Sun roof leak (1 Viewer)

[CMB1987]

Hi all

Anyone had their sunroof seal leak from the plastic weld before?

I’ve got a leak coming in to the car hopefully images are enough to see where it’s coming in

The drains aren’t blocked

Have videos as well if it’s possible to upload to here as well as images

It’s location is at the back of the sun roof so the drip is falling down going down the back of the centre arm rest

If I pour water on the outside of the sunroof while closed I can see water seeping between the seal where it meets the roof metal. Which does flow down to the drain gully. So although I can see it come in the car it doesn’t cause much drama. But the second drop is coming through the seal it’s self and dripping in to the car so that’s my concern.

Thanks

 

[kevgentile]

Just an fyi, these sunroofs naturally allow a lot of water flow between the body and seal, hence the reason for the massive drain tube diameter and drip trays. The slightest minor blockage, even in a one out of the 4 drains, will result in the trays overfilling and leaking into the interior.

The sunroof is designed to not fit overly tight to the body so it can move freely upwards when doors are closed. It's not a common design but it's effective. A good cleaning with a degreaser will help keep the seal to body surface clear of debris and offer better sealing. You'll be surprised at what the smallest amount of grime will do to water ingress.

I too have a little water entering in between the glass and the inner seal but no more than the trays can handle. Sometimes the leading edges of the seal can fold inwards leaving a tiny air gap. Just run a plastic trowel between the glass and seal to reshape it and it should greatly reduce the leak.

The drivers front drain tube is known to get pinched between the headliner and windshield frame. Mine was but did not leak for a long time, until I removed my headliner and post install must have ever so slightly moved the tube and pinched it just a bit more than the water flow could handle and immediately found a water leak the next storm. I modified mine with an extension and moved outboard to match the right sides position. This allowed the tube to remain circular and drain all the water mother nature could throw at it. Held up to the inch per hour last week down here in New Orleans.

 

[Bisho]

If you pull off the plastic trim on the sunroof, I'm guessing you'll see a crack in the plastic channel that goes around the glass and holds the rubber weatherstripping. The glue holding that channel to the glass eventually loosens and lets water through, which is not caught by the drains, but goes into the trim and then migrates wherever gravity takes it. The fix is removing the glass, pulling off the weatherstrip, and resealing the plastic channel (I used outdoor silicon caulk). Search the forum and you'll find a few posts on it.

 

[CMB1987]

Just an fyi, these sunroofs naturally allow a lot of water flow between the body and seal, hence the reason for the massive drain tube diameter and drip trays. The slightest minor blockage, even in a one out of the 4 drains, will result in the trays overfilling and leaking into the interior.

The sunroof is designed to not fit overly tight to the body so it can move freely upwards when doors are closed. It's not a common design but it's effective. A good cleaning with a degreaser will help keep the seal to body surface clear of debris and offer better sealing. You'll be surprised at what the smallest amount of grime will do to water ingress.

I too have a little water entering in between the glass and the inner seal but no more than the trays can handle. Sometimes the leading edges of the seal can fold inwards leaving a tiny air gap. Just run a plastic trowel between the glass and seal to reshape it and it should greatly reduce the leak.

The drivers front drain tube is known to get pinched between the headliner and windshield frame. Mine was but did not leak for a long time, until I removed my headliner and post install must have ever so slightly moved the tube and pinched it just a bit more than the water flow could handle and immediately found a water leak the next storm. I modified mine with an extension and moved outboard to match the right sides position. This allowed the tube to remain circular and drain all the water mother nature could throw at it. Held up to the inch per hour last week down here in New Orleans.

Thanks it seems to be the seal weld has corroded - I’ll give it a bit of silicone and block the oval hole so water doesn’t get inside the rubber and improvise

All drain holes work fine - I’ll inject some drain cleaner in them all though just to give it a clean