Ford F Series Expedition Panoramic Sunroof Lower Cable Guide Replacement With Track Out of Truck 

I believe there is a way to get them in there with the track still in the truck, but it will be tight. Next time I do a set I'm going to try it that way

Gentleman it’s fixed!! I can confirm it’s fixable from the top without pulling out the track or pulling down the headliner too much, just enough to loosen that motor. Thanks a lot for that video worked like a charm, happy to share some video of different parts of this process. Not for the faint of heart it’s extremely tight and have to flex and fight some of those plastic parts.

@@E-Rides Where did you purchase the cables? Ford, Amazon, other? I have a 2015 F150. I read several reviews about the cables from Amazon not working because the diameters are smaller than OEM.

Yeah, I'm going to try it in the truck next chance I get. I just had an old track to do the video and figured it'd be easier to show what to do with it out of the truck

Great videos. Thanks so much. Been a Toyota guy a long time and now drive an F150. Now leaking and busted plastic piece on the cable. Would love to know too if I can replace the cables without removing the track. I'm thinking drop the headliner, remove the 2 motors, replace cables with bunch of silicone spray. Thanks again!

@@ATLASResidentialManagement Yes, it's possible. Tight, but possible. Only need to remove one motor, the one in the middle, as the shade doesn't come into play with this repair.

@@SealofPerfectionhello sir. Did you get a chance to try this with the track still mounted in the truck? I appreciate all your videos.

@@user-qh5np5iu4w I haven't but a couple of people I know have and it is tight but it does work

I think Sunroof Doctor has them now

Great news! I have done a cable in the truck without dropping anything, as a part of a diagnosis video. I might clip that part out of it and make one, although for the average person I would probably put a disclaimer that I wouldn't recommend doing it that way, lol. But really glad you got yours done. It CAN be done, for sure.

Man I’m on here trying to figure this out, my 2018 expedition just went out , any specific place to order plants or just Amazon ?

Parts

@@stizzie408boii I've only gotten them from Amazon so far. One set did perfectly fine and is still in service. The other set, the left side was a little sketchy

That's great to hear! Exactly what I wanted to hear as I'm about to tackle this job on a 5 yr old honda ridgeline. Dropped headliner a bit and found cable loosely caught up in motor, which was making a very loud grinding noise. So dropped motor a bit to free up cable and motor sounds perfectly fine now. Gear looks fine too. So thinking some aspect of the cable assembly needs to be repaired/replaced. But I do not see how it's possible to remove entire headliner out of cabin unless seats or more likely imo the windshield were removed! Geometry just doesn't appear to add up otherwise...Soooo really hoping i can get at these cables the way you did. Did you remove the sunroof glass? It looks like i could easily do that if it helps gain access to things.

So far they have. Really haven't been out long enough to judge yet, though

The rear drains are possible. But more than likely you would need a new seal for the front sunroof glass, which unfortunately only comes with a new glass. But they do tend to work pretty well. If you look at my channel I do have a video on how to remove the track out of the vehicle and you do drop the headliner in order to do that so that should work for you

Not that I know of. It's possible your buttons are bad, but more than likely it has just lost its programming or maybe a motor is bad.

Good to know. I have felt that the China made stuff might be a bit hit-or-miss on the fitment. I would have advised using silicone paste, but whatever you use, keep it lubed well and keep lubing it and hopefully it will break in and work smoothly.

I used the Amazon cables and they were super tight, too. Even with lots of silicone paste. Ended up binding and turning the cable into a snake. What do you recommend for cables for round 2?

@@morehouse978the plastic end piece is causing it to be super tight. Maybe file the plastic piece slightly.

I'm an idiot. Didn't remove the small screw along the track. Small plastic piece had a block hanging down into the track

