Moonroof Drain hoses c/w diagram

[Drako99]

Does anyone know where they drain?

I can trace from the roof, via headliner down the A pillars.... then Not sure where they go from there.

Can I see them from under the Explorer?

 

[LukerDooker]

Likely not, they prob drain to the A/B pillars behind the trim facia, and that runs
down towards the area between the doors or quarter panels.

The door channels outside the seals, the rear hatch outside the seals, all are drain paths when the doors are closed.
Look on fordparts and prob you can view some diagrams of parts including the tubing, which is likely short.

Lots of water ends up channeled to the doors to drain out.
Not likely any manufacturer runs tubes that far, they all will exit fairly close by.

Thats a lot of skinny tubing that could clog with gunk, ice, pollen and dust, all the gunk in rain water etc...doubt that.

 

[Sgt1411]

I actually had one of the Explorer engineers show me the sunroof drain. If you open the rear liftgate on the top right up where the wiring comes out of the body into the liftgate you will see an open tube facing you. Thats it.

 

[jmr061]

There are FOUR drain locations. The rear gate as described, the two front inner fender wells and down along the driver side rear door.

Ill attached a pic to this post shortly.

Jason

Here is the pic

 

[broken strut]

Funny. The rear drain is located exactly where all the leaks are occurring.

 

[Riley]

Does anyone know where they drain?

I can trace from the roof, via headliner down the A pillars.... then Not sure where they go from there.

Can I see them from under the Explorer?

Open the sunroof, pour a cup of water down each drain hole and look for the puddles on the ground.

 

[Eticket]

There are FOUR drain locations. The rear gate as described, the two front inner fender wells and down along the driver side rear door.

Ill attached a pic to this post shortly.

Jason

Here is the pic

Nice, thank you...

 

[Sdmf]

I was also looking for them .. thank you !

 

[peterk9]

I was also looking for them .. thank you !

Welcome to the Forum.
Note that the diagram is for a 5th gen Explorer and they may not be the same in an '02.

Peter

 

[lbassett]

Can anyone explain how sunroof drain is supposed to work? Mine was leaking. Recently discovered Discovered the two drain holes up front and cleared those with electronic air duster. Seems to have fixed the problem- so far, so good, fingers crossed... But those drain holes are underneath the sunroof glass. Is water supposed to be under there in the first place? Thinking seal around the glass should probably stop the water and drain holes are just a last resort. In which case I might need to replace seal as well? Am I thinking about this correctly?

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I don't believe the seal is considered a water-tight seal. Many members have had water leak issues with their moonroofs when the drains got clogged, If the seal was there to prevent water leakage then there would be no requirement for the drains. Honestly, I've never really paid much attention to the moonroofs I've had regarding this.
Also, there are actually 4 drain tubes. Moonroof Drain hoses c/w diagram

Peter

 

[peterk9]

How do sunroof drains work?
The sunroof assembly has gutters going all of the way around it to catch any water that gets by the sunroof glass. The water then makes its way to drains on the corners of the sunroof housing under the glass, where it flows down plastic tubes inside the body of the vehicle, draining out onto the ground.

how do the moonroof drains on the 5th gen Explorer work - Google Search

Peter

 

[Crates]

The drains function anytime it rains. If you examine the perimeter seal closely you will find it does not provide a water-tight fit between the glass and body. If the drains plug you will end up with water intrusion in the vehicle.

On my 2014 I have had problems with the drains freezing during the winter; as the car interior warms up the ice in the roof melts before the drains do and I end up with water intrusion by the sunroof controls. I had to replace the switch assembly and the sunroof motor recently, both suffered water damage and caused the circuit boards to fail.

 

[peterk9]

.............................................
On my 2014 I have had problems with the drains freezing during the winter; as the car interior warms up the ice in the roof melts before the drains do and I end up with water intrusion by the sunroof controls. I had to replace the switch assembly and the sunroof motor recently, both suffered water damage and caused the circuit boards to fail.

That appears to be the opposite of what I would expect since the drains would be exposed to the interior warmth before the outside of the roof.

Peter

 

[Jsabbitt]

There are FOUR drain locations. The rear gate as described, the two front inner fender wells and down along the driver side rear door.

Ill attached a pic to this post shortly.

Jason

Here is the pic

View attachment 91675

how do you access the rear drivers side drain to clear it? I blew air through the other three drains but couldn’t figure out how to access the last one.

 

[peterk9]

how do you access the rear drivers side drain to clear it? I blew air through the other three drains but couldn’t figure out how to access the last one.

Welcome to the Forum.
I've never actually looked for the drains since they have never caused any issues. Is yours blocked or are you just doing some preventive maintenance? I know there are others that have cleaned them out so perhaps they can assist. You just have to be very careful with the amount of air you force into them.

Peter

 

[Jsabbitt]

Welcome to the Forum.
I've never actually looked for the drains since they have never caused any issues. Is yours blocked or are you just doing some preventive maintenance? I know there are others that have cleaned them out so perhaps they can assist. You just have to be very careful with the amount of air you force into them.

Peter

Every time we get a heavy rain here the electronics start acting up (i.e. the vehicle constantly locks/unlocks and the driver seat moves). I was able to clear the two front drains and the passenger side rear drain, but I can't figure out how to access the drain hole for the driver side rear drain.

 

[peterk9]

The drains, if they are blocked, will cause water to pool in either the front or 2nd-row footwells depending upon which one is blocked. I don't see how a blocked rear drain would cause what you described. In your case, if that remaining drain was plugged, you should probably get water in the footwell behind the driver's seat.

Peter

 

[roveer]

I had the same problem and this diagram helped. In order to access the rear two drains, you must remove the 8 hex bolts on driver and passenger side of moon roof. It should start to drop down at that point. Then open sun roof and carefully pry entire moon roof forward from the back. Once you get it far enough forward you can stick you hand in and push it further towards the front of the vehicle. This will allow you to access the two rear drains. I used a straw and a compressor to clean out. Passenger side drains to rear of the lift gate in a round rubber grommet. Pour water in to make sure it is exiting through that hole. Driver side goes down B pillar and I decided to pull interior side panel so I could see the hose. My clog was most likely below the hose in the fitting in the floor. I spent a lot of time ensuring that I fully opened the clog. Not sure if my problem is fixed or not, only time and rain will tell. Hope this helps.

Roveer

 

[lbassett]

Has anyone been told by Ford dealer that you need body work to repair clogged rear sunroof drains on a Ford Explorer?

If so, what did that entail and what was the cost?

I have been having sunroof leak issues on my 2013. Dealer repaired front drains, but told me I needed to go to body shop for repair of rear drains. They were not able to explain to me the nature of the "repair" needed or offer any estimate of cost.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this before I ask at a body shop.

Thank you