Driver side water leak (1 Viewer)

[Stevelugzit]

Hello all,
This is my first post on IH8MUD and also my very first Land Cruiser. For some background info, it is a 1999 with 294,000 miles. Relatively low rust but by no means perfect. I’ve owned it for about 2 weeks now and love it, but this is the first major rain it has seen and boy… does it leak. The leak appears to be coming from the top left of the A pillar trim. I’ve read a lot of posts about this but relatively no definitive answers to my specific issue. I’ve seen a lot about the Cowl and windshield being the issue especially on aftermarket windshields. Mine is a replacement windshield from God knows how long ago. If anyone has any clues feel free to let me know, my current suspicion is the windshield.

No Reserve: 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser UZJ100 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-toyota-land-cruiser-94/

Specs of importance:
1999
Aftermarket windshield
Super small rust bubble forming almost exactly where the issue is occurring on the outside
Sunroof does NOT work

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Tons of threads you could browse through on water leaks from the headliner. If your sunroof isn't working then you can't check/clear the drains there. You can check if it's the windshield seal, spray something soapy along the outside edge and blow air on the inside corner, if you've got bubbles on the outside, there's your issue.

 

[TahoeZ]

Pull the screws out of the visor and grab handle and you can then pry the pillar trim off and pull the headliner down far enough to peek up in there. Dry with a rag and then see where the leak is coming from.

Leaks in that area are typically a) sunroof (drains or glass molding/inner weather strip) b) roof rack bolts or c) windshield.

If the sunroof is permanently sealed shut, make sure that it has been sealed all the way from the glass to the body. If not permanently sealed, you can remove the glass by popping off the interior trim and removing the nuts that attach the glass to the track brackets and then removing the entire piece of glass.

 

[kbfj621989]

Wow. The seller on BAT should have disclosed that the sunroof was not working. I think is see some dark/wet stains on the carpet near the side with the A-pillar in the listing pictures.

Agee with @TahoeZ above. Pull out the sunroof and check/clean the drains.

 

[excessive]

sunroof drain clogged

 

[AARONTLC]

That’s a bad leak. If it were me that leak is job 1. I would not sink a dollar into anything until that is fixed. You can get some piano wire and run it down your drains but if you have bubbling paint with rust acne, then that is what I would zero in on. I recently had my windshield replaced and it was a process. Grab a Factory Service Manual and read the BO section on removing the exterior trim pieces. It takes time to do it properly. If you want to just buy new ones then remove them however, just be prepared they are 125.00 each. Once you have the trim pieces removed schedule Glass replacement people to come remove your windshield. Then take a week or more to repair/mitigate rust. I can’t tell you how important it is to have this done right. Can be the difference between a great vehicle or a car that will give you nothing but strange electrical issues until you give up. Once you have fixed ALL the rust, have them come back to set your glass. Rivet the trim with proper rivets etc. Need to read the FSM to fully understand the job. Wish you the best of luck. Don’t get discouraged just be patient and it will come together. There is a great thread by @2001LC on windshield replacement.

 

[delz05]

4x4Rides/Chris Lanier strikes again!!! Got me on C&B about a year ago... A very suspect flipper who tends to be less than forthright in his vehicle descriptions. Personal first hand knowledge to his shady antics. I try to keep up with his listings and offer opinion and rebuttle to his postings. I missed this one (away on vacation)... You will want to make BAT aware of this vehicle's condition. I would ask BAT for a fee return, vehicle return or cost reduction equal to repair. Sadly, you will get no help from Lanier, other than "Sold as is...!"

 

[shane431]

4x4Rides/Chris Lanier strikes again!!! Got me on C&B about a year ago... A very suspect flipper who tends to be less than forthright in his vehicle descriptions. Personal first hand knowledge to his shady antics. I try to keep up with his listings and offer opinion and rebuttle to his postings. I missed this one (away on vacation)... You will want to make BAT aware of this vehicle's condition. I would ask BAT for a fee return, vehicle return or cost reduction equal to repair. Sadly, you will get no help from Lanier, other than "Sold as is...!"

I always wandered why so many vehicles are sold from Hagerstown, Maryland. I would probably never buy one from up there since I live in Texas but now I know there’s a shady sales guy to watch out for. Thanks for the heads up! Hopefully more LC enthusiasts will see this.

