leaking sun roof, pours water while sliding sun roof reveal (clear lines, clear slits) (1 Viewer)

[howlandm]

My sunroof has been leaking and when I move the sun roof reveal back and forth, it sloshes water somewhere above the headliner and drags the water out with it, as seen in the attached video. I've cleaned the all four of the drain lines and all the slits under the truck. This wasn't a problem when the vehicle was being driven daily but now its sits for 2 weeks at a time and I'm not sure if that's part of the problem? Maybe the water is building up somewhere?

I can say that most of the plastic sun roof garnish around the sunroof interior is broken and gone. As it snaps and breaks off, I throw it out. Does this plastic trim play a role?

I have not pulled the headliner but am likely to do so very soon unless someone can identify this specific problem.

Here's a video of the problem:

 

[stu8319]

I believe there are rear drains as well. There is some discussion about them here: Cleaning your sunroof drains FAQ

Did you clear the rear drains as well?

 

[JohnVee]

You'll want these for sure. Left and Right sides. They will not function right if they're warped. They'll function even less if they're broken. Old on left, new on right. Open your sunroof and look from above to find them.
63255-60010 Cover, Sliding Roof, RH
63256-60010 Cover, Sliding Roof, LH

 

[howlandm]

JohnVee, from my video have you identified that mine are broken or are you recommending it as a possibility? I'll look at them later today.

stu8319, I have cleaned all four lines, two in the front and two in the rear of the sunroof. Thank you for your input though.

 

[Malleus]

I'm having the same problem, and have tried the same fixes. The passenger side front corner seems to drain slowly enough that the water in the channel overflows this corner piece. The driver's side vents air when it's draining (I can hear it gurgling), but the passenger side doesn't.

I'm going to try replacing mine and see if that gets me anywhere. The headliner removal isn't hard, but isn't fast either. If these corner pieces are the solution, it'll keep you from enjoying that experience. They're inexpensive, and ours are 20+ years old, so it's time to replace them anyway.

If this doesn't work, there's another solution: replace the glass with a new seal. My concern is that at least for me, the passenger side drain seems to be the root cause.

John, thanks for the part numbers.

 

[jonheld]

the passenger side drain seems to be the root cause.

Pull the passenger side kick panel out and have a look at the tube. Mine was kinked badly and water was backing up.
I also was able to slightly expand the old glass seal by inserting kitchen string into the slit in the seal on the underside. I also cut washers to level out the glass so all 4 corners are flush with the roof. This combination significantly minimized wind noise and water intrusion.

Raining inside the vehicle gets old pretty quick.

 

[ZeGerman]

1. First step is to try and clean the pipes.
2. remove sunroof cassette because it gets quite nasty in there (optional)
3. New Cover Plates as most are bent and warped.

Here a little rant of mine but it shows some of the issues I had with my pipes. Please ignore the dumbass talking :

 

[BILT4ME]

You'll want these for sure. Left and Right sides. They will not function right if they're warped. They'll function even less if they're broken. Old on left, new on right. Open your sunroof and look from above to find them.
63255-60010 Cover, Sliding Roof, RH
63256-60010 Cover, Sliding Roof, LH

View attachment 1465466

Are there only the two in front or are there a total of (4) of these? (2 left/2 right)?

 

[MoJ]

The only thing that fixed mine was replacing the glass/seal combo. Not cheap. Before giving in I cleaned drains, pinch welds, interior of sunroof tray, plastic gizmo mentioned above, different shim heights. The sun baked seal allowed more water to pass than what the drain system could handle.

 

[baldilocks]

The only thing that fixed mine was replacing the glass/seal combo. Not cheap. Before giving in I cleaned drains, pinch welds, interior of sunroof tray, plastic gizmo mentioned above, different shim heights. The sun baked seal allowed more water to pass than what the drain system could handle.

Is the seal available seperately?

 

[JohnVee]

Are there only the two in front or are there a total of (4) of these? (2 left/2 right)?

