let you know shortly.

Ha!, the car it comes from was a respray over... guess what? Get out the lacquer thinner.