Another Leaky 80.. (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 7, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
41
Location
Gig Harbor WA
Hello again all!

Seattle just got hit with one of its biggest rain storms in a while and my (new to me) 80 has started to show its holes. The truck came from a drier climate out in Bend OR so I’m sure it’s not used to this much rain. The driver front carpet has soaked through and is not drying fully. It’s the only spot that I can find that is soggy. Passenger carpets and seats are all good. And to make matters worse some mold is starting to sprout up.. s***

I first thought maybe it’s the sunroof drains and the rocker drains clogged like some of you have said so I cleaned out the sunroof tray gunk and cleaned the drains with some warm soapy water. And to my amazement the water came right out of the rocker drains looking pretty good. So I don’t believe that is the issue.

So now I’m thinking it could be two things from what I’ve read on here. Windshield seal and/or sunroof seal. The windshield has been replaced for sure but the glass is good. I also found a spot where rust has started to bubble at one spot at the seal to the left above the rear view mirror. I found the thread about the roof flashing caulk and am going to try that. But the sunroof seal concerns me.. from what I’ve read the seal can’t be redone and you need to replace the whole assembly? This doesn’t sound fun to my wallet. I took off that stupid deflector above the front of the sunroof and found that the mounting brackets have created some deformity in the seal and could it be contributing to my wet carpet? The photo shown is on the driver front corner above the carpets. But I haven’t noticed any water coming from the roof or headliner..

This has turned into a long rant.. does anyone have any suggestions? My brain is tired and I’m in need of assistance.

Thanks all!

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Remove the drivers side kick panel and see if the wires and such behind it are wet. This would indicate a windshield leak.

I had my windshield replaced a few years ago and it started leaking right away. Problem is that the shops follow a standard operating procedure when installing the seals which may work fine for most cars but is not what Toyota recommends for these trucks. I ended up taking my truck back to the shop that did it with the pages from the FSM printed out on how to install the windshield and told them to follow the instructions. After the tech telling me several times that their method was better they relented and followed the FSM and I've had no leaks since.

It's not worth trying to re-use the seal. It's not all that expensive. A good shop can get your glass out without damaging it and install a new seal, with the proper glue amount and procedure. It will probably cost you about $100-$150 though.

As for the sunroof the seals will leak no matter what you do. It's designed to catch any water that gets past the seal and send it down those drains. So long as your drains are functioning you probably are not getting water from the sunroof.
 
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The easy and very low cost things to do are
  1. Seal the windshield gasket as per Toyota FSM
  2. Open up sunroof drains
  3. Make sure bottom rain slots are not clogged with dirt

 
The easy and very low cost things to do are
  1. Seal the windshield gasket as per Toyota FSM
  2. Open up sunroof drains
  3. Make sure bottom rain slots are not clogged with dirt



I opened up the sunroof drains and cleaned them out. I’m gonna seal up the windshield and sunroof here tomorrow. Thank you for the links.
 
There is a bicycle tube solution in the forum.

Search.
 
Dont forget the bottom drains, if they are plugged with old caked mud, for example, nothing will drain. You clean those from the bottom up. Thats the video up top, that was mine, holding a lot of water and the carpets would stay wet.
 
My sunroof drains were clear - I checked all four with a very healthy flow of water - but I still had leakage. I believe my leakage was due to two factors: 1) there is not enough slope in the sunroof tray to direct all water immediately to one of the four corners - so a lot of water can sit and accumulate in the tray and 2) the gasket seals of the glass to the surround shrink and let more water accumulate, exacerbating problem #1 above. With good seals, only a minimal amount of water should get past the glass and the drains should be able to handle that lower volume of water.

Mine would only really actively leak into the driver's compartment when the truck was making significant turns, causing whatever water that was sitting in the tray to splash up over the interior lip and then down into my lap.

The inner tube gasket trick would've probably helped reduce leakage in my particular case, but I had another factor at play on my truck: the sunroof motor control module was burnt out (I pulled it and tested it - definitely dead) and even when it was working, I had probably only used my sunroof once or twice in the past 10 years. I just decided to go for a permanent solution and just sealed the whole unit with a permanent polyurethane sealant. Problem solved.
 
My sunroof drains were clear - I checked all four with a very healthy flow of water - but I still had leakage. I believe my leakage was due to two factors: 1) there is not enough slope in the sunroof tray to direct all water immediately to one of the four corners - so a lot of water can sit and accumulate in the tray and 2) the gasket seals of the glass to the surround shrink and let more water accumulate, exacerbating problem #1 above. With good seals, only a minimal amount of water should get past the glass and the drains should be able to handle that lower volume of water.

Mine would only really actively leak into the driver's compartment when the truck was making significant turns, causing whatever water that was sitting in the tray to splash up over the interior lip and then down into my lap.

The inner tube gasket trick would've probably helped reduce leakage in my particular case, but I had another factor at play on my truck: the sunroof motor control module was burnt out (I pulled it and tested it - definitely dead) and even when it was working, I had probably only used my sunroof once or twice in the past 10 years. I just decided to go for a permanent solution and just sealed the whole unit with a permanent polyurethane sealant. Problem solved.

I just read the thread about the roof flashing sealant to permanently seal off the sunroof. I don’t use it open and with how wet it gets up here I don’t want to have to keep fixing it, so I think I’m gonna seal it up. How has the sealant held up over time?
 
I just read the thread about the roof flashing sealant to permanently seal off the sunroof. I don’t use it open and with how wet it gets up here I don’t want to have to keep fixing it, so I think I’m gonna seal it up. How has the sealant held up over time?

I've only had mine sealed up for a few months, so I can't really give you a long-term perspective. I did go with Sikkaflex polyurethane sealant (sorry can't remember the exact version) rated for many years of external exposure. I'm reasonably confident it'll hold up a long time.
 
Used SikaFlex P2G on mine. Been through three significant rain events since and bone dry. I got a tiny bit on the windshield and it hasn’t even slightly deteriorated despite being whacked by the wipers hundreds of times. Guess I’ll have to properly remove. Get a heavy duty caulk gun.
 
Before you apply sealant to your sunroof apply tape around the exterior to see if it’s actually the problem. You can also use a sheet of magnetic sign material.

If the seal is bad it will allow more water in than what the drains can handle.
 
Before you apply sealant to your sunroof apply tape around the exterior to see if it’s actually the problem. You can also use a sheet of magnetic sign material.

If the seal is bad it will allow more water in than what the drains can handle.
The reason I want to seal the sunroof is due to the photo in the original post. I removed the dealer installed shield that had been on there for 25 or so years.. it’s caused that deformity on both corners of the gasket where the brackets went in to attach the shield. I don’t trust that gap in the constant rain of the PNW..
 
The reason I want to seal the sunroof is due to the photo in the original post. I removed the dealer installed shield that had been on there for 25 or so years.. it’s caused that deformity on both corners of the gasket where the brackets went in to attach the shield. I don’t trust that gap in the constant rain of the PNW..
I don't see a deformity on that seal at all. They ALL look like that. Maybe you should try the bicycle inner tube fix first. Unless you hate the sunroof, then use the SikaFlex and seal it shut. Make sure you clean it well before sealing or you'll have a leaky stuck closed sunroof.
 
Here goes nothing. Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I’ll update once dry. Thankfully I got the one afternoon of sun to do this as it’s supposed to rain all week..

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