Help Clearing Moonroof Drain Lines on '16 Explorer With Dead Motor

[peterk9]

Sorry to hear of the issues you've had. I'm in the other camp and would not want a vehicle without a moon/sun roof. Even though I seldom open the glass partition, just having the shade back brightens up the whole interior. The shade on mine is always open.
Have you opened the liftgate and checked for cracked seans along the roof line? There are several members who had the leak coming from that area. See this post and the following ones; Water Leak
Maybe it's time to check out the 2020's.

Peter

 

[JayRoc258]

Hi guys. My front moonroof drains are clogged as well. I’m going to blow some compressed air in them, thanks for the suggestion. Is there a certain attachment you put on the compressor to place it actually in the line, or do you just place the end on top of the drain hole and pray it works? Also I’ve seen warnings about the pressure possible damaging the lines. What psi did you run to clear the blockage?

Thanks

 

[whimsey]

Hi guys. My front moonroof drains are clogged as well. I’m going to blow some compressed air in them, thanks for the suggestion. Is there a certain attachment you put on the compressor to place it actually in the line, or do you just place the end on top of the drain hole and pray it works? Also I’ve seen warnings about the pressure possible damaging the lines. What psi did you run to clear the blockage?

Thanks

From Harbor Freight I got a "telescoping blow gun", item 68261. It's long enough to fit easily for the front drain and it has a head that fits perfectly into the drain hole. For the rear drains I put the gun into the drain exist and blew air in that way, it worked. Make sure you start with your compressor on a lower psi, say 40 and test after you do it to see if water comes out the drain under the vehicle. For the front drains i squirted water directly into the drain to test. For the rear drains I could only pour water into the drain channel. Somewhere around 45-50 psi it finally cleared my drains. I would not go too high with the psi for fear of blowing the drain hose loose. I used short burst of air and it worked great. Good luck!

Whimsey

 

[frustratedfordowner]

I've been reading through the posts but I have yet to see how to access the rear drain tubes. We found the rear right but can't seem to find the rear left? Where is it and how do we clean out that one, we have a leak on that side in the back.Thanks

 

[peterk9]

I've been reading through the posts but I have yet to see how to access the rear drain tubes. We found the rear right but can't seem to find the rear left? Where is it and how do we clean out that one, we have a leak on that side in the back.Thanks

Is your leak on the left side pooling water in the 2nd row footwell or is the water running down the 3rd row seatbelt area? If it is the latter, then it likely isn't a drain tube issue.

Peter

 

[frustratedfordowner]

Not exactly sure but the the 3rd row seatbelt is wet and that side. If it's not the drain what else would it be? I still would like to know where the rear drain is on the left side so I can still clean that out too. thanks

 

[peterk9]

The most common issues with that type of leak are from the roof rail mounting point or perhaps a bad/craked seam in the body of the liftgate area. Water Leak
Have you checked the spare tire well for moisture?
As for the drain tube access, I'm no help there as I've never attempted to locate it. I only guessing that you access it from the back of the moonroof as per the diagram on the previous page.

Peter

 

[Donnie249]

I have a 2016 Explorer Limited. During the last month or two, I've seen drops of water falling from the overhead console twice. I contacted a glass company, and they told me I probably had plugged drain lines.

Problem: I can't access the drain lines to clear them. My slide motor works, but the motor that works the glass is not functioning.

The car has water in the floor of the front passenger seat and nowhere else.

I tried to move the headliner so I could look for a way to drive the glass manually, but it's not easy. The liner is loose all the way to the back seat, but I can't get to the motors without bending it.

I decided to try to check the fuse. What a job! I finally found the fuse box. I don't know if I can actually touch the fuses without joining a Chinese acrobat team, but I'm going to try again later. I can't believe Ford would manufacture something this crazy.

Is there a way to move the glass back (or clear the drain lines) without a working motor?

I subscribed to Mitchell's help site.

I have a 2016 Explorer Limited. During the last month or two, I've seen drops of water falling from the overhead console twice. I contacted a glass company, and they told me I probably had plugged drain lines.

Problem: I can't access the drain lines to clear them. My slide motor works, but the motor that works the glass is not functioning.

The car has water in the floor of the front passenger seat and nowhere else.

I tried to move the headliner so I could look for a way to drive the glass manually, but it's not easy. The liner is loose all the way to the back seat, but I can't get to the motors without bending it.

I decided to try to check the fuse. What a job! I finally found the fuse box. I don't know if I can actually touch the fuses without joining a Chinese acrobat team, but I'm going to try again later. I can't believe Ford would manufacture something this crazy.

Is there a way to move the glass back (or clear the drain lines) without a working motor?

I subscribed to Mitchell's help site.

Oh crap, this is a old thread but I just bought a 16 sport and the dealer I bought it from is fixing a passenger side door seal and “clogged” drain…had a few drops of water drip on ride home from center console area…do I also have moon roof issue as well?

 

[peterk9]

Oh crap, this is a old thread but I just bought a 16 sport and the dealer I bought it from is fixing a passenger side door seal and “clogged” drain…had a few drops of water drip on ride home from center console area…do I also have moon roof issue as well?

Hard to tell at this stage. It could be from a water leak test that the dealer performed. Keep an eye on it or better yet, try turning the hose on it or go through a car wash and see if you still get water drops inside. Have you checked the foot well carpets for moisture? That is usually what happens when a drain get clogged.

Peter

 

[Donnie249]

Hard to tell at this stage. It could be from a water leak test that the dealer performed. Keep an eye on it or better yet, try turning the hose on it or go through a car wash and see if you still get water drops inside. Have you checked the foot well carpets for moisture? That is usually what happens when a drain get clogged.

Peter

The passenger side carpet was wet after a lot of rain, they are fixing it now. Hopefully that’s it

 

[AdamWest436]

I had a leak down the back right 3rd row glass. It ended up being the antenna base and screw were damaged in a car wash and let water in. $1600 quote after 2nd dealer figured it out. I ended up getting the antenna through a vendor here and did it myself on a sunny day against better judgement on a black truck. I feel like I would have been better w/o the roof glass but dealers here order all options XLTs. I got it at the end of the run and they was shipping 2020's to the lot.

 

[Swifty Morgan]

Sorry to hear of the issues you've had. I'm in the other camp and would not want a vehicle without a moon/sun roof. Even though I seldom open the glass partition, just having the shade back brightens up the whole interior. The shade on mine is always open.
Have you opened the liftgate and checked for cracked seans along the roof line? There are several members who had the leak coming from that area. See this post and the following ones; Water Leak
Maybe it's time to check out the 2020's.

Peter

"Your old Ford was awful, so it's time to buy another one."

 

[bowtye8]

I just had the same issue a 2017 explorer sport. Drain lines clogged and the sunroof motor blew. Slider worked,. I bought a amazon motor and read about the programming issues. Well I had them could not program that motor. So I swap the slider (factory ford motor) to the sunroof and the amazon to the slider. Programming went great and sunroof working 100%. I then blew out the linew while I had the headliner pulled down. I first tried blowing through them. Not 100% clogged but restricted. after cleaning with compressed air and water a few times . big difference. Still have to do the rears. But all good now so far with the heavy downpours in Fl.

 

[peterk9]

"Your old Ford was awful, so it's time to buy another one."

I have a 2023 Aviator on order to replace the 2020 Aviator I have now. See margin profile and Signature.
Also, never had any issues with the 2011 and 2017 Explorers.

Peter