Sunroof Repair. What To Do? (1 Viewer)

[70 FJ40]

I've got a sunroof in my Cruiser it's been getting more and more leaky the last couple years. Finally got tired of it and removed it today. Now I'm not sure what to do. Was just going to put new silicone and reinstall but it's not as obvious as I expected as to where the water was coming in. I thought it was coming between the fiberglass and the aluminum but not sure the rubber gasket looks old but like it should be sealing well enough not to leak. So idk. Not crazy about having a sunroof buts it's not all bad. Would never have cut the top but it's there. Also not very interested in doing a fiberglass repair myself. Not real scared of putting a new head liner in. I think I could do that. But I certainly didn't plan to take my hard top apart or take it off when I started this project this morning. Just not sure what should do at this point. To you guys that have had a shop repair a sunroof hole, what was the cost? Did you have to remove the top? Future plans always included returning to original. Just not sure I'm ready to jump into that big a project. If I put new silicone in it now I'm worried it will be very difficult to remove in a few years when I'm ready to really jump into a full on restoration. Could I maybe use that gooey tape stuff that's used for sealing RV roof vents and windows? Like I said, idk. Any advice?

 

[bikersmurf]

I resealed mine many times... it always leaked again before long. I’d recommend finding another glass roof top. Short term, reseal and start the hunt.

 

[coonassjohn]

Reseal with good caulk, a lot easier than fixing the hole. Tighten the screws or clamps from the center outwards like a pan or head gasket to minimize leak areas.

 

[RustyRanger]

Use something that stays semi soft and kinda sticky like yamabond 4 semi-hardening or other similar permatex stuff VS house/cheap silicone caulk. You might be having a problem because the top and sunroof flex and vibrate, causeing the gasket goo to no longer fill all the imperfections it hardened into when fresh.

I use yamabond on 2 stroke MX bike crank cases, where a leak would mean a toasted motor. Not cheap but 1 or 2 tubes should be enough for your sunroof.

 

[3_puppies]

get some flex seal, it'll make a screen door into a boat.

 

[70 FJ40]

Lol. I've seen that advertised on TV too. My 5 yr old son says "Dad, we should get some if that stuff".

 

[70 FJ40]

I went ahead and cleaned up all the old silicone off the fiberglass and the aluminum rim of the sun roof. Reapplied new 100% silicone and put it back together. Just wasn't ready to jump into anything more than that for now. Noticed a couple places my roof gutter was starting to leak as well. Got some white silicone and patched that up as well after cutting out the old stuff. Is that what I should have used? Surely what seamed like was up there already.

 

[70 FJ40]

@RustyRanger thanks for the suggestion of yamabond. If it starts to leak again I'll give that a try.

 

[ginmtb]

I say go for the repair - it doesn’t look too difficult (easy for me to say I’ve never done a repair). Check out this video - he fills a big hole in his hood:



Just need to sand off the gel coat around the opening to bond the layers to. I read too to use Formica to create the support layer for the fiberglass and resin. Put wax paper on the Formica so it doesn’t stick.

Check out my thread for the products I used to coat my top and then I painted it with a cheap appliance epoxy paint.

 

[ginmtb]

I spoke with the Total Boat guys and explained the setup and this is what they recommended.

 

[coonassjohn]

Not to scare you, but a hole that big in a thick roof will NOT be an easy repair for a novice. It will be hard to achieve adequate firmness
of the repair , thickness is required, and getting it to look as smooth as the rest of the top will make you take up drinking. I have many years of experience repairing aircraft fiberglass parts and I can tell you it's not as easy as some people think. You may end up wishing you kept the sunroof.

 

[coonassjohn]

Just watched the video, for your sake don't do it that way. Your truck deserves better work than that!!

 

[hooter]

Looking for info on sunroof hole repair

I picked up my fj40 for a discounted price because of this...the dreaded sunroof! (Well maybe some like em.). I’ve looked for replacement roofs but they all seem to be on the east coast. Now I’ve decided to try to repair if possible. I’ve searched and haven’t found any good threads on “how to.”...

forum.ih8mud.com

It’s not a difficult repair, but do it the right way. You’ll be happy you did it.
hOOter

 

[gericurl]

I used a curved piece of steel cut from the roof of another old car to support the underside of the glass patch.

IMG_1265.JPG

• gericurl
• Mar 10, 2019

Sun Roof Repair Plate

Glassed in the hole. Removed the support. More glass is then added on the inside.

IMG_1266.JPG

• gericurl
• Mar 10, 2019

New glass in roof hole.

Sanded to smooth it and match roofline curve.

IMG_1536.JPG

• gericurl
• Mar 10, 2019

New Roof paint

Painted it in Shell Ivory. (No gelcoat. Maybe gelcoat is more OEM correct? After reading up on a bunch of boat forums, I'm no expert but I don't feel it necessary.)
It is a little heavier than from the factory. Where there was a thin layer of foam sandwiched in the middle before, there is now just fiberglass. One more plus, it is stronger. One more minus, it is a little thicker on the inside. The non-OEM headliner with extra thick foam backing does a good job of hiding the imperfections on the inside.

 

[Elfman]

Looks good. This is inspiring, I've got a ridiculous RV vent in mine that I am dying to get rid of.

 

[gericurl]

I have an extra fiberglass roof with a little smaller sunroof hole in it sitting in my garage if somebody needs one and can pick it up. I'd let it go cheap to an enterprising mudder (my truck is very close to being done and I need the room to park it). I bought it thinking it might be in a little better shape than the one I refurbed. They were both pretty much the same. I thought about building an off-road trailer with the matching roof. But let's be honest. I will not have time for something like that for a while. I'll go post it in the classifieds.

 

[gericurl]

Looks good. This is inspiring, I've got a ridiculous RV vent in mine that I am dying to get rid of.

Where are you located? I had help from a friend that does classic restos, but like most of the things I've done on the truck, once it was done, I realized I was more intimidated than I needed to be. The biggest obstacle for me (aside from money ) is always fear that I'll mess something up.

 

[SHAUNBLACKMON]

Looks good, not sure on these how important it is, but I know with boats proper paint (gelcoat) on fiberglass is very important.

 

[RustyRanger]

Looks good, not sure on these how important it is, but I know with boats proper paint (gelcoat) on fiberglass is very important.

Yeah, with constant submersion in water some types of fiberglass and resin will get blisters from water being moved though osmosis, the gelcoat acts like a seal to stop this. But where these roofs were coated at the factory with gelcoat, paint on top is OK. Unless your cruiser spends a lot of time underwater, then it might not be ok.

 

[SHAUNBLACKMON]

Yeah, with constant submersion in water some types of fiberglass and resin will get blisters from water being moved though osmosis, the gelcoat acts like a seal to stop this. But where these roofs were coated at the factory paint on top is OK. Unless your cruiser spends a lot of time underwater, then it might not be ok.

have you seen some of the videos???? LOL