Ford F150 2018 Vista sunroof repair tips - stuck rails

When you go to replace the rails on your Vista sunroof on your 2015 to 2018 Ford F150, you can run into problems. Let me share my experience: my sunroof made a loud pop when I opened it the other day. I thought it sounded bad and I was right. I then thought I would open it up all the way. It went back just fine but then would not close. Here's the problem: to replace the rails, it has to be in the closed position.

Here's the process to get it forward to the closed position:
1) remove the forward glass. To do this, you will need someone to help. Remove the 3 screws holding the forward glass to the rails. It will slide forward but you will need help getting it over and around bits of plastic and metal. It's not easy but as you go along, it will be obvious. Keep at it. Take the glass out and put it somewhere safe.
2) remove the 6 screws holding the fixed rear glass in place. The glass will drop down an inch or so. You cannot remove it because the metal tabs are shifted over and the tolerance is too tight.
3) with the rear glass free, you can shift it forward to reveal the rails at the back and you can pick out all the broken bits making it so that you cannot slide it forward.
4) once it's clear, you should be able to move it forward using the power buttons. If it still will not move forward on its own, you can try doing it manually. This step is only necessary if need to move it manually.
5) (optional) pull down the headliner (see other videos on this) and unplug the motor located in middle of the back roof. Remove the 3 screws and drop the motor. Easy. The slider should move fairly freely and you can then locate whatever is blocking it from moving forward.
Reverse the process to replace the rear glass. Follow the steps in Pacfanweb's video to replace the sliders. Best of luck.