another windshield molding / potential leak question (1 Viewer)

[riffman12]

So earlier in the winter I was getting some water on my passenger footwell. Not a ton, but some drops. I assumed it was the sunroof so I used weed eater line to clear the drains. It seemed to fix the issue.

Last weekend I replaced my factory roof rack with K9 rails and load bars. I noticed that there was a pretty big gap behind the top of the windshield molding. Is this normal or did someone cut this on a janky windshield change in the past? I'm concerned that water can pool there and get "under" the molding. If so, does that go into the cabin or drain externally?

Fast forward to today, we had some pretty heavy rain last night and I woke up to this on my passenger side:

It's not a ton of water, but it's annoying. Looks to be coming down the plastic trim in front of the door.

So my question is:

Is this coming from my gap above the windshield moldings? Or is this just indicative of a bad windshield / rivet change in the past? I've also seen talk of the cowl trim letting water in.

Thanks in advance

 

[awesomeissquid]

The gap you are seeing in the roof trim is normal when the OEM roof rack is replaced. In the image of the roof you can see a slight oval outline of where the old roof rack foot previously sat. Just like you guessed the likely causes for your water leak is either clogged sunroof drains or windshield molding rivet issues. The other possibilities would be if the roof rack bolts had not been sealed they can allow some water in or if the sunroof gasket is either not sealed properly or not aligned some water could enter. Depending on if the vehicle was parked at an angle or not these two are probably less likely but would be good things to check.

 

[izzy1256]

So earlier in the winter I was getting some water on my passenger footwell. Not a ton, but some drops. I assumed it was the sunroof so I used weed eater line to clear the drains. It seemed to fix the issue.

Last weekend I replaced my factory roof rack with K9 rails and load bars. I noticed that there was a pretty big gap behind the top of the windshield molding. Is this normal or did someone cut this on a janky windshield change in the past? I'm concerned that water can pool there and get "under" the molding. If so, does that go into the cabin or drain externally?

Fast forward to today, we had some pretty heavy rain last night and I woke up to this on my passenger side:

It's not a ton of water, but it's annoying. Looks to be coming down the plastic trim in front of the door.

So my question is:

Is this coming from my gap above the windshield moldings? Or is this just indicative of a bad windshield / rivet change in the past? I've also seen talk of the cowl trim letting water in.

Thanks in advance

Did you ever find the source of this? I have an identical leak that I'm trying to track down. Current guess is clogged sunroof drain, but my sunroof doesn't open so that won't be an easy road to go down...

 

[jared26]

Did you ever find the source of this? I have an identical leak that I'm trying to track down. Current guess is clogged sunroof drain, but my sunroof doesn't open so that won't be an easy road to go down...

I had this same leak and the solution was a windshield replacement from a place that was also able to grind off the rust around the rivets and apply new primer. In the Aspen, CO area it cost $500.

 

[izzy1256]

I had this same leak and the solution was a windshield replacement from a place that was also able to grind off the rust around the rivets and apply new primer. In the Aspen, CO area it cost $500.

Interesting.... I got my windshield replaced Jan 2022 and I first noticed the leak July 2022. The windshield guys damaged my cowl, so maybe it's possible that's where the leak originated. Although, it definitely rained between Jan and July - maybe I just didn't notice the water since it's in the passenger footwell. Could've gotten soaked into the carpet and gone unnoticed.... I paid $$ to have the windshield replaced, so I hope that's not the issue.

I'm a newb so this might be a dumb question - is it possible to get the windshield inspected for things like rusted rivets/old primer without replacing the glass?

 

[jared26]

Interesting.... I got my windshield replaced Jan 2022 and I first noticed the leak July 2022. The windshield guys damaged my cowl, so maybe it's possible that's where the leak originated. Although, it definitely rained between Jan and July - maybe I just didn't notice the water since it's in the passenger footwell. Could've gotten soaked into the carpet and gone unnoticed.... I paid $$ to have the windshield replaced, so I hope that's not the issue.

I'm a newb so this might be a dumb question - is it possible to get the windshield inspected for things like rusted rivets/old primer without replacing the glass?

Not that I’m aware of.