Pretty sure there's only one each, located in the front.

 

[BILT4ME]

Is the seal available seperately?

Nope. Only with the new glass.

I'm going to try the 26' bicycle inner tube slit trick. Mine leaks so much that I don;t dare even attempt a carwash anymore. It pours in like there's no tomorrow when I do that. It's a perfect pour to land directly on the crotch of the two people in the front seat. The back seat just gets wet tennis shoes.

 

[baldilocks]

I think a tube of roof flashing sealant at my local ACE is more the route I will take when the time comes. The day it brakes down in the open position is coming and I don't look forward to it.

 

[BILT4ME]

I think a tube of roof flashing sealant at my local ACE is more the route I will take when the time comes. The day it brakes down in the open position is coming and I don't look forward to it.

Ha! That's what my neighbor did with his! He said it's a lot quieter and he doesn't have to worry about it leaking anymore. He also never used it.

I happen to like a sunroof, so I want to be able to use mine.

 

[Rifleman]

So far my sun roof has no leaks, but I've got to say i really wish my truck came without one!!!!! When mine goes bad I'm thinking I'll just remove it, and stitch weld a patch panel in it's place.

 

[Rallyroo]

I hate sunroofs/moonroofs too. But was forced to have one since most US-Spec 80s have them.

Then I have some friends that will refuse to buy a car unless it has a sunroof/moonroof. :|

 

[howlandm]

Update:

I'm going to remove the headliner and inspect for kinked/cracked hoses and do another round of cleaning out the rear lines really well. My first pass at cleaning the rear lines involved light gauge wire which I pushed as far as I could and got water to flow through the line, but probably not clean enough for the accumulation of rain water resulting in a backed up line and overflow.

Removing the headliner and giving it a real good inspection is the only solution to finding the problems.

 

[howlandm]

Update:

Removed headliner. Pretty easy, just an hour or so of careful disassembly. I was pleased by how clean things were underneath headliner. My passenger side rear drain was clean but partially kinked. My driver side rear (which was where the problem was originating) was partially clogged, two bad kinks, and a couple big punctures from a nail getting in the line. I blew out the lines with a compressor set to about 70 psi and will replace both rear lines with hardier lines tomorrow. I'm debating sound dampening the roof, though I don't care too much about that. I will soak the b and c pillars and the handles just to clean them up.

I did notice water droplets appearing through the small hole near the driver side rear drain line. Any advice as to what might be going on here?

Pictures:

Kink in driver side rear line

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

Kink in driver side rear line

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

Puncture in driver side rear line

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

Revealing the roof with headliner removed

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

Revealing the roof with headliner removed

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

Photos of the small droplet appearing from the small hole near the driver side rear drain line. Any advice as to what might be going on here:

Water drop leaking near driver side rear drain line

• howlandm
• May 28, 2017

 

[jatree]

Update:

Removed headliner. Pretty easy, just an hour or so of careful disassembly. I was pleased by how clean things were underneath headliner. My passenger side rear drain was clean but partially kinked. My driver side rear (which was where the problem was originating) was partially clogged, two bad kinks, and a couple big punctures from a nail getting in the line. I blew out the lines with a compressor set to about 70 psi and will replace both rear lines with hardier lines tomorrow. I'm debating sound dampening the roof, though I don't care too much about that. I will soak the b and c pillars and the handles just to clean them up.

Bumping to see if you all that stopped your leaks? What sort of lines did you replace the kinked ones with?

 

[fz1boxer]

post 7 is pretty much why mine leaked,rear lines kinked.
i fixed/cleaned all my lines then sealed off the sunroof and unplugged electrical.
several heavy downpours later and zero leaks.
if any previous owners ever did any work in the back they probably yanked/tugged on the drain hoses trying to figure out what da fun they were and as a result they pinched them off where they pass through the pillar.
i don't care what precautions are taken by any auto manufacturing company when you put a giant ****ing hole in the roof it will eventually leak at some point.