LS 430 moon/sun roof rust

[Pidster]

In May this year my head was turned away from looking for an S class Mercedes, to a LS430 when I viewed on in a trader's pen and went for a test drive, sold!

No, not that particular car but that model it had everything I was looking for. So my searching switched to Lexus, in my search I viewed quite a few and all the one's I viewed appeared to have similar fault's, steering wheel rake and angle not working, under body rust, alloy wheel"s corroding and flaking rust under the leading edge of the moon/sun roof. I continued my search until I found the one.

Steering wheel rake and angle still not working, under body rust minimal, alloy wheel corrosion acceptable, flaking under leading edge of sun roof acceptable, and the main selling point cheap in comparison to others I had seen in a much worse condition.

As I was buying the car as a rolling restoration to break the boredom of retirement I was happy to proceed. What a car I been to Spain and back twice and the car has been great.

Maintenance wise I have carried out general servicing, fitted rear discs and pads, flushed the brakes and filled with new fluid, drained the diff and filled with new gear oil and have just finished painting the rear running gear with Bill Hirsh miracle paint.

I am now ready to move onto the moon/sun roof rust problem which I considered acceptable, more fool me, when I look further the rust has eaten away more than I thought (see photos) the rust on the leading edge I feel will be easily dealt with but the rust around the bend is inaccessible, do I have to take the sun roof off, if so how? Or is there another remedial solution?

 

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[Pidster]

Pics of car.
Sorry for the crimped views, I will try to get better one's soon.

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[ambermarine]

The only remedy is to replace the sunroof with a breaker kit from Paul Frost ( contact details on forum archives).

The task of removing the existing roof will have to be carried out just to access the problem and looking at the pics I have doubts as to how much can be achieved,

The removal of the roof liner will be required after that it is quite straight forward.

[ambermarine]

1 hour ago, ambermarine said:

The only remedy is to replace the sunroof with a breaker kit from Paul Frost ( contact details on forum archives).

The task of removing the existing sunroof will have to be carried out just to access the problem and looking at the pics I have doubts as to how much can be achieved,

The removal of the roof liner will be required after that it is quite straight forward.

 

Edited October 4, 2018 by ambermarine
add on

[Pidster]

Thank's for your reply ambermarine, before I look to contacting Paul, I may as well take the opportunity to remove the sun roof to better assess my situation. Do you know if there are any threads on removing the liner and the sun roof, so that I can DIY it myself. I have tried to use the search function in tapatalk but whether it's my phone or just my stupidity I can't get to grips with the search function. Thank's again for your advice the_pidster

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[ambermarine]

Graham

The roof liner as to come down giving access to the fasteners on the moonroof frame ,I dropped the liner on a mark1 Lexus ls400 way back  when stripping the car for parts and learned by approach.

The fastenings for grab handles and light fittings have to be loosened so the garnishes can be unclipped also the dome light surround ,sunvisor screws the door pillars and windshield pillars need unclipping you may not have to completely remove the liner from the roof  the access is possible through the glass  space area that is already there after the liner is dropped from the front.

The reason for loosening the edges is so you don't crease the lining when dropping it down.

I suggest you contact Paul as his assistant who will remove the sunroof from the donor car will know the best way to do the job.

[RgrWynne]

Hi Phil/Graham, the contact you want, who works for Paul Frost is Colin, on 07889 254699. There is not a lot they do not know about stripping apart LS 430 Lexus cars. Good luck, Roger

[Malc]

if its a pitta of a job maybe get them to refit the replacement too ?

Just a thought

Malc

[RgrWynne]

Hi Malc I spoke to Paul Frost about rust in the sun roof as mine is starting to rust on the corners, but not leaking or causing problems. I do not use it anyway. His advice to me was to scrape away as much loose rust and paint with a rust converter paint, not replace. He said it should not cause problems . I have ordered some spray Jenolite rust converter which I hope will do the job