Bought this hundy about 2 months ago. She’s a 2000 with 322k miles. Runs and drives great. The **** sunroof leaks. I cleaned the drains last weekend. Hadn’t rained again until yesterday. It was the hardest rain I’ve ever seen here in Gadsden, Alabama. I was at work when it started so I could not get it out of the rain for several hours. Got in it after work and it was leaking so bad my seats were wet, floor boards were wet, the console was wet, literally water dripping out of the overhead console lights! I figure it needs a new seal, which I am not looking forward to doing at all, but for now I got Flex Tape at Walmart and just taped it off on top of the car. Looks crappy, hopefully it will keep the rain out. I’ve had several Wranglers and they all leaked, but none as bad as this hundy.
Losing my patience with leaky sunroof (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ty04orange
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Did this to both of my Land Rover sunroofs and then unplugged the switches. Problem solved.
Mine leaks as well, I've got it in just the right spot at the moment and it hasn't let much water in recently. My new roof rack covers in now so it's no use anymore. Some time in the future I'll be ripping the whole set up and welding some sheet in there and respraying the roof, they're more bother than they're worth imho.
just a thought it may be your windshield that is leaking. I guess the next rain after sealing it should prove if its the sun roof.
I spent a lot of time cleaning sunroof drains, replacing the seal, etc, but nothing solved the problem 100%. I believe a contributing factor was the poor installation of a replacement windshield.
I had a similar issue with ours. It only leaked when driving in the rain. You could pour water on it all day and it would never leak. I cleaned the drains yet the leak still happened. What I ended up finding out is that the leak wasn't coming from between the seal and the roof body pannel since the drains were working fine. The leak was actually coming from between the seal and the sunroof glass. When water gets between the seal and the glass it doesn't drip into the drain, it drips into a plastic bezel piece on the underside of the sunroof. When the plastic piece fills with water it drips through the sunroof shade.
Sorry for the long explanation, but what I ended up doing was just applying gasket maker around the seal where it contacts the sunroof glass. Since then I haven't had a problem. Plus it requires such a small amount, you can't see it unless you get up there and look for it. And the sunroof is still functional.
Sorry for the long explanation, but what I ended up doing was just applying gasket maker around the seal where it contacts the sunroof glass. Since then I haven't had a problem. Plus it requires such a small amount, you can't see it unless you get up there and look for it. And the sunroof is still functional.
It's been over a decade since i've used my sunroof on my cars, i say just seal them and forget about them. Wait nvm i used my sunroof to wrap the roof of my LC because i need to poke my head outta there, then after that i never used it again.
Last year I had a windshield installed due to a grapefruit sized rock. I then took the 100 to HIH7 where it poured and poured on me. My floor boards filled with water so I took it back to the glass shop and they 'fixed' it. I was happy since it passed the hose test. Moisture stopped falling from the sky up until last week. It rained hard and I had water in both floorboards and dripping out of the overhead console. I lined the sunroof with gorilla tape before the next big rain. No water inside after that rain. My speculation is the windshield was never an issue. Now I need to figure out how to seal up the sunroof without opening the glass since it has been inoperable since I bought the cruiser.
The drain hoses, by design, are very easily pinched by the headliner. Don't assume they will work just because you cleaned them. They will return to the pinched shape because they have been that way for a long time! Test them with a 32oz cup of water. Pour some on a corner of the roof. If the water doesn't come out the rocker drains, and goes inside, that's your problem. Try each corner.
The sunroof ALWAYS lets some water past, almost every sunroof does. That is why the drains are there. If the water comes out the rocker drains and nothing gets inside when you test this, you have another problem.
Check that the relationship of the panel to the roof is right, too. If the roof is not ending up in the right location when it is closed, it could let in too much water for the drains to handle. Rusty sunroof cables can cause the panel to not go all the way back to closed.
Additionally you can pour water pretty much right on the drains by gently popping the side black trim bits off the inside of the sliding panel (in closed position), undoing the four nuts that hold the glass panel to the frame, and carefully removing the glass panel. Lift it up, turn it, and bring it down into the interior, don't try to get it off over the top of the roof, you'll just scratch something. That way, you can stand on your front seat, stand up through the sunroof, and see exactly what is happening. If one corner is not draining, you'll see it immediately
The cables on mine turned out to be badly rusted. Since I had other things to spend $400 worth of parts on, I cleaned the drains, jammed the roof panel into closed position, and pulled the power for the motor. Haven't missed it.
