For MI-Mitsu: I agree on the silicone, I was thinking the flexing alone from driving would mess it up, as far as the parts..you are way better than me, I searched and could find nothing for that year, is parts.com reputable??
1st, ASA I find is a bit fickle. For example I need the OE metal mount flanges for the rear mudflaps. They're the same 89-91 .. probably even earlier as well. But for 91 - ASA says no information available. When i plug in my VIN for my 89LS, I get part numbers. Sometimes you have to "coax" the information out of the damn thing. But it beats having nothing!
2nd, re: parts.com Yes they're reliable. Mostly. Like any other dealer however, they in turn need to order the parts from Mitsu's warehosue (in NJ IIRC), bring it in to they're place in TX, then ship it to you. Reasonable shipping prices, and cheaper than most of the other Mitsu dealer sites I've seen recommended here. Near impossible getting anyone live on the phone. Most contact - if necessary - is done through the sites messaging system. What it boils down to is if you have time to wait, the price is defintiely right. I also had issue with their packaging - or lack thereof - on one particualr order. They replaced the item, but again... a delay.
and since youve torn these out, there is a metal piece in the front of the glass, possibly all the way around, that is rusted beyond repair..what is that??
???? not real sure. I think you'll need to snap a pic and post it. There's the metal frame itself - really beefy. There's also what looks like metal tubes running around the front and to the sides - these hold the cable/track that the motor runs to open and close the glass. If these are rusted through... you're SOL and may need to get a whole new sunroof unit. I can't imagine there being a way to trying to repair these things short of getting large brake/fuel tbing, bending, re-brazing them on the unit again then re-running the cables through.
My spare is still stored over at my relatives house (i ran out of room), I'll see if I can get pics of it this weekend just in case. This would need to come to you on a pallet however - or you can always try uship.com or CL There are always people travelling back and forth between MI & FL for vacation, college or retirees. Piggybacking on one of these trips is always a possibility.
Best to post a pic of your rust issue and let us all have a look.
Jim
