General Replacement Sunroof Mechanism?

[tonyfurnell]

Hi, another newbie here -- I searched through the forum but couldn't find any related info....

I have a 1994 (L) Uno Start (IE Fire, 5 Door, 999cc) -- my mum's car originally, I just recently obtained it from her as my first car

Unfortunately, while closing the sunroof yesterday, I broke the closing mechanism. It's not likely to be fixable as it was part of the self-contained plastic unit which broke, and a high-tension part too. So I'm looking to try and get a new/used one from elsewhere.

The problem is that I've never seen another similar sunroof mechanism around. Rather than the "tilt/rotate" handle, mounted in front of the sunroof, which seems to be on most cars (and even in the Haynes Uno manual), this is a simple screwing mechanism attached to the rear of the sunroof pane, pivoting on a bar attached to the inside of the roof, and controlled by a large (10cm dia) "jam jar lid"-style rotating handle mounted on the underside.

The mechanism can be easily removed as the roof pivot just clips on/off, and the unit itself is just screwed/bolted to the sunroof glass. I just ned to find one of these fabled units!

Anyone have one sitting around spare, or know of anywhere that would do them? Otherwise that tent peg is going to have to stay wedged in the mechanism to keep the sunroof levered shut

 

[Louie Bee]

Hi Tony and Welcome to the forum!

A common problem with this MK2 sunroof!!! – You’d be lucky to find a good original one on an Uno IMO.

You have two options

Buy a new clip from FIAT for about £25

Have a look for a Ford Fiesta in a scrap yard. I’ve been told they are the same – though I’m not sure which mark you need to look in. the one I saw was the wrong colour, but it will do the trick on Spam0r’s Uno .

Regards,
Louie

 

[tonyfurnell]

ouch! she doesn't look so healthy. Bizarre though as she's the same colour as mine....

So how about the scrap unos dotted around (wherever they might be)? Any idea if it's only the "Start" Unos, or the L-reg series, or just all the mk-2s that had this style of handle? just so I know what to look out for/ask for.

 

[gaz.d]

does it look like this

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/gaz_wrexham/77b005a7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/gaz_wrexham/6ba63fc9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/gaz_wrexham/b0bd905f.jpg

if it is i snapped many in my ex '93 Uno hobby , worst design ever , i searched through various uno's and all had different ones but not the one i wanted

i eventually found mine in Skoda Favourit's the boxy type ones , i grabbed as many as i could

 

[tonyfurnell]

aha; yes, that be it!

right, so old skoda favorits and some ford fiestas... well it's a start anyway, cheers guys; I'll have to find out where my nearest breakers' is round here.

How would I go about ordering from Fiat itself (if I were going to) -- would it just be through a Fiat-certified garage? I figure there isn't a central telephone/internet ordering service, since their web site doesn't seem to hold much in terms of actual information on car parts...



...and I don't suppose you have any spare gaz...?

 

[gaz.d]

i sold my last spare one to a guy in macedonia and i now believe that has broke :bang:, although i will have a look around

i couldnt get the mechanism from fiat when i tried

 

[tonyfurnell]

ah, that makes sense then -- I did see that thread with you and the guy in Macedonia, but misinterpreted "tilt & twist" as "a handle that tilts downwards and then twists" -- like in all normal cars

so technically my question was answered (ish) just over a month ago; sorry

Ok well I'll stay on the lookout. I did kind of wonder whether Fiat themselves would still stock a part only used on Hobby's & Start's 11-12 years ago...

Of course, if anyone happens to find one buried in their garden....

 

[Louie Bee]

It was only last year I got a new clip from FIAT . Your dealer probably won’t have one in stock, but should be able to order it in. From my EPER, the part number is 7780772, but may have been superseded as the part I got has 2 extra screws for reinforcement.

I don’t think my local FIAT dealer stock anything for the Uno these days, as I have to go back a few days later to collect the part.

Strange how you couldn’t get the part Gaz - maybe they were trying to get you to want new whole car

Hopefully Tony you’ll get the part soon one way or another

 

[gaz.d]

i didnt have an eper disk at the time, so maybe my explanation of the big knob thingy on the sunroof didnt help them much , although they did try selling me a new sunroof with popper for £350

 

[tonyfurnell]

Erk! Ah yes, speaking of which...

ePer Discs...

 

[tonyfurnell]

Ok, an update on the sunroof mechanism:

Went to my local Fiat dealer to get a proper quote on ordering the part new, but unfortunately got there after the parts department closed..... so I've just got Louis' original estimate of £25 to go by.

Then went to a breaker's yard and asked about any unos or skoda favorits that he might have -- there were "a couple" of unos (in quite a large yard) and he didn't have any favorits -- but said to go and have a look around.

In the end I only found one mk2 Uno with a sunroof, a Hobby, unfortunately the clip was already broken on it (I'm sensing a pattern here! ) but I also found a couple of ford fiestas (not sure of mark, I estimate around '97-98) with a similar clip, and..... a skoda felicia, with (basically) exactly the same clip.

So just in case, I took one of the fiesta mechanisms as well as the felicia one, bought them both for a fiver ; the skoda one was perfect although I decided to keep the fiat's base plate (the bit actually attached to the sunroof glass).

The Fiesta one would also have done it, but needs different screw threads to fit properly -- if you've got a selection of spare bolts around to hand then it would be fine. So, to conclude:

Replacement sunroof mechanisms for Mk2 Uno Start/Hobby
- Fiat Uno Mk2 Start/Hobby (same)
- Skoda Favorit 1990-93ish (same)
- Skoda Felicia 1996-2000ish (same)
- Ford Fiesta Mk? 1997-98ish (needs different machine screws)

...and I have a Fiesta one going spare if anyone wants