This is my first post on this forum. I am new to this forum but have had 4 Volvos prior to my "new" 1990 740 GLE 16 valve, 96k miles, one family owned prior to me. My problem is the sunroof which won't open. I pulled the motor out and inspected. No apparent problems so I re-wired and, using the switch, operated the motor. Motor operates perfectly. The problem appears to be in the sunroof slide mechanism. I need advice on how to resolve this issue. I am going to replace the headliner at some point and am not adverse to pulling the sunroof assembly out but am unsure as to how to do this without being able to slide the roof back. I want to clean the drains and may need to replace the weatherstrip to solve a leak. Any suggestion is appreciated.

 

You can slide the roof back without a motor - the gear on the motor pulls and pushes the two cables and when the sunroof hits the front the cables tilt up the rear. More pull on the cables and the rear tilts up further. Push the sunroof headliner back and you will be able to see where the cables attach and all the adjustments. You will have to tilt the sunroof up to be able to release the springs for the flip up flap part of the headliner first before trying to push sunroof headliner back from the inside. There is a place to put a flat edge screwdriver in the drive gear and turn it manually.

Watch that timing belt on that car - the valves bend on the 16v engines if the belt fails (they don't on the normal b230) - the belt probably has a 5 year 45k replacement interval

 

Thanks for the reply. Re: sunroof, I cannot turn the drive gear, something in the cable drive mechanism is binding. That is why I disconnected the motor while still wired to determine if the motor was binding. I will have to access the cable drive to determine where the bind is but it is stuck hard. I will try to tilt up the back and go from there. Re: B234 engine, I am aware of the fact that this is an intrusive design engine. I am unable to determine if the timing belts have ever been replaced so I have both manual and automatic tensioner parts on backorder from Volvo's parts website since the VIN does not determine which tensioner system was used at manufacturer. I am not driving the car until I get that work done. I wish it was not a 16 valve engine but the car is so nice and the price was right. Thank you again for your advice.

 

Take the motor out of the way and try to push the "teeth" of a cable with a screwdriver - would have to do that to align the two cables sometimes.