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MG MG Y Type - Sunroof slider brackets.

Can anyone tell me whether these top slider brackets should be at rightangles, like the bottom ones? Both upper sliders on Y3348 are angled upwards about 15 degrees - I have always assumed this was "normal", being both of them - but on trial fitting the sunroof (multiple times) today, it dawned on me that this might just be wear & tear or abuse in a past life. Once installed, the top sliders take the weight, so sitting flush instead of being bent upwards makes more sense. "What does the team think"?
By way of "putting something back" I can say to anyone preparing their newly painted sunroof for installation, please be aware of the importance of (your trimmer) making sure that the ply tacking strip along the rear edge lip is NOT any higher than the top of the lip - if it is proud, you will find it impossible to turn your sunroof locking handle, and wonder why. Mine was only 2mm proud, but the remedy is complete disassembly, shaving the ply, refitting the headlining to the tacking strip and replacing the dreaded transverse foam strip. I'm the wiser for the experience, but I didn't need it!
John.





J P Hall

Hi John
Leave it alone . It should also have felt on the lower face to run on . If you bend it horizontal it will in effect raise the rear of the sun roof and could result in paint damage to the newly painted top surface by catching under the roof . AS someone else said " Ask me how I know "!!!! I think Tony S said that the tabs should resemble an open birds mouth, one up and one down.
Check out the archive or previous posts ,there was some discussion about what to use for the pads ,felt ? leather ? rivet heads ?

Cheers John B Y4424
J K Bowman

Thanks JB - sounds like you bent yours thinking they needed to be horizontal? That's what I had been thinking of doing. I haven't seen Tony's comment about bird beaks - now you've got me worried about whether the bottom bracket should be angled downwards! But I don't think so.
Anyone else confirm that the top slider should be left angled, not horizontal?
John.
J P Hall

I don't ever recall referring to "bird beaks", and believe they should NOT be angled. However, the felt (or a replacement) definitely needs to be fitted.

In the past I have fitted felt soaked with Beeswax, but felt soaked with Lanolin is likely a better option.

Have you checked out the information on Sunroof slides in the "Hints & Tips" under the "Technical Centre" menu option ?.

Cheers

Tony Slattery
The Classic Workshop
A L SLATTERY

Hi Guys
Sorry for quoting you incorrectly Tony . I thought it was you who had said that the top one was angled up and the bottom one down slightly. Bird beaks was my addition !!
On my car if the top runner is horizontal it just catches on the lip under the rear when you open it. So I have given it a slight upward bend . Seems good so far.
John B
J K Bowman

Great timing Tony S - I must stress that my experience is with my car only - but here is what I have found today:

- new felt pads must be fitted following the original direction, ie the lower rearmost pad is installed with the "legs" facing towards the opposite side of the roof, but the rear upper pad has its round end facing the rear of the car - so that there is least resistance when the sunroof is opened.
- the little brackets holding the felt give the best result when they are both in the same plane - close to horizontal, neither being bent upwards or downwards. In this position, with felt fitted, I found the two pads slid snugly above and below the rear rail, and facilitated a smooth sliding movement. Whereas when one of the brackets on each side was bent upwards (as found), it was a struggle even with new felt to instal the sunroof at all, let alone slide it open. Straightening the brackets made a dramatic difference.
- I tried pure beeswax, but found it gummed up the front sliders, the back pads and the rails, even though I put only a thin film on each surface. By contrast, when I rubbed dry graphite powder on the (cleaned) surfaces, and removed any excess, the sliding action was fine. I expect to follow Tony's advice in the archives and freshen the sliders up every couple of years.
- as mentioned earlier, I also had to reduce the height of the rear tacking strip so that the locking bar would engage properly.
All in all, a good result. I hope this helps anyone else tackling this tricky job.
John.
J P Hall

Good stuff John. Just to clarify , I found the info about a vee shape in the Technical Centre-advice section , and mistakenly attributed it to Tony Slattery. Just read it again and i am not sure that I read it correctly the first time but it does mention the vee shape of the runners .
Horizontal would make sense but my roof catches when it is opened because the runner wont allow it to drop far enough. A 45 degree bend in the top runner allows it to drop a fraction more.
Have to have another look I guess .
John B
J K Bowman

This thread was discussed between 22/05/2022 and 25/05/2022

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