[MidnightMonkey]

So I'm about to pull the trigger on my 3rd Civic, but the only one I feel somewhat comfortable getting in the area (SW Germany) has a really lame aftermarket moonroof installed.

I was just wondering if any of you guys have had any experience or could point me in the right direction with getting info on replacing the roof sheet altogether?? Collectively a few friends and I have everything we'd need to accomplish the task, just not much knowledge about the structural build of the roof itself. Can we just swap with another EK hatch roof sheet? I really don't want to go the route of welding up a sheet from underneath and filling in the difference 'cause I think that's a little tacky... or maybe it's my OCD.

I'd appreciate the input! And if you're in Germany and wanna help out I'll buy you a beer!

 

[mrtodd]

I've replaced the entire roof on my EG hatch, and it was a huge pain in the ass. I'm sure the EK roof is very similar.
What I ended up doing was using a special drill bit to remove the factory welds then remove the entire roof as a complete piece. Obviously I had my windshield removed before starting. Once the old roof was off, and I had the new replacement roof prepared, I had a friend weld on the new roof. once welded, i took a grinder to smooth out the welds and seems. I used some roof sealent I got from auto zone to caulk in/seal the seams and prevent leaks.

The project ended up taking quite a while for me, although im sure anyone could complete it much quicker than I did.

I did this about 5 years ago, and i was able to find a few articles explaining the process. It was a long time ago, so i can't quite remember where i got all my info. Just know that it's very doable, and some info is out there! But it's a lot of work. I think putting in a sunroof plug would be much easier than replacing the entire roof skin.