COYS
SILVER Star
I have this mysterious driver floor dampness when there’s been zero exposure to rain or moisture.
So annoying. Good work here.
So annoying. Good work here.
Water leak woes - help needed (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter digitalmarker
- Start date
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NorCalFJ100
SILVER Star
Heater core?
COYS
SILVER Star
It’s not coolant.
I had the same issue a week ago. Both A pillars with discoloration from water, soaked front carpets driver and passenger. I opened up the sunroof and checked for leaks/ water test but did not see hardly any water on the ground. Found the culprit, the sunroof drain was bent at a 90 degree angle and nothing was passing through. There was too much hose, I cut some the hose/ made is shorter so it could fit better and drain. Did the water test again and both drains worked. Not sure if that was my only issue but now I know that the sunroof drains properly. Looks like you've discovered your problem, hope it works out.
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As someone who has similar areas of carpet that get wet, I'd checked the sunroof drain lines and ultimately ended up sealing off the sunroof since I never used it. Unfortunately it didn't fix the problem. I also haven't pulled all the door panels but I haven't noticed any reason to. My trusted shop didn't have any other ideas besides the front windshield needing to be worked on.
I live in an area of pretty low precipitation and my cruiser is no longer my DD but it's discouraging to think that whenever I get around to replacing the windshield, it still may not be better. Regardless, thanks for documenting so in depth. It will prove a big help to a lot of people over the years, I'm sure.
Good luck!
-Evan
I live in an area of pretty low precipitation and my cruiser is no longer my DD but it's discouraging to think that whenever I get around to replacing the windshield, it still may not be better. Regardless, thanks for documenting so in depth. It will prove a big help to a lot of people over the years, I'm sure.
Good luck!
-Evan
Man I feel the pain, I’ve spent HOURS searching for my water gremlin. 99% sure mine is a leaky windshield tho, ordering a gasket tomorrow.
I’m seriously thinking about building a couple sunroof “patch” panels. (Humble brag) im above average with a welder and have access to a pretty jam up sheet metal shop to get a panel rolled, but I’m no body/paint work kinda guy. I’d love to seal my sunroof up and insulate that giant sunlight funnel!
I’m seriously thinking about building a couple sunroof “patch” panels. (Humble brag) im above average with a welder and have access to a pretty jam up sheet metal shop to get a panel rolled, but I’m no body/paint work kinda guy. I’d love to seal my sunroof up and insulate that giant sunlight funnel!
New to Ih8mud but have had FJ80 since 2002. Here in Colorado it is a given to have a cracked windshields. Between the pits and cracks eventually the windshield needs to be replaced. Our shop recomended a installer for the job who they had good luck with. They also noted that FJ80 windshields are difficult. Sure enough we had water in floor mats and bottom of rail that front door closes against. Not just a little but a puddle. Drove to the shop to show mechanic and he immediatly pulled drain plugs, since that is path for wiring harness. Contacted the windshield installer who brought out a new one. After removing the glass it was apparent that the sealent never stuck to the glass around the perimeter. Never had this happen before. It seemed the glass had some kind of coating that did not allow sealent to stick or seal.
New glass and new sealent with OEM rubber no leaks.
Maybe worth contacting windshield installer to remove and check again for sealing
Thanks for posting and hope this helps
New glass and new sealent with OEM rubber no leaks.
Maybe worth contacting windshield installer to remove and check again for sealing
Thanks for posting and hope this helps
- Thread starter
- #28
@yknot123 that is a hell of an experience, thanks for posting. Definitely would be a good thing to check for others.
The last leaky windshield on my 80 was installed by the assclowns from Satelite auto glass with predictable results - torn weatherstripping, missing sealant spots, etc. I had a brand new windshield and OEM gasket/weatherstripping installed by a trusted reputable local installer who has worked on all of my cars and it is in good shape and has no leaks. So at least I had that ruled out in my case.
All in all, it sounds like sunroof will need additional troubleshooting/parts to get it to stop leaking, and even then it's not guaranteed that it won't leak in the future. I never use it, and have a feeling that taking it apart will send me deeper down the rabbit hole. After some deliberation I decided to delete the sunroof altogether, and am taking it to my buddy's bodyshop in mid-January. These guys deleted the factory roof rack holes for me a year ago with excellent results, so hoping they do as good of a job making it look like the sunroof was never there. They also referred me to their upholstery shop who said they will close the hole in the headliner and refinish the whole thing for $350 (the previous owner thoughtfully perma-glued some magnets to the headliner to get the sun visor to stay up - yes, really - so all that will get cleaned up too).
So, I will be looking at about $1300 all in to get this resolved permanently. Will post pics when it's all done.
The last leaky windshield on my 80 was installed by the assclowns from Satelite auto glass with predictable results - torn weatherstripping, missing sealant spots, etc. I had a brand new windshield and OEM gasket/weatherstripping installed by a trusted reputable local installer who has worked on all of my cars and it is in good shape and has no leaks. So at least I had that ruled out in my case.
All in all, it sounds like sunroof will need additional troubleshooting/parts to get it to stop leaking, and even then it's not guaranteed that it won't leak in the future. I never use it, and have a feeling that taking it apart will send me deeper down the rabbit hole. After some deliberation I decided to delete the sunroof altogether, and am taking it to my buddy's bodyshop in mid-January. These guys deleted the factory roof rack holes for me a year ago with excellent results, so hoping they do as good of a job making it look like the sunroof was never there. They also referred me to their upholstery shop who said they will close the hole in the headliner and refinish the whole thing for $350 (the previous owner thoughtfully perma-glued some magnets to the headliner to get the sun visor to stay up - yes, really - so all that will get cleaned up too).
So, I will be looking at about $1300 all in to get this resolved permanently. Will post pics when it's all done.
@digitalmarker I am having the same issue right now and I’ve noticed my rear door panels might be potentially leaking onto the rear carpets as well. Thank you for the detailed documentation. I’ll post my results once I find my issue.
- Thread starter
- #30
Thanks for the bump. This is what’s happening right now
The search for the damp rear carpets..
I took my cowl off. Found that the bottom corner sections of the window sealant were missing so I sealed up the entire windshield via FSM way. I thought I resolved the issue as my driveway is slanted and I suspected the windshield leaked back to the rear carpets.
It rained a lot today and the sealant didn't get to cure yet. Damp rear carpets still.. arrgghh.
@digitalmarker do you have fender flares?
I took my cowl off. Found that the bottom corner sections of the window sealant were missing so I sealed up the entire windshield via FSM way. I thought I resolved the issue as my driveway is slanted and I suspected the windshield leaked back to the rear carpets.
It rained a lot today and the sealant didn't get to cure yet. Damp rear carpets still.. arrgghh.
@digitalmarker do you have fender flares?
I would have just put a new sunroof in.
- Thread starter
- #33
All done! It's like it was never there. While I was at it, got the stained headliner and dirty pillar covers refinished with some gray fabric. Putting it all back together this week.
One note for anyone going down the same route - the wire/harness for the middle dome light (the one above the 2nd row seats) is actually inside the sunroof housing. I was not aware of this and ended up tossing the sunroof with the wire in it. Ended up hacking it off a junk yard vehicle for $20 and reattaching, but if you're tossing your leaky sunroof make sure to extract the wire/harness first.
One note for anyone going down the same route - the wire/harness for the middle dome light (the one above the 2nd row seats) is actually inside the sunroof housing. I was not aware of this and ended up tossing the sunroof with the wire in it. Ended up hacking it off a junk yard vehicle for $20 and reattaching, but if you're tossing your leaky sunroof make sure to extract the wire/harness first.
