Water leak in passenger A-pillar

[ozarkmud]

Went through a car wash and noticed quite the leak coming just from the passenger A-pillar.

Haven't had to deal with much like this before. Is this likely from the sunroof drain?

Is it likely to leak if I leave it outside in the rain, or most likely to happen just from the higher pressures in a car wash?

Thank you!

 

[BILT4ME]

Went through a car wash and noticed quite the leak coming just from the passenger A-pillar.

Haven't had to deal with much like this before. Is this likely from the sunroof drain?

Is it likely to leak if I leave it outside in the rain, or most likely to happen just from the higher pressures in a car wash?

Thank you!

View attachment 3312181

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Most likely sunroof drain.

However, that area on the windshield gasket is only slightly below the water intrusion area....

 

[Brav]

I fixed this problem 92% by cleaning out the sunroof drains. however, some very high pressure car washes will overload them and it will leak there. Now I take it to the right (crappier) car wash. Or hand wash.

 

[Blilrat]

I had the same problem. As others above, cleaned the sunroof drains and the problem went away for everything other than the automated car washes.

 

[SpenserAK]

From my understanding, this happens when the sunroof tray area gets overwhelmed, typically from clogged or "slow" drains as others mentioned, then water finds its way on top of the headliner & runs down the pillars. Clean the little slits underneath the rockers, and you can run weedwhacker line (or whatever works) through the hoses. The little drain slits are pretty small, so not difficult to get clogged with debris over time.

 

[COYS]

if u care enough, i'd also strongly recommend that you remove the windshield gasket and fully inspect the entire frame esp if your truck doesn't have the og toyota glass.

i already see a bit of rust forming which renders a simple water leak as being the least of your worries.

(this pro tip is for every single 80 owner including those who boldly claim a "rust free" rig)

 

[ozarkmud]

You guys were right, definitely sunroof related. Noticed it on the FJ80, but the FZJ80 had it worse.

There's 4 black drain plugs per side of the body, at least in between the fenders. It seems like one of the sides on each of them would drain water out the fender area, but the other couple sides would drain (or not drain) through the plugs in the body.

The FJ80 had two of the plugs removed already. The FZJ80 had way worse leaks on the passenger side. No water would come out the bottom and it'd pool right up. I ended up making sure two of the plugs were open on each side, on each rig. I'm not sure that's ideal, but for now it's probably safest.

I suspected a bit of a clog on the FJ80. Some compressed air and weed eater line (great suggestion!) seemed to help some. But removing the body plugs might be the only way, for now, to make the flow fast enough.

On the F80 there was part of the windshield gasket that was worn away, near where the leak was. I dumped water on that part and couldn't notice any leak.

I do think we took the FZJ80 through a car wash only once and we didn't have any issues, so it's possible the condition of the sunroof gasket is better.

Deleting the sunroofs is tempting! Not sure how involved that is, but seems like some work.

 

[SpenserAK]

While fixing my leaks (sunroof & windshield) I decided to just seal the sunroof. I never open it, so and can be undone if desired - motor works fine.

 

[ozarkmud]

While fixing my leaks (sunroof & windshield) I decided to just seal the sunroof. I never open it, so and can be undone if desired - motor works fine.

That's a great idea! How exactly did you do that? Is there a fuse that goes just to the sunroof controls to keep it from being touched?

 

[SpenserAK]

That's a great idea! How exactly did you do that? Is there a fuse that goes just to the sunroof controls to keep it from being touched?

The connector is shared with the map light. I simply pulled the wires going to the sunroof motor, so I couldn't accidentally bump it open.

For sealing, I opened it & ran a bead around the sealing surface, closed it, and then ran a bead around the top.

 

[Navyator]

Here's a thread I started when this happened to me. Could be a different issue (though likely sunroof like everyone said), but check these pieces.

Sunroof leak fixed!.... I think

I've been dealing with a leak for the past month or so, and I just had no idea what was causing it. During rainy days, water would seep trough the headliner on the driver's side A-pillar and would develop a slow drip. I was concerned it was somehow coming in my rain gutters as there are a few...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[ozarkmud]

Here's a thread I started when this happened to me. Could be a different issue (though likely sunroof like everyone said), but check these pieces.

Sunroof leak fixed!.... I think

I've been dealing with a leak for the past month or so, and I just had no idea what was causing it. During rainy days, water would seep trough the headliner on the driver's side A-pillar and would develop a slow drip. I was concerned it was somehow coming in my rain gutters as there are a few...

forum.ih8mud.com

Interesting! That is good to know. Still not quite certain where exactly those plastic pieces were.

 

[Plains Cruiser]

I get the A pillar leak on both sides, including more recently a leak higher up in the windshield during a really torrential rain. I tried the weed wacker string method recently and maybe got down 3 feet before I wasn’t getting any further. I might try thicker string or some wound less tightly.

How far down are you guys getting with weed wacker string?

Here are some pics: