Water in my roof?

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Tetratkys

Tetratkys

Joined
Jun 26, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
17
Location
Hayward, CA
Hey crew, I’m hearing some water sloshing around and I think it’s coming from the roof, after thinking it was coming from my driver door at first. I've cleaned the drain tube on the driver side front and confirmed it working by testing a small bit of water. I used some electrical wire to run up the rear drain tubes, but couldn't go deeper than 6 feet. I've isolated most of the water to be above the windshield, but when parked uphill, I can hear it run back, yet no draining out the rear drains.
 
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Here's a photo showing one slit, you have to slide under the vehicle from the sides and then look up and outward toward the backside of the rocker panels to see the slits (there's more than one slit but it's often the front slit that gets blocked IME). Already mentioned above, use a thin plastic zip tie (not a screwdriver) and just run it in and out. You can also put some dish soap and warm water into the sunroof drain pan and let it work it's way down through the drain tubes into the rocker panel.

And if you're concerned about rust forming in the rocker panels, once they're dried out, you can spray Cavity Wax inside to bring
the original protection up to spec. There are rubber plugs on the backside of the rocker panel, remove one and spray in
both directions using the wand kit (see link below)





FZJ80 rocker panel Drain slit.webp




Previous discussion:


South Texas 97

Thread 'Sloshing sound in 97 Series 80 Drivers side sill'

Driving during some heavy rain over the last few days, kept hearing a sloshing sound as I pulled to a stop or accelerated from a stop ( if you can call it accelerate). Thought perhaps the doors as the window seals are not good. Checked the drain holes and all doors dry as a bone. It was the drivers side sill pulled the rubber plugs on the bottom of the sill and about a quart of clear water ran out.
Any ideas as to where it comes in from?
IMG_1649.webp
IMG_1652.webp
  • Like
 
ppc said:
Most likely water is in the rocker panels. The front drains of the sunroof drain into the rockers. The drain in the rocker is just a small slit at the seam you need to run a zip tie through it ti open it up.
Click to expand...
Kernal said:
Here's a photo showing one slit, you have to slide under the vehicle from the sides and then look up and outward toward the backside of the rocker panels to see the slits (there's more than one slit but it's often the front slit that gets blocked IME). Already mentioned above, use a thin plastic zip tie (not a screwdriver) and just run it in and out. You can also put some dish soap and warm water into the sunroof drain pan and let it work it's way down through the drain tubes into the rocker panel.

And if you're concerned about rust forming in the rocker panels, once they're dried out, you can spray Cavity Wax inside to bring
the original protection up to spec. There are rubber plugs on the backside of the rocker panel, remove one and spray in
both directions using the wand kit (see link below)





View attachment 4107250



Previous discussion:


South Texas 97

Thread 'Sloshing sound in 97 Series 80 Drivers side sill'

Driving during some heavy rain over the last few days, kept hearing a sloshing sound as I pulled to a stop or accelerated from a stop ( if you can call it accelerate). Thought perhaps the doors as the window seals are not good. Checked the drain holes and all doors dry as a bone. It was the drivers side sill pulled the rubber plugs on the bottom of the sill and about a quart of clear water ran out.
Any ideas as to where it comes in from?
IMG_1649.webp
IMG_1652.webp
  • Like
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time. After further inspection, and cajoling the wife to drive the car while I walked next to it, I can say that it is definitely coming from the roof cavity.

My sunroof does not work, but it did for a few days when I first bought it 6 years ago. I remember the last time I used it, that I wasn't sure it had closed all the the way. Looking at it from the outside, it looks like it's flush with the roof so not sure if water is getting in.

To complicate matters, I do have a RTT on it, so access to the sunroof is not accessible.
 
If the drain holes for the sunroof are plugged then the drain pan can fill up with water (quickly as it's very shallow) then it will spill over onto your headliner
then over to the sides and down, often coming out somewhere near the front footwells.

Is your headliner or A pillar wet, stained?
Is the carpet wet?

You could remove the sill plate/cover for the kickpanels then pull up the carpet a bit to look under.
IME the carpet may not be very wet but there can still be water underneath in the gutters, depends on the path of the water.