I don't currently have a Dodge dealer as a customer, so I haven't seen one yet. But here is the procedure: Procedure 1: Initialization & Obstacle Detection Calibration Procedure 1 must be performed when one of the following scenarios are true: ​ One or both motors have been replaced with new replacement service motors. Sunroof will only respond to CLOSE switch (audible motor clicking noise with no motion, sunroof close motion or sunshade close motion when CLOSE switch pressed) & no response to sunroof open/vent & sunshade open/close switch actuation. ​ Set the vehicle ignition to ACCESSORY (ACC) or start engine. Push and hold the sunroof glass CLOSE switch. Hold the switch through the following events: sunroof glass will cycle to the closed position (an audible click noise from motor will be heard when full close position achieved), power sunshade will then cycle to closed position (an audible click noise from motor will be heard when full close position achieved), then all motion will stop. Note: If glass and sunshade are already at full closed position at beginning of this procedure only a clicking noise from the sunroof motor followed a clicking noise from the sunshade motor will be heard. Release the sunroof CLOSE switch after all motion has stopped then push and hold it again within 5 seconds. The following sequence of sunroof operations will occur, do not release the switch until the operations are fully completed; the power sunshade will cycle to the full open position, sunroof glass will cycle to full open position and back to closed position, power sunshade will cycle to closed position. Release the switch once all operation stops; initialization and calibration of motors is complete. If the switch is released prior to full completion of the operations described the entire initialization and obstacle detection calibration must be repeated. Procedure 2: Re-initialization & Obstacle Detection Calibration Procedure 2 must be performed when one of the following scenarios are true: ​ Original existing motors have been removed and reinstalled on the sunroof module. Sunshade Assy, Glass Assy, Wind Deflector or Seals have been replaced. Sunroof glass or sunshade closed position setting incorrect. Sunroof Assy, Glass Assys, Wind Deflector or Seals have been removed and reinstalled in vehicle. Express operation “one touch” is not functioning. Sunroof glass or power sunshade is auto-reversing during express close operation with no obstruction blocking sunroof. ​ Set vehicle ignition to ON/Run. Ensure sunroof is in closed position. Open front driver side door. Switch vehicle ignition to OFF. Within 5 seconds set vehicle ignition back to ACCESSORY (ACC) or ON/Run. Within 10 seconds push and hold the sunroof glass CLOSE switch. After 10 seconds of holding the switch the re-calibration process will be begin. Continue to hold the switch through the following events: the glass will cycle slightly forward into a hard stop then stop (an audible click noise from motor will be heard), the power sunshade will then cycle to CLOSE position and stop (an audible click noise from motor will be heard when full close position achieved). Once the sunroof glass and power sunshade have stopped motion release the sunroof glass CLOSE switch then push and hold it again within 5 seconds. Continue to hold the switch through the following sequence of events, do not release the switch until all operations are fully completed; the power sunshade will cycle to the full open position, sunroof glass will cycle to open position and back to closed position, power sunshade will cycle to closed position. Release the CLOSE switch once all operation stops; re-calibration of motors is complete. If the switch is released prior to full completion of the operations described the entire re-calibration procedure must be repeated from Step 1. Confirm sunroof glass and sunshade express operation (press & release switch) is functional for open and close operations.

@@SealofPerfection Cool, thank you for responding and providing the above instructions. This video provided much needed help although on the F-150. Keep up the great work. Thanks again!

Check with sunroof doctor. I think they may have those parts now

Unfortunately they do not. It only comes with a complete track

Is that the plastic piece shown at 15:05 ? If so I'm also looking for this piece and not sure exactly how it operates but it was broken when looked into them.

There is no computer you can hook to this. It is a self-contained system. All the programming is in the motors. There's nothing in the circuit but the motors, the switches and the wiring. And obviously a fuse. If it is broken mechanically it will mean a mechanical repair. I have a whole series of videos on how to fix these and diagnose them

Yes. Here's how. It's tight, but it can be done. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BQnUMaARUCE.html

Let me see if I can find it. I don't know if YT will let me post an external link, but I'll try

www.amazon.com/YITHSWAY-FL3Z16502C22-Sunroof-2015-2020-Navigator/dp/B0CHYR3CC6/ref=sr_1_25?crid=4OJS5QLYJFLI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FTBZeIcx9BkdKmnJuNhNfQ89_C0zMC8hX5mjw8Lz0LOk1CZ2YVrjWnkuyW_OxsT9ODQsWVnUAYMDiRlQIvS4P7tFXBR2l2WZFcDwi8vqYzDAK0cUNlRhusMMCaVLFrMwLvkXq3sO3LMjeerpk-9bxuR-hh6o2v9v-g0DEKZj0YqUe8vVcJOQh-DoNK_2bEX5.SaFIon_2mAD14jCectBbKo-W1NSqd9dSzbNl5hTpPag&dib_tag=se&keywords=ford+sunroof+repair&qid=1709703234&sprefix=ford+sunroof+repair%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-25

Yeah this is the first set of them I have seen, and I don't doubt that the manufacturing tolerances I might be a little loose

You mean the shiny bracket around the hole the gear on the motor sticks through? That might have been damaged during the original failure. Let me know if this is what's damaged. What you can do is this: When you get the new parts installed, and you have it in the vent/tilt position: With the motor still dropped, push the "close" button, see if it runs. If it doesn't "think" it's closed, it will close. Then hit the "vent/tilt" button, and it should run to where it "thinks" it is vented. Then tighten the motor, and it should be pretty close to being calibrated, and the initialization should work. That is, provided you don't have some physical damage to the track itself from the initial failure.

