Sunroof leaking!!!

[rmousir]

Hey all, been lurking here quite a while.

I have a 2002 sunroof that is leaking. The tray is over filling. I have had this in for repair a couple times and I have looked at it my self as well. Each time the drian tubes are working. I even got some thin rubber seal with a sticky back and stuck it in between the sunroof and the body but the power motor wouldn't close and would automatically open again.

Is there something else I can check or do to stop this very annoying problem? The wife is getting pretty upset with this. I am ready to chaulk it up.

Seems to happen when it rains heavy. Lite rain does not seem to be a problem.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated with this one.

 

[rmousir]

just a update here. I was able to fix the leaking sunroof and it was pretty easy. Thanks.

 

[formula956]

just a update here. I was able to fix the leaking sunroof and it was pretty easy. Thanks.

What did you do to fix it?

 

[rmousir]

after having the dealer look at it and replacing the seal and still not able to fix it I decided I would just do it my self. Sad that they couldn't fix this to.

Anyway basically under the sun roof is a tray. The tray has four drains, one in each corner. Each drain is a hose that runs down the side of the explorer and drops out the bottom and lets the water drain to the street.

these drains come straight down out of the tray and then curve to the a or b pillars of the car. If this curve ends up going higher than the drain, the water will get backed up in the tray and over fill the tray causing a really pissed off driver. It is the basic law that water will take the path of least resistance. In my case some idiot, maybe the dealer, tried to keep the hose from curving up above the tray with what looked like cardboard squares. They were not successful in doing that.

I took a couple of zip ties and put them through the a and b pillars and positioned them so that they could hold the drain hose in place and did not allow them to curve up Then the water would drain with out any issue. I tested this with a hose and had no problems then or since. My wife is very happy.

I did have to carefully remove some of the interior trim to get access to the sides of the sunroof under the head liner. This is not at all hard to do. Kind of wishing I had taken pictures now. If you are having problems with your sun roof leaking you should only have two problem areas to look at. 1. your drain/drain holes are clogged, which should not happen to often 2. Your drain hoses are turning up and reaching a point where they are above the drain tray that catches all the water. This can happen easily and is probably more likely the cause of your leaky sunroof. At least in the case of the tray style sunroofs in the newer model cars.

This is very very easy to fix for a DIY type person, so don't waste $100 on the dealer. They will probably screw it up anyway.

 

[formula956]

Where was the water leaking? Mine is going on the drivers side floor area.

 

[rmousir]

in my case the tray was over filling. if you are getting water in from the drivers side floor area I would think you might have a cowl, windshield leak or maybe the drain hose is not secure to the sunroof tray on that corner. you will have to take a hose on a nice day and spray your vehicle down to find the leak. then take the needed steps to correct it.

 

[34Ford]

My wife noticed a leak coming down around the passenger a pillar and now I have a leak coming thru the drivers side overhead console light!

I gotta take time to investigate.

 

[4x4GoExplore]

My wife noticed a leak coming down around the passenger a pillar and now I have a leak coming thru the drivers side overhead console light!

I gotta take time to investigate.

just had this same problem fixed this week along with a slipping transmission.

i was getting water dripping from the front drivers side console light switch. the dealership charged me $45 to clean out the drain tubes and make sure that they were position correctly.

 

[angler3]

i have an 03 explorer 4wd 4door. I'm getting an odor of sitting water and i see a small stain on the front left side of sunroof. do i have to remove the tray under wipers to check the front drains? or do they exit buy the front door. can i blow out the rear drains from the top? or do i have to remove interior panels. Where do the rear drains exit. any help is greatly appreciated