Sunroof leaking woes

[Bat21]

The sunroof on my 80 developed the usual leaking syndrome that seems to affect many.

My drive has a very, and I mean very, slight slope so the car sits 'nose down' by an inch at most. I have cleared out both front sunroof drains with a piece of fairly stiff electrical wire. With the sunroof open if I poor water in the channel if drains straight away through the drain holes.

But, I am still getting wet carpets. It is definitely the sunroof it is coming from as the 'A' pillars are damp

As the sunroof is never opened my plan of action is possibly going to be a piece of vinyl wrap to cover the front of the roof including the sunroof.

Anyone else tried something similar? My only concern is the slight movement of the sunroof my end up tearing/cracking the vinyl in time

 

[joinerman]

I had your trouble paul but I've cured mine, in the first pic you can see the drive cable for the sun roof ( where the crosshead is ) you need to remove a cover to expose this, under this drive cable is a whole where the water gets in runs onto the back of the headlining & down the A pillar onto the carpet, i siliconed all round mine as can be seen in the pic.

The second pic is taken with the roof lining pulled down a bit & you can see the long white line which is daylight, sealed mine up & has been dry as a bone ever since.

 

[Chris]

Yep, JM is spot on. There is nothing to stop water pouring through a fairly large hole other than some gobbo. I still have not managed to fully seal mine even with 400 tonnes of sealant. It needs the right amount in just the right place. As I have a roof rack on, I can't quite squeeze my tip in. Cough.

So I still get a little drip every now and then. NURSE!!!!

Chris

 

[joinerman]

Got to be perfectly dry when you do it .

 

[Bat21]

JM, I did see this fix a while ago.... I did remove the small screw and cover, the thing I can't work out is how does the water get to that area if the drains are working correctly? And once it reaches that area what's to stop it getting in around the rest of the mechanism?

I suppose if it works.... it works, and I shouldn't be analysing why/how

 

[joinerman]

The way i see it the drains can only take so much water at a time & when they can't take any more the water backs up & in it comes.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

A leaking windscreen can also cause wet A pillars ...

 

[Dave_S]

Got the same symptom here - just waiting for a dry enough day to investigate properly!?!

 

[Red Oktober]

mine is leaking as well

 

[joinerman]

Two words seem to go hand in hand here.

Landcruiser Cullender


LOL

 

[ModelMakerMan]

When the roof is closed there shouldnt be any water getting past the seals, the drains are only there to drain away residual water. The root of this leak problem seems to be the sunroof seal imho?

 

[Andrew Brierley]

Mine turned out to be rust developing under the top edge of the window seal. Ended up with the screen out and a repair job to the bodywork.

 

[Bat21]

.... The root of this leak problem seems to be the sunroof seal imho?

That does seem to be the problem, but I think I'm right in saying the seal is bonded to the glass and comes in at £400, hence my possible plan to 'wrap' the whole front of the roof.

 

[Towpack]

When the roof is closed there shouldnt be any water getting past the seals, the drains are only there to drain away residual water. The root of this leak problem seems to be the sunroof seal imho?

I take it we are talking about the OE factory fitted sunroof here, not the 'after market' versions that were fitted to some vehicles by the importers.
If no water is meant to get past this seal, you wouldn't need 4 drains to deal with any residual water IMO. This seal was NEVER designed to be 100% watertight. It's more of a dust seal if anything.
I have the OE version and the seal is in very good condition but water still gets past it. The ONLY problem I have had with it leaking was when a (rear) drain tube was blocked causing water to well up and overflow on that side, soaking the headlining and sliding sun shade. The 4 drain tubes, when clear, are more than capable of handling any amount of water which will get past this seal, even a drenching from a hosepipe. JMO

 

[Chris]

Phil is right. The outer seal is only a basic weather seal. It is not intended to be watertight. But water is supposed to be directed down the drains. As we know, the slits in the sills block up. I widened mine with a screwdriver. Off road activities tend to block them. But as we have already seen in the pictures, there is a dirty great hole which lets water in when the seal perishes. I think that I did mine when it was slightly damp. That's probably why it didn't take. But it definitely the source. I peel the headlining back and wathed it pouring in. I have also had my windscreen re sealed.

Chris

 

[Bat21]

As Baldrick once said.... I have a cunning plan

Will have to wait until next weekend now but.... I'll post some photies up when done.

 

[nevets]

I'm have the same wet footwell problem on my LC 100. I've found the two front sunroof drain holes and they are running out from the sills. Is there only two drainholes on the sunroof or are there any at the back?

 

[Towpack]

I'm have the same wet footwell problem on my LC 100. I've found the two front sunroof drain holes and they are running out from the sills. Is there only two drainholes on the sunroof or are there any at the back?

The 80 series SR's have 2 front and 2 rear drains. Surely the 100 series must be the same or the roof tray would overflow and leak when the vehicle was parked facing uphill.

On the 80's the rear drains run from the roof tray, through the body cavity and exit behind the rear wheel arches. Easiest way to get to them is drop the headlining a few inches near the back of the roof. One of my rears was blocked with sh*te so I disconnected it and blew it through with an airline followed by a garden hose.

 

[nivapilot]

and blew it through with an airline followed by a garden hose.

The drain is big enough to get a garden hose through it?

 

[Bat21]

As Baldrick once said.... I have a cunning plan

Will have to wait until next weekend now but.... I'll post some photies up when done.

Take one sheet of magnetic rubber sheet, the sort used for none permanent vehicle signs:-

One roll of carbon fiber vinyl wrap:-

Cover the magnetic material. The wrap I ordered was only 600mm wide but I was bothered about the overlap as on the roof it is not going to be noticed:-

Voila, a sunroof hat to keep the rain away

It over laps the sunroof by about 75mm all the way round so that the magrubber has something to 'grip'.

I know it's a bit of an odd fix, but it does the job and if I want to open the roof the option is still there, just need to remove or slide it back.