The sunroof ALWAYS lets some water past, almost every sunroof does. That is why the drains are there. If the water comes out the rocker drains and nothing gets inside when you test this, you have another problem.
Check that the relationship of the panel to the roof is right, too. If the roof is not ending up in the right location when it is closed, it could let in too much water for the drains to handle. Rusty sunroof cables can cause the panel to not go all the way back to closed.
Additionally you can pour water pretty much right on the drains by gently popping the side black trim bits off the inside of the sliding panel (in closed position), undoing the four nuts that hold the glass panel to the frame, and carefully removing the glass panel. Lift it up, turn it, and bring it down into the interior, don't try to get it off over the top of the roof, you'll just scratch something. That way, you can stand on your front seat, stand up through the sunroof, and see exactly what is happening. If one corner is not draining, you'll see it immediately
The cables on mine turned out to be badly rusted. Since I had other things to spend $400 worth of parts on, I cleaned the drains, jammed the roof panel into closed position, and pulled the power for the motor. Haven't missed it.
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See my post, above.
Battleship
GOLD Star
- Thread starter
- #12
I cleaned the drains and did the water in a cup test. They’re working good. For some reason, they just seemingly can’t keep up draining the amount of water getting in. I did inspect the windshield. I have no idea if it’s ever been replaced but the black rubber between the windshield and the A pillar on the outside does seem old and suspect. Still think it was the sunroof though because of it draining through the overhead console lights before I ever even started moving forward. I don’t know. We will see the next time it rains. Hopefully the flex tape will hold and if I can find the fuse for the sunroof switches I will just take it out until I feel like fooling with the seal replacement.
Check the roof rails too, if they are loose they will leak.
And to check if your leak is fixed, hit the automatic carwash.
And to check if your leak is fixed, hit the automatic carwash.
- Thread starter
- #14
The carwash will only last two minutes, the next rain storm could last for days...I'd hit the carwash so I could stop the leak before the next rain.
I am currently fighting the same situation you are. My sunroof cables are rusted and the sunroof does not operate. The problem is compounded by the passenger side track is sitting lower than the drivers side, making water come in.
I've ordered a new seal (63251-60062) and plan to install the new seal and see if i can get the tracks to sit right, then im going to hopefully forget about it.
If the new seal doesn't work, its getting sealed permanently with some flex-seal or something. Its $600 in parts just to get new cables and tracks, then you gotta take the entire truck apart.
I've ordered a new seal (63251-60062) and plan to install the new seal and see if i can get the tracks to sit right, then im going to hopefully forget about it.
If the new seal doesn't work, its getting sealed permanently with some flex-seal or something. Its $600 in parts just to get new cables and tracks, then you gotta take the entire truck apart.
Or you guys can do what I did and get a large magnet sheet like used on commercial vehicles on the sides of their cars for advertising the same color as your rig. Cut it out so it covers the sunroof and the magnet sticks to the metal roof panel around it and it seals it up.
- Thread starter
- #18
This sounds like the solution I’m looking for. I know the seal is cheap but I don’t personally care anything about having the sunroof and don’t really want to take it all apart. Where would one find such a magnet? Can you point me in the right direction?
Mine leaked a little bit after I cleaned the drains as well. Replaced the seal but didn’t do it properly so it didn’t seat evenly all the way around. Buddy worked at a dealer so I ended up buying a new drop in sunroof panel (glass, frame, seal) for fairly cheap and no problems since.
While I was waiting, I taped off around the seal and sprayed the seal edge with Plasti-Dip. Worked great! The black color blends well with the seal and not really noticeable and sealed it up perfectly. I ended up spraying a 3-4” strip. Easily removable as well.
While I was waiting, I taped off around the seal and sprayed the seal edge with Plasti-Dip. Worked great! The black color blends well with the seal and not really noticeable and sealed it up perfectly. I ended up spraying a 3-4” strip. Easily removable as well.
How about plastidip spray? That is what I am going to do with mine. I"ll be spraying my roof white (I have black painted rig and live in Arizona).