There is a method to manually open the sunroof, have you tried that?

It's often the front drain holes that get plugged so you might could try driving up a steep incline (don't flop it) and park there (emergency brake set firmly).

Then get out and go back to the rear side(s) of the vehicle by the quarter panel and look in/up. That's where the ends of the rear drain hoses for
the sunroof come out ie: they drain directly outside, not into the rocker panels like the front drain hoses.

Watch to see if water comes out, should end up on the ground.

(Safety note; if parked on a very steep incline do not go behind the vehicle)
 
Kernal said:
If the drain holes for the sunroof are plugged then the drain pan can fill up with water (quickly as it's very shallow) then it will spill over onto your headliner
then over to the sides and down, often coming out somewhere near the front footwells.

Is your headliner or A pillar wet, stained?
Is the carpet wet?

You could remove the sill plate/cover for the kickpanels then pull up the carpet a bit to look under.
IME the carpet may not be very wet but there can still be water underneath in the gutters, depends on the path of the water.

There is a method to manually open the sunroof, have you tried that?

It's often the front drain holes that get plugged so you might could try driving up a steep incline (don't flop it) and park there (emergency brake set firmly).

Then get out and go back to the rear side(s) of the vehicle by the quarter panel and look in/up. That's where the ends of the rear drain hoses for
the sunroof come out ie: they drain directly outside, not into the rocker panels like the front drain hoses.

Watch to see if water comes out, should end up on the ground.

(Safety note; if parked on a very steep incline do not go behind the vehicle)
Click to expand...
Thanks Kernal. The A pillar was stained when I bought it, I cleaned up the stains, and haven't seen them get wet in the last 6 years. The carpet is not wet. I've just spent a few mins looking around here and YT for how to manually open the sunroof, but not finding any guide/walkthru.
 
Ok just spent some time clearing the drains. I used string trimmer line for the front sunroof holes, and then used THHN electrical wire to go from the rear/underside of the car.

I was able to get about 6ft up into the drain line from the rear. I tested putting some water into my sunroof drain hole, and did see it come out the driver side front rocker panel.

But...I'm still hearing a lot of water up there. And it's mostly in front of the sunroof/above the windshield. I did notice that my windshield does not have the Toyota logo, leading me to believe that it had been replaced at some point. One thing I noticed while tilting the car downhill, was water seeping out of the windshield gasket driver side bottom. Very slow seepage.
 
I should add, that I was able to open the sunroof and locate the drain holes up front, and did not find any water or moisture. Weird given how much volume of water I'm hearing up there.

Parking uphill did not release any water out the back drain hoses.
 
Did you check inside your RTT?

There's not much capacity to hold any volume of water in the sunroof rack, as its a shallow pan and you've cleared the drains. Tilt that pan at any angle, and it will spill over to your headliner.

Open up your RTT and check to see if you've had water intrusion. That's my bet,
 
LongDuck said:
Did you check inside your RTT?

There's not much capacity to hold any volume of water in the sunroof rack, as its a shallow pan and you've cleared the drains. Tilt that pan at any angle, and it will spill over to your headliner.

Open up your RTT and check to see if you've had water intrusion. That's my bet,
Click to expand...
Your bet was on the money 🫣

I opened up the tent yesterday for a quick peek inside, didn't see any water intrusion, and then made this Thread. But after your reply, I decided to just leave the tent open for a while, and sure enough, I saw water seeping out of the upper half of the RTT.

Looks like when it rains, the flat roof hold on to a significant amount of standing water, and then the design of the RTT has a seam at the top (bad design!), which will eventually let water in.

IMG_8516.webp
 
It took about 1 hour for all the water to seep back out. Now thinking of what kind of sealant to use, that will hold up to UV.
 
Tetratkys said:
It took about 1 hour for all the water to seep back out. Now thinking of what kind of sealant to use, that will hold up to UV.
Click to expand...
Should use a black polyurethane. Do not use silicone.
 
BILT4ME said:
Should use a black polyurethane. Do not use silicone.
Click to expand...
Also look into Seam Sealer. 3m makes a high quality that is paintable, so you could seam seal it, let it cure, then paint it to match your RTT.
 
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