Yes, it's the shiny bracket around the hole the motor goes through. It probably was damaged when it failed the first time because it fell out on it's own after I removed the motor a few times. There's another bracket above the motor for the shade that I removed and it came out kinda hard. I've been trying to bend it so it's the same as that one but I'm probably gonna have to work on it a little more. Thanks for that idea! It seems like it could work but I'm not sure why it "thinks" it's open because it failed when it was closed and I tried to open it. I hope there's nothing else that's damaged. The only thing I noticed was that bracket. My new cables are supposed to come by this weekend so I hope I get it to work. I just bought the truck this fall and I opened and closed it when I test drove it twice because I knew these were a problem. It worked fine then, but 3 days after I bought it the cable broke the first time I tried opening it after I bought it.

@@craigbrandt-qg3nh I have a junk track I could send you the brackets off of if you can't straighten yours out.

Thanks! That sounds even better. How are you going to get them to me? I'll pay you for them.

@@craigbrandt-qg3nh email me at my screen name at gmail

Roof seam. Sat antenna. Windshield. If none of those, the about has to be the sunroof. The glasses are finicky about the adjustment...no matter what they're going to allow a lot of water get by the seal in the corner where they meet, so they have to be adjusted so the least amount possible gets by. Also the foam "walls" on the center trough are bad about shrinking and under certain conditions they can get water into where it's not supposed to be. You can get foam pieces to extend them to the outer edge. It also could be the glass frame itself...unlikely since yours was replaced, but it does happen.

Some people have had this issue when replacing the cables with these aftermarket parts. One thing I have seen fix this is to drop the motor and then press the close button and let it run until it thinks it is closed. Then tighten the motor back up and try it

@@SealofPerfection I'll give it a try. Thanks for responding and thanks for your great videos.

@@RichardRaine-um9oy i have the same exact problem, did you figure it out ?

You can't buy them separately. I have one, shoot me an email with your address and I'll send it to you

Could find yours it deleted my msg idk but I very much appreciate it couldn’t find your email

Gagebrewer2

Gmail is the last part keeps deleting everytime I time it together

Clearly there's something in there stopping it. Probably part of the lower guide where it has broken. Yes removing the track will probably enable you to get it out, but you're probably still going to have to hit it pretty good with a screwdriver and a hammer or something. It's not like you have to worry about breaking it since you're replacing it anyway

@@SealofPerfection Once it was out there were 4 smaller pieces stuck in it. Both sides move freely. Thanks!

They are all the same.

@@SealofPerfection thank you! Going to try it out this week!

@@BARTisallPOLSKA Good luck! Let me know how it goes

Raleigh NC area

Yes. You might need to take it partially loose and drop it down a bit, but it can and has been done in multiple trucks, per reports I've gotten from people watching my videos.

Did you leave it really good? Silicone paste? The motors are very strong. And they are stiff to start with.

I used lubri plate on rail and cable, helped a little. Im gonna asemble and try to move it with the motor on. Your video helps alot

@@hugomonte a little bit of silicone spray on the cable also helps

At this point I'm not very confident at all. I have been having a ton of reports saying they had problems with these things. I have done some sets and not had a problem, but I've had a lot of people reporting back to me that they have and even had one person bring one to me and I couldn't do anything with it either. Ended up having to replace it with another one that I had rebuilt. The build quality seems to be pretty sketchy.

Oh yeah, so I would give it about a 4 right now.

@@SealofPerfection thanks for the reply. Sorta what I expected and I knew you’d shoot straight on it. At this point I think I’ll leave the risk up to the owner.

@@bradthedad7072 that's what I am doing. I am explaining to them the options and the risks and letting them make the decision.

I don't have one. I do have some captured on video though in the middle of another one. I will see if I can cut that out and post it as a single video this evening

@@SealofPerfection that would be awesome. I been trying to search and can’t find. We tried this past weekend and found out the ends of cable were broke so I have those on order

@@mooseman00691 Okay, I've clipped and edited the best I can, and I will set the video to go live tomorrow. It will be in my F-Series sunroof playlist if you don't get a notification. Not my best work, but it should get you where you want to be if you want to try it this way.

