Another Leaking Sunroof

[JST]

Hi all,
I currently have the entirety of my trim stripped out, including the headlining. I know my sunroof is letting water in but doubted that it was the drains as they appeared to be free of blockages.
Having the headlining out has confirmed that all 4 drain pipes are operating correctly and are not split. However, I still get water congregating around the front of the black tray and the aluminium slider rails.
I’m hesitant to drop the sunroof assembly as I presume this means breaking a permanent seal.
So before I go any further, has anyone experienced a sunroof leak which wasn’t blocked drains?

Many thanks, James

 

[bloc]

I haven't had this issue on my 200 but did on my 80. Basically, the tray is intended to deal with a certain amount of water making it past the sunroof gasket when that was in good shape.. but as the gasket aged it just overwhelmed not so much the drains themselves, but the carefully shaped parts that control how the water flows within the tray.

I'd try getting a new sunroof gasket and see whether that addresses the issue. They aren't technically available separately for LCs but are for LXs.. it's the same part though. Beyond that you might have a crack in the tray somewhere.. could be really tough to diagnose.

Also per the FSM there isn't any special seal between the sunroof assembly and vehicle roof. Just the gasket around the sunroof panel. Then gravity is supposed to keep any water getting past that into the correct spots.

 

[JST]

Apologies for not coming back sooner - the forum has been inaccessible for me for the last week or so!

You were right. I’d forgotten that I had a sunroof seal in stock, ready for when I tackled the job - I wasn’t expecting it to be the problem, but wanted to replace it as a matter of course, partly because I had a little wind noise.
I decided to pull the drain tubes out in to the footwell with a couple of containers to catch the water.
I then poured 5 litres of water over the roof and found that most of it ended up in the containers in the footwell which clearly isn’t right!

Part number is 6325112190 and I’d recommend all 200 series owners to replace as a matter of course, given the potential damage from a leaking roof.

Once you know what you’re doing, it’s a 30 minute job.

1. Pull the concertina trims off from under the glass. These pull from the sides of the car towards the centreline and don’t take much effort - there is no release tab on any of the clips.

2. Remove 4x T25 screws holding the glass in.

3. Remove glass, pull old seal off and clean the grooves thoroughly, such that the new seal seats correctly.

4. Use lots of neat washing up liquid to lubricate the new seal on to the sunroof. Gently massage it in - I don’t think that the fix between the plastic element and the glass is all that great and could be damaged if not careful.

5. Refit glass to car and nip up T25 screws (not too tight).

6. Standing on the side steps and looking on top of the roof, gently smack the glass up and down until fully aligned.

7. Tighten screws and refit concertina trim.

I did apply a quantity of silicon grease to the outside of the seal which I don’t expect to last forever but believe it will improve the seal to the roof panel.

Get it done before any wiring loom damage!

 

[Workhorse]

@JST Please report back results. I believe I need to do this with my 2014. It seems like the sunroof glass is need of adjustment or gasket replaced or both. I would love to see how your gasket replacement turned out going through an automated carwash or heavy rain to verify the seal was the issue and all is 100% dry and like new.

 

[JST]

@JST Please report back results. I believe I need to do this with my 2014. It seems like the sunroof glass is need of adjustment or gasket replaced or both. I would love to see how your gasket replacement turned out going through an automated carwash or heavy rain to verify the seal was the issue and all is 100% dry and like new.

All dry so far. I live in England so no doubt about the vigorous testing carried out over the last couple of weeks. If you are in any doubt at all, just get it done, the seal is much cheaper than electrical repairs.

 

[Workhorse]

James, I have my new seal in hand and have yet to install. When you say gently smack the glass up and down, what do you mean exactly? Put the new seal on, set glass back in place, snug the screws up a bit and smack the glass into place? Does this settle the glass into where it is supposed to be so the seal properly seals? How do you know it is settled and in the right place? Do you have any before and after photos of the install you could share?

 

[linuxgod]

I did mine without removing the glass

Build Post in thread 'Truckasaurus - linuxgod's Build Thread'

Nov 19, 2024

ARB twin installed on the SDHQ passengers side mount. I need to wire it up before it gets too cold. I didn’t want to use the whole harness for air lockers so I just purchased a basic switch and the 3-pin 150-series connector.

Swapped my sunroof seal yesterday. Part is 63251-12190 if anyone is interested. Technically it’s the LX part as the LC version is only sold as a $1000 sunroof assembly. Installation took under an hour. What I did was:
1. Tilt moonroof up, and remove old gasket with my hands by stretching it. The old rubber was pretty hard.
2. Lower moonroof and slide back half...

• linuxgod

• 

 

[884runner]

James, I have my new seal in hand and have yet to install. When you say gently smack the glass up and down, what do you mean exactly? Put the new seal on, set glass back in place, snug the screws up a bit and smack the glass into place? Does this settle the glass into where it is supposed to be so the seal properly seals? How do you know it is settled and in the right place? Do you have any before and after photos of the install you could share?

I did this last weekend. Car Nut has a video where he does it on a GS350 and it is almost identical to doing it on an LX570. I think taking the sunroof out is worth it, it's only 4 screws. I think JST was referring to leveling the glass. It was easy with 2 people to have one person watching the glass and then one person inside loosening screws and moving each corner up and down until its level. It took less than an hour and with the glass out it was easy to clean everything real good. My sunroof was noisy and would leak a little inside a carwash when the blowers would go over it. After this it is noticeably quieter and the carwash didn't cause any leaks. This is a good DIY project and not very expensive.