CraigRK
Member
- Joined
- August 19, 2010
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Elkton, MD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 94 Sport
Background:
About a week or so after I purchased my “new” 94 Sport, Hurricane Nicole blew through the east coast and I discovered that my moonroof leaked. Not a lot, but enough to drip down during rainstorms and wet the front seats. I searched this site for info on fixes and found a few suggestions, such as layering silicone under the seal, but since my seal has a rib underneath that fits into a narrow groove, I did not see how this was going to work well. LMC lists a new seal at $159.95, so that was not going to happen. I decided to try a lower cost solution, and, after several subsequent rain events, it seems to have worked, so I thought I'd post it here.
Materials:
- one sheet of black 1/8” thick, sticky-one-side, closed cell foam.
(I purchased this foam in the hobby section of WALMART for $0.50, but I’m sure it’s available at any hobby type store.)
- pair of scissors
- straight-edge ruler
- marker pen
Method:
- remove the glass from the moonroof and clean the surface of the existing seal.
- from the foam sheet, mark off and cut about six ½” wide strips lengthwise (PIX 1).
- place the moonroof glass on the remaining sheet material, and trace out the corner patterns.
(For these 4 pieces, trace a line ~1/8” extra outside the contour of the corner,
and cut them about ½” wide as well, and making sure your corners have an inch
or so of straight section.)
- peel the backing material off the corner pieces and attach them to the corners of the seal,
making sure to leave 1/8” or so of foam material outside the outside edge of the gasket.
(See PIX 1 & 2)
- fill in the straight sections of the seal by cutting the ½” wide strips to length, again, leaving ~1/8” of material outside the outside edge of the gasket.
- re-install the moonroof, and close tightly. (PIX 3)
PIX 1
PIX 2
PIX 3
PIX 4
Results:
I found that when I was finished, there was still a slight gap at one corner (PIX 4), however, within a day or two the pressure of the glass with the moonroof shut had depressed the foam, “seating-in” the foam, and the gap disappeared. This new seal has been working well for several weeks now. I’ll report if it begins to fail, but if it does, I’ll just try adding a second layer.
If anyone else tries this, please report your results.
CraigRK
Note: I thought about using regular weather stripping material, but this foam allows better contouring of the corners where the leaks usually are, and if cut properly, the foam strip joints do not seem to leak.
About a week or so after I purchased my “new” 94 Sport, Hurricane Nicole blew through the east coast and I discovered that my moonroof leaked. Not a lot, but enough to drip down during rainstorms and wet the front seats. I searched this site for info on fixes and found a few suggestions, such as layering silicone under the seal, but since my seal has a rib underneath that fits into a narrow groove, I did not see how this was going to work well. LMC lists a new seal at $159.95, so that was not going to happen. I decided to try a lower cost solution, and, after several subsequent rain events, it seems to have worked, so I thought I'd post it here.
Materials:
- one sheet of black 1/8” thick, sticky-one-side, closed cell foam.
(I purchased this foam in the hobby section of WALMART for $0.50, but I’m sure it’s available at any hobby type store.)
- pair of scissors
- straight-edge ruler
- marker pen
Method:
- remove the glass from the moonroof and clean the surface of the existing seal.
- from the foam sheet, mark off and cut about six ½” wide strips lengthwise (PIX 1).
- place the moonroof glass on the remaining sheet material, and trace out the corner patterns.
(For these 4 pieces, trace a line ~1/8” extra outside the contour of the corner,
and cut them about ½” wide as well, and making sure your corners have an inch
or so of straight section.)
- peel the backing material off the corner pieces and attach them to the corners of the seal,
making sure to leave 1/8” or so of foam material outside the outside edge of the gasket.
(See PIX 1 & 2)
- fill in the straight sections of the seal by cutting the ½” wide strips to length, again, leaving ~1/8” of material outside the outside edge of the gasket.
- re-install the moonroof, and close tightly. (PIX 3)
PIX 1
PIX 2
PIX 3
PIX 4
Results:
I found that when I was finished, there was still a slight gap at one corner (PIX 4), however, within a day or two the pressure of the glass with the moonroof shut had depressed the foam, “seating-in” the foam, and the gap disappeared. This new seal has been working well for several weeks now. I’ll report if it begins to fail, but if it does, I’ll just try adding a second layer.
If anyone else tries this, please report your results.
CraigRK
Note: I thought about using regular weather stripping material, but this foam allows better contouring of the corners where the leaks usually are, and if cut properly, the foam strip joints do not seem to leak.