@@mooseman00691 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BQnUMaARUCE.htmlsi=lpg5RfuREoEmDwW-

I believe it might be possible to do it in the truck. I initially started the video saying that, but decided against it. I think I'll make an "addendum" type video and see if it's possible. There's a way, I believe, but it's hard to visualize without the truck. That's vague sounding, so here's how I think it could be done: I'm fairly sure the cable can be removed in the truck, you'd just have to bend it to bring it out, so it'd be slower. But the plastic part that you remove first...the one that you slide back out of the way? No way that's coming out the front in the truck. But, I think it can be removed via a gap in the track a bit farther back. In fact, I did just that to begin with, but ended up thinking it might not be the best way, so I didn't include it. I'll go out later this morning and do a "this might get it done in the truck" video and show it. It's just a little trickier.

I bet you can lower the track and get to it. I might try that actually.

@@jaybeeson2118 Oh, that will absolutely work. The way I did it, can't be done "in truck". But lower the track to that plastic piece that comes out before the guide can clear? Oh yeah, that'll work. Use the linked video on track removal, and just focus on the front and it'll probably drop enough. I'm going to do an extra video on that same track and show another way in a little while.

Okay I was just attempting to make a video on how to do it in the truck. I'm not going to say that you can't, but it is going to be really tight. I don't think I'm going to make another one until I can actually try it in a truck, because I don't want to tell people you can do it and then when you actually get it in the truck there isn't enough room. The challenge isn't going to be the plastic thing that holds the concertina blinds, the challenge is going to be having enough room to get that guide out the front with the roof in the way. I don't think you're going to be able to turn it up enough to bring it out the top, I think the only way it might work is to probably remove the deflector and kind of turn it and run it along the front trough. But it's kind of a hard visual with the track just out on a bench here. But if you lower the track in the front you can definitely do it. I don't think you need to fully remove the track

Thank you for all your help, I am going to take it apart when I am home from work and inspect. I didn't notice any more broken pieces besides the guide rails. I may just have to do the initialization another time. If that doesn't work I will order cables and drop the frame down. @@SealofPerfection

Yes. Need to drop the track a bit.

​@@SealofPerfectionawesome!! thank you so much. I'm a little concerned about getting the old one out since the arm snapped off clean. Just don't know how I'll be able to feed it forward enough to get it to the front of the track. So I just drop the motor a touch to disengage the threads correct? Then feed the new one in give or take to the point of the vent position? Sorry for so many questions just don't want to mess up.

@@davidwright4553 yes the girl from the motor just needs to be disengaged from the cables so they can move freely

I got this set from Amazon. Sunroof Doctor is who I normally recommend, but I don't think they have them right now. I was always check them first though

The lower guide has probably come apart and is jammed up. Either that or there's a piece of the rail broken off down in there jamming it up. It's not moving for a reason, and usually that means something is broken unfortunately

@@SealofPerfection went back through everything removed both cables & got Ford OEM lift arms. cleaned everything extremely good. There are no broken pieces anywhere. manually the track runs fine. I can insert an Allen key into the manual override on the motor and put it wherever I need to. Both motors were replaced with Ford OEM motors at the same time because I thought I had a motor issue. I was able to get it to get it to initialize a couple of times, however it keeps losing the initialization or forgetting how to do it. So it will run to one position and then continue to try to push that direction rather than reversing. do you know anything about what controls the motors? Is there a circuit board that I can replace? Looks like there is one underneath the switches have you ever had issues with that?

@@robv2286 the motor literally is the circuit board. All of the smart functions are inside the motors. Sometimes you have to program them several times to get it to take but if you've done it several times they should be good. The most I've ever had to do is five

Shot in the dark, but that part you said be careful with because it’s not available. I broke it. Any idea where I can find one

@@bradleyvolk8649 Sunroof Doctor has them now

A couple of people have informed me that they did it in the truck. Although I don't know to what extent they had to drop the track or anything in order to do it.

Trough can be bought, but the plastic guide piece is only available with a new track. Which side did you break?

@@SealofPerfection I broke the passenger side, noticed that Sunroof Doctor has them for sale on their website.

@@tcrosslin38 The trough, yes. I was talking about the part the accordion attaches to, which side of that broke?

@@SealofPerfection passenger side broke but I was able to order a set on Sunroof Doctor tonight, maybe he just started selling them?

@@tcrosslin38 similar situation where the plastic guide broke; can you link to the part, thanks

That's the entire track. You can't get these parts from Ford. Aftermarket only

Just ordered the cable guides. Thanks for this video brother. Quick question on this. I’m going to need to remove the rivets to install these correct?

@@lroberts2478 For the deflector? I don't think so. I'm sure it would be easier but I don't think it's absolutely necessary