 

[Stevelugzit]

I have been pretty happy with the quality of the vehicle but the shop Chris owns, I believe is called 4X4 Rides, does some of the worst work I have ever seen on vehicles. The brakes are brand new and squeak I have plans this weekend to lift it up and remove the pads and apply grease on the contact surfaces. The wheel balance on the new tires was so off I needed to have them redone and the radiator they installed they had to do again because the part they bought was so cheap. I wish I noticed the windshield rust but for the mileage the body and frame are in great shape for an east coast truck. I luckily have a chip in the windshield so I’m getting it replaced through insurance. I have decided to replace the windshield, rubber trim and rubber dams along with ensuring no crappy self tappers are installed. Oxmoor collision in Louisville has always done great work on my other Toyotas and I’m confident they’ll do good work for me on this I got quoted $1200 for the work, but I feel like the rubber trim pieces weren’t priced right so I can definitely see it being more. I completely agree with everyone saying to remove the sunroof and check there. As of right now I think my major leak is the windshield, but I noticed some water marks around the roof lights and sunroof controls. I know it’s a complete pain to remove so I’m going to have to tackle that this summer when I have some more time and it’s not as cold. The shop I’m taking it to does body work as well and I’m hoping I can sit in while they do the work and have any light rust sanded off and primered over so nothing gets worse. The bubbling isn’t bad at all maybe a third of an inch x a half inch of bubbles nothing too bad yet but I’m pretty sure under the windshield I’ll be seeing a whole lot more. If the windshield doesn’t fix it, then it’s off to the sun roof. I have removed trim and the lines I can see aren’t ripped or damaged. I can’t tell if they’re clogged but I’m still convinced it’s the windshield getting all that water. Also apologies for the late reply I just drove the cruiser 1,200 miles the past week with a grand total of zero issues. It also doesn’t leak even in super heavy rain while driving so at least I didn’t get soaked LOL.

 

[Stevelugzit]

Pull the screws out of the visor and grab handle and you can then pry the pillar trim off and pull the headliner down far enough to peek up in there. Dry with a rag and then see where the leak is coming from.

Leaks in that area are typically a) sunroof (drains or glass molding/inner weather strip) b) roof rack bolts or c) windshield.

If the sunroof is permanently sealed shut, make sure that it has been sealed all the way from the glass to the body. If not permanently sealed, you can remove the glass by popping off the interior trim and removing the nuts that attach the glass to the track brackets and then removing the entire piece of glass.

Could you elaborate on this more. I looked at a post on someone repairing their broken sun roof and it seemed like the whole headliner has to come out. Is there a way to remove the glass just to clean the rails and drain gutters? I’ll take some more photos of the water marks I’m seeing. Also for whoever mentioned it, the sunroof was mentioned to not work in the comments.

 

[kbfj621989]

Could you elaborate on this more. I looked at a post on someone repairing their broken sun roof and it seemed like the whole headliner has to come out. Is there a way to remove the glass just to clean the rails and drain gutters? I’ll take some more photos of the water marks I’m seeing. Also for whoever mentioned it, the sunroof was mentioned to not work in the comments.

Oh okay, I did re-read the comments from the auction. I see it now when it was disclosed only after someone asked about it.

If it’s not siliconed in, it is easy to pop out the sunroof to check the drains. Slide open the cover, carefully remove the black plastic trim from the perimeter which are covering the four gold nuts. Push the glass up and lift out. Check all four drains but pouring some water in the channel. Personally I’d do that sooner than later.

 

[Stevelugzit]

Sorry for such a late update. I’ve done nothing to the vehicle until now so didn’t feel a need to update on no update lol. I had some time today to remove the sunroof Glass like TahoeZ stated. It was super easy and I did see my drains were clogged. I was able to clean them out and get them running water again. In Kentucky about 2 weeks ago there was a massive rain storm and the car collected a good 20 or so gallons of water. I had to rush it to a buddies apartment just to keep it from flooding. It was misfiring like crazy the whole way over. Turns out 2 of the coils were original to the vehicle from 1999. Super impressive for 296,000 miles and 26 years… Got those replaced and no more issues. But that night before the storm I had removed the A pillar Trim to try to prevent water from getting down to the fuses and stuff. I saw the water coming from the windshield ugh… The sunroof was leaking in the super heavy rain too but now that the drains are cleaned thanks to y’all’s tips I’m sure that’ll stop. Toyota unfortunately won’t be able to get a windshield in for over a month so I don’t think I’ll have any more updates until then… thanks for everyone’s help that sunroof glass pop out was super appreciated. I was worried I would have to remove the entire assembly just to fix that.

 

[reconranger]

I had the same leak from the upper part of the windshield. It was coming between the gasket material. The windshield was replaced before I bought it. I applied bathroom silicone caulking about 2-3 years ago to that same area where the water was leaking into the vehicle. No more leaks.

 

[Stevelugzit]

@reconranger since my windshield is damaged already I got an insurance check for replacing it so it shouldn’t e much out of pocket. Also for anyone in a similar boat right now, OEM windshields are not being shipped or coming in… Toyota won’t ship and ones over seas aren’t coming in because of tariffs. So this means I’ll have to go aftermarket. If anyone is from the Louisville / Lexington any area, any shop suggestions or windshield brands that are similar to OEM