My 97 Grand Prix sunroof tracks are offset. My driver side track is in the closed position, and the passenger side track is in a half open position. When the problem happened I was closing the roof and heard a hard clicking. It stopped working from that moment on. The tracks werent offset as much as they are now before I took the glass off. When I removed the glass, the passenger side track sprung back about 6 inches. The motor works, but the tracks only move about a half inch forward and backwards. Its cable operated and my guess is that one side jumped the track or a gear or something. Anybody help?

When a sliding sunroof goes wrong there are no half measures when it comes to repair, especially if it is to be used and expected to be reliable.

The amount of routine maintenance that can be carried out is small but fortunately there is a variety of spray cans available to squirt lubricants into inaccessible places so periodically opening the roof and standing in the opening with a good flashlight squirting lubricants along cables and runners is a small price to pay for reliability. The job is finished off by emptying a pint of water into each corner of the trough to ensure the drains are intact and clear.

Gaining access to the sliding roof gear mostly means removing the headlining. The cables are almost certain to need replacing and it is likely a cable jumped a pulley because something wore out or broke.

It is not a suitable job for a home mechanic and not a suitable job for lots of professional repairers. It requires a deal of experience or constant referral to a repair manual and lots of patience and attention to detail. It is a job best entrusted to a specialist...