Water leakage from roof, rear cargo soaking wet (2 Viewers)

[marcovasqz]

Hey all,

My wife was putting groceries in the back and noticed everything was soaking wet in the driver side cargo area in our '01 LX 470


I looked and the leakage seems from the rear ac controls (everything is soaking wet around those)

And today it's raining a lot here, so it must be coming from the roof...

Then I looked a the roof, I noticed it was missing a cover around the root rack rails:

The passenger side does have that cover and does not seem to have a leakage.

I looked for other threads but couldn't find any with this specific leakage. Have anyone had this issue?

I need to remove the interior roof to find the source of the leak. But wanted to see if anyone has had this happened before I start taking everything apart.

Thanks,
Marco

 

[Super77]

That missing cover is not your problem. It’s just cosmetic, no sealing. Water routinely flows through that rain channel.

IIRC there are ~12 roof rack bolt holes in the roof, each one a potential leak. If water is getting in at the spot you point out, it’s likely getting past the roof rack bolts. Make sure they’re snugged up with a little schmear of butyl or polyurethane sealant at the top of the threads.

Getting the headliner off is a PITA. Maybe dry everything out, check/seal those exposed bolt holes, and test with a hose? If it’s still leaking, I’d remove the entire roof rack and make sure all holes are sealed before tackling the headliner.