Can I Clean Sunroof Drains If I Can't Open It? (1 Viewer)

[TheForger]

Simple as that, can I?

Long story short - about 2yrs ago my girlfriend and I were driving along on a pretty day and decided to open the sunroof. It went sloooooow and made a terrible noise at first, so before it made it all the way back I stopped it and tried to close it. The first time the glass went all the way forward and stopped, not raising up like its supposed to so it can seat the seals properly. I thought "OH SH*T!!! This is the end of its life!!". I tried reopening it and it went even slower this time and made an even worse noise, made it 1/4 of the way back, then tried closing it again and by the grace of God it closed and sealed properly. Soooo 2yrs later here I am with clogged sunroof drains and no way to unclog them. I'm too afraid that if tried to open it again, it either won't budge or open at all, or it won't fully close when I'm done unclogging.

Nothing's broken since everything is moving like it should. As for the "terrible noise" I heard, well that sounded like sand inside sliding rails like those for fridge slides and stuff like that. My conclusion is that there are tons of dirt and debris caught in the track/wire/pulley/whatever system that needs to be cleaned out. The sunroof motor is OEM so I think I need to replace that as well as clean out the debris. Provided, of course, that the sunroof actually opens.

Another option I've considered is tracing the drain tube just before the inside of the rocker panel. Think I could use the ole weedwacker technique there?

 

[landylover21]

If memory serves me correctly... undo the plastic garnishes on the side of the sunroof glass, undo the four nuts holding glass to frame, push glass up and out (with someone to help).

You should be able to access the drain holes after that

 

[e9999]

that might work although you may lose some of the plastic trim if they are brittle and / or you are not careful.

One thing I'll say is that if you expect any more rain in the not too distant future, and don't have an alternate vehicle, don't even start. You really don't want to be without a closed sunroof when it's raining. If you expect rain, just tape the thing waterproof with ducttape until you'll have a good chunk of time without rain.

 

[TheForger]

that might work although you may lose some of the plastic trim if they are brittle and / or you are not careful.

One thing I'll say is that if you expect any more rain in the not too distant future, and don't have an alternate vehicle, don't even start. You really don't want to be without a closed sunroof when it's raining. If you expect rain, just tape the thing waterproof with ducttape until you'll have a good chunk of time without rain.

Yeah that is not a bad idea and that's been my mindset for the past 2yrs now - if it ain't broke why break it more, right? It only leaks in the drivers footwell when I park nose down on my driveway during a torrential downpour, so I've just parked it in a different spot that's more level or in the garage for the past 2yrs with no problem. It's just something that's been on my mind as of late, and maybe once spring is over and summer rolls around with less chance of rain I will finally tackle it. I'm just trying to develop a plan in the meantime of how I will go about starting since I'm not sure of the current state of the mechanical parts. I'm tempted to just source those trim pieces online somewhere, dive in and unclog the drains, and then just silicon the entire thing shut like others have done. I'm just trying to avoid pulling headliner and making it a weekend-long project. Honestly I wouldn't lose any sleep over not having a sunroof anymore, the 200 has one and the Solara is convertible so no big deal

Did I mention I hate sunroofs for this very reason???

 

[yotasavg]

Oh man @TheForger I've had the exact same issue since 2013 lol, down to the driver side floor situation. I've figured out how to park when it rains, but it's far from ideal. Please post again you tackle this!

 

[gatormark91]

If memory serves me correctly... undo the plastic garnishes on the side of the sunroof glass, undo the four nuts holding glass to frame, push glass up and out (with someone to help).

You should be able to access the drain holes after that

^this is correct

 

[BadaDing]

^this is correct

Mine is out and Gosh what a mess the leak made. Ruined carpet installation and caused surface rust everywhere the water traveled. The drains are moldy and I'm replacing those but it needs a complete overhaul. Since I have it out I would love to rebuild but my Gosh!! I can scratch my Warn winch from the budget. I would love to stick it back up and seal it but I repainted every nut and bolt and practically rebuilt the truck.