I bought this 94 cruiser from my dad about a month ago before I moved up to oregon. I knew the sunroof was leaking because my brother ended up breaking the drive by wire connection in the aluminum run channel. He did that by pushing the sun roof down on the driver side because it was not sitting flush and he forced it unfortunately. Since then if it rains or if you clean the car the sunroof leaks from the rear driver corner of the sunroof. I tried fixing it by re sealing the rear removable tray, and that did not work. So a couple of days ago I fully sealed the driver side from the rear removable tray to the sun roof assembly tray to the front drain channel with waterproof caulking. I assumed that would work because I also sealed the part where the aluminum run channel for the drive by wire meets the sun roof drain tray because that seemed like a place that water could seep through. Thought that would make it 100%. I woke up this morning after it rained a bit and felt the cloth headliner and it was slightly damp on both sides of the sunroof. Just looking for any options to try and fix this. Or wondering if it’s normal for the cloth headliner to get somewhat damp in places that rain a lot and have a lot of humidity. I also put a bike tube around the glass to make the seal a little bit more when it’s set in. I’m not worried if the sunroof works or not at this point because it doesn’t as it is. Just want to make sure it doesn’t leak anymore.
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Sounds like you did your research with the bike tire tube, but I am still going to ask. Did you clean the drains?
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- #3
I have cleaned the drains yeah. It isn’t that though, I tested it with the sunroof off by pouring a bit of water maybe 3oz in the rear removable tray and it was not nearly enough water to have flooded the trays to the drain. It ran down into the tray and made its way to the drain. Sept out the drain and then about 3 minutes later you could feel the headliner around the rear driver portion of the sunroof to almost halfway to the front of the sunroof was sopping wet. This was before I sealed it with the caulking. Now it just feels damp. I’m going to go outside right now and spray the sunroof to see if it’s leaking to the extent it was beforehand.
I currently have a giant magnetic "Band-Aid" over mine to seal out the water until I can rebuild a spare unit I have in the garage, then install it. 24"L x 52"W on the magnetic sheet.
My temporary fix has been on there now for a year.
Sunroof Bandaid
I have a black truck with a giant white bandaid on the roof.
I caulked it to JUST THE GLASS of the sunroof (not to any painted surface) and I can drive in 60 MPH headwinds and I can take it through a car wash and it doesn't leak or blow off.
I made sure to round the corners so the wind won't catch it.
Prior to this, every time it rained, I got a forehead and ball wash. Now I'm dry for a year!
My temporary fix has been on there now for a year.
Sunroof Bandaid
I have a black truck with a giant white bandaid on the roof.
I caulked it to JUST THE GLASS of the sunroof (not to any painted surface) and I can drive in 60 MPH headwinds and I can take it through a car wash and it doesn't leak or blow off.
I made sure to round the corners so the wind won't catch it.
Prior to this, every time it rained, I got a forehead and ball wash. Now I'm dry for a year!
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- #5
Nice! If it works it works. I think I figure out this leak. It’s a secondary leak to the first one I guess I dealt with. The tire I put on allowed the water to drip just a little bit further under the sunroof thag it should. It would go between the glass and tire and end up on the inside of the tray. That created the second leak that showed by the handle on the a pillar. Took the tube off trimmed it up and hopefully that will do the trick
Yeah, one or more cables in mine is broke, so it doesn't come up at the back no matter what I do.
@Dvidgd I am a little confused by your reference to a rear removable tray. Have you dropped the complete sunroof housing and removed it from the vehicle? The actual sunroof sits in a one piece tray twice the size of the actual sunroof. The felt material around the glass isn't designed to be completely waterproof. Any water that does make it past the felt will enter the tray and then drain out at the front and rear. The tray can hold a significant quantity of water but with clear drains should never reach a point where it over fills. That said I can imagine a situation with the car facing forward and tilted a little to one side where only 1 drain is in play that would allow water to fill that corner of the tray and leak into the cabin.
I have a complete sunroof removed from my '96 so if you need photos etc. then let me know. It's going back in the truck later today so let me know.
I have a complete sunroof removed from my '96 so if you need photos etc. then let me know. It's going back in the truck later today so let me know.
Gaffer's tape has worked well for me. No problem even in a touch-free car wash. I couldn't keep the magnetic sheet from removing itself at high speed, in traffic.
Definitely go ahead and clean the drain holes. doesn't matter if they look like they are passing water. Could be blocked further down in the tubes! If you don't have puddles of water under the car when doing so then water is not passing through. Ever since I cleaned out my sunroof tubes and installed a new OEM sunroof glass unit haven't had any leaks. I dealt with the same issues before that.
Mine has the up down play/rattle that doesnt seal itself off anymore- i think it had to do with the 2 gears on the rear wearing down and being too lobish and not raising the seal to properly keep water out. indoor waterfalls were the result.
So being fed up...I painters tape lined an area from glass to paint and spread 5200 Marine Sealant making a neat permanent seal...bye bye leaks and rattles.
So being fed up...I painters tape lined an area from glass to paint and spread 5200 Marine Sealant making a neat permanent seal...bye bye leaks and rattles.
Mine was doing the same thing. Many people complain about their sunroofs leaking. They are supposed to leak. They weren't water tight even when new. That's why they have the drains. If your drains are working properly then you shouldn't need to seal anything off. The unfortunate thing is that the drains on the 80, and even the 100 series are not designed well. They drain into the frame rails for some reason. Then the water is supposed to drain out of the frame rails through tiny slits on the bottom of the frame rails. Since they are on the bottom of the frame rails they get clogged easily. Even if they're not clogged they still don't drain very well. There is a sunroof drain mod that is fairly easy to do. It involves removing the kick panels and re-routing the drain tubes out through the floor instead of through the frame. There are small rubber grommets on either side of the floor near the kick panels. Remove these and route the drain tubes through them. This completely fixed my issue. You could pour a gallon of water through them and they would never back up. My headliner was getting wet in the corners near the windshield.
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- #12
I would remove the assembly but unfortunately mine has the cloth headliner that’s glued at the doors and stretched to fit. Would be a nightmare to take off and try to preserve. Plus if I mess it up I don’t have the money at the moment or a place to make sure the car is covered to do something like this. The rear tray behind the sunroof is removable. It’s just held in there by 2 screws. That originally leaked a bit so I sealed the part where the rubber meets the tray. That seemed to work.
- Thread starter
- #13
I did clean the drain holes and made sure air was getting through. Took compressed air and sent it through the lines. There are also puddles under the car from it draining when I have poured water in them after to make sure they were good.
