One of those sunroof leaks - video inside (1 Viewer)

[Mir30]

Here it is again, one of those famous FJ80 sunroof leaks!

I can see the exact point where it's leaking but I can't tell why the water gets to that level... in other words, how do I fix this?

 

[Mir30]

This is where the water leaks in

 

[Tapage]

the issue is not how to seal it .. it's how to drain it to prevent it .. it have 4 drains, make sure are clean and open ..

 

[elripster]

I sealed mine. I put Vaseline on the painted surfaces, then closed the roof and lined it with clear silicone. The result is a custom made seal the sticks to the sunroof, not the paint, that works even when I open the sunroof over and over.

Frank

 

[Mir30]

the issue is not how to seal it .. it's how to drain it to prevent it .. it have 4 drains, make sure are clean and open ..

Yep alright. The front drains are clean, but I can't tell about the rear. The question precisely was is it normal the water comes up that high? If it is, then I will follow elripster's suggestion...

 

[bloc]

the issue is not how to seal it .. it's how to drain it to prevent it .. it have 4 drains, make sure are clean and open ..

The other issue is the 20-year old sunroof gaskets letting too much water past and overwhelming the regular pan and drain system, even if those parts are working correctly.

 

[ifsmithy]

pour water in the the 2 front drain holes in the sunroof corners - each drains to 2 places - roughly underneath the front and rear doors - both my rears were blocked - hoping this solves my leaky sunroof wet floorboard issue

 

[Phildoh]

I need to snake my drains. I tried compressed air and got nowhere, and was busy with other things at the given time. Is everyone using a solid wire or coat hanger type of item to snake them these days?

 

[Stoshu]

I used weed whacker string and had good luck with it. FWIW.

 

[Tapage]

I used weed whacker string and had good luck with it. FWIW.

that's the best option IMHO right there ..

 

[Jungle80farmer]

I know I will get fried for this one! But live & learn. I as well had the sunroof leak. It was actually the first time I ever checked my sunroof & it was bad! s*** growing in it for the love of god. Lots of mud & sticks. I spent my time & cleaned it all like new. Snaked with weed whacker line & my sunroof leak is gone. It also opens much quicker.
I'm killing myself smalls!

 

[MDarius]

I snaked mine with a USB camera. In my defense, on my phone screen in the daylight the end of the tunnel looked like it continued across the sunroof. I was trying to get all the way across. I came in from the tube in the A-pillar.

The Truth is that the cute little hole in the pinch weld doesn't drain fast enough. It backs up in there and fills the A pillar until it spills out onto your floor, soaking your wiring harness in the process. Having a 1/2" hose or bigger feeding a teeny hole in the pinch weld is bad design. There. I said it. Open the weld, remove the plug next to it, or seal your sunroof. I think that's the only long term solution if you deal with a lot of water.

Here's your video in case you ever wondered what the journey up your drain hose looks like.

https://goo.gl/photos/iT2ib2mKWmrNA5WW9

 

[bloc]

I think it relies on there being multiple gaps in the pinch weld.. at least 3 or 4 if I remember correctly.

Not that it's a great design.. but it should be draining from more than one.

I didn't want to leave the plugs out in case of salt during a winter trip. That is NOT a good place for it.

 

[Mir30]

Problem solved. Rear drains were clogged pretty bad. Once we cleaned them up we could poor 2 bottles at the same time and the water would not go up to this level and overflow. Front drains are easy to spot and clear the rear drains are a PITA. Thanks for the help guys

 

[Tapage]

How you did the rears .?

 

[ZeGerman]

I just took down my headliner to see what was really going on with my sunroof. I tried everything to stop the leaks. I snaked the drains and they were clear. After getting everything visible I found that the rear two drains enter into the C-Pillar. Where it enters the top of the pillar it needs to make a 90 degree corner. The old hoses are hard through time and they kink. This results in a reduction of water that can flow down the pipe. Say you are parked on an incline and the rear is slightly lower that the front. The water will want to flow back, but if the flow of water is restricted the channel will fill up resulting in the video above. There is an easy solution. Pics below:

Solution:

 

[Maleficio]

Looks like the fix I did on my old Audi CS4000 Quattro. A very large vacuum line had softened over time and began collapsing under heavy negative signal and reducing power, so I installed several zip ties around it forcing it to maintain shape during acceleration. It worked like a champ, and saved me a LOT of money!! It was an exoskeleton, essentially.

 

[Mir30]

That would explain why my sunroof started to leak AGAIN... after 2 weeks, water started to leak back in again through that same spot. So I will bring down the headliner and try to fix it the way you did. Can I ask you ZeGerman what did you used to wrap the drains?

 

[ZeGerman]

That would explain why my sunroof started to leak AGAIN... after 2 weeks, water started to leak back in again through that same spot. So I will bring down the headliner and try to fix it the way you did. Can I ask you ZeGerman what did you used to wrap the drains?

I have a thorough thread here:
I fought the headliner and the headliner lost

I have an older model cruiser with the stretched fabric headliner and i wanted to replace it with the newer style headliner. It just made it easier to service and take down if I ever needed to. Those plastic thingies came off a 96 land cruiser. That was actually Toyotas solution to the kinking hose. Prior to that I was going to use a section of PEX pipe to route the hose through.

 

[Mir30]

That's why it explains why water was not going through the sunroof for 2 weeks and it started to leak again because the hoses are kinking?