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leak in drain line for sunroof

Here is what a first gen sunroof looks like guys. The headliner is not that hard to remove. I had to R&R my sunroof to replace the butyl tape sealant between the sunroof and the roof. It had been leaking for some time.

The headliner is not that hard to remove, but is that because you have a new one to replace it with and do not have to be careful in removing and is it hard to put back in place afterwards?

I see the channels running down the pilars and a rubber tube as well. Which is the actual drain? Is the windshield pillar cut away or solid all the way down? Like I said above, when I blew air through from up above, I got a spray out of the side of the pillar, against the windshield. I'm just going to have to pull it all apart this weekend and see what I have going on. I'm tired of getting soaked stopping at red lights.

Outstanding pic btw!!!
 



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The headliner is not that hard to remove, but is that because you have a new one to replace it with and do not have to be careful in removing and is it hard to put back in place afterwards?

I see the channels running down the pilars and a rubber tube as well. Which is the actual drain? Is the windshield pillar cut away or solid all the way down? Like I said above, when I blew air through from up above, I got a spray out of the side of the pillar, against the windshield. I'm just going to have to pull it all apart this weekend and see what I have going on. I'm tired of getting soaked stopping at red lights.

Outstanding pic btw!!!

The headliner is held up by the sun visors (and overhead console if you have one), grab handles above the doors, sunroof trim/rubber, dome lights, coat hangers in the back seats, some push in plastic christmas-tree fasteners, and the plastic A, B, C and D pillar covers. The plastic panels around the rear side windows I refer to as the D pillar covers... You do have to remove the seatbelt shoulder strap anchor bolts (front and back seats) and they are Torx, can't remember the size, T50 maybe? I have been known to use Vicegrips... yeah, I know, crude. Works though.

I would imagine that if you are getting water spraying out there that your drain line is unhooked. The A pillar is enclosed all the way down.

You should be able to remove the visors etc etc from the driver's side front corner of the headliner and gently pry/let it hang and get that drain line back on. I would glue it or clamp it on though. If it came off once, it may do it again.

I reused my old headliner, no reason to replace it. You can get new fabric from autoglass suppliers/shops and replace it if necessary. I've done it before.

I forgot I took the picture it until it popped up on my screen saver the other night.

Let us know how you make out.
 






Same Problem

I'm sure my drain line is disconnected on my passenger side. It drains well when I pour water in the channel. But it also drains inside the vehicle as well as outside the vehicle.

Can anyone possibly give me a step by step on removing the headliner to fix the problem?

I cant afford to take it to a shop and I am not that mechanically inclined.

2002 Explorer XLT

Thanks
 






OK, I know it's been awhile, but I finally took the time to take care of this issue today. I was dreading the unknown, but rolled up my sleeves and went for it. I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to remedy the problem. I took a few pics, although not as great as some others and will say what I did , step by step and kinda have a pic for each one.

1. I took off both of my sun visors by flipping up a little cover to access a single screw for each. Then on the part that the visor swings out from, I popped the cover off of carefully and removed two screws. That's 3 screws total, that was it!! It would be 6 screws total if I did the driver side and passenger, but only the driver side was leaking and that,s all I concentrated on.


Notice the stains from the leaking water!
36132096210_0bf3086097_b.jpg
pic 1 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr
35693660884_9cf18e0c78_b.jpg
pic 2 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr
36132099400_0c42ca7542_b.jpg
pic 7 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr
36132097220_29dc0b0c5a_b.jpg
pic 3 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr



2. I then took off the dome/map light/ sunroof switch console by just carefully prying it down with a flathead screwdriver. It's held in place by clips only, no screws. I then unplugged the two plugs and put the console off to the side safely.

36132097830_84e412ce21_b.jpg
pic 4 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr
36132098380_9e14c39108_b.jpg
pic 5 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr

3. I then took off the rubber trim on the interior around the sunroof (Sorry, forgot to take pic of that)

4. I pulled down the headliner about 12 inches (didn't even need to remove it from anything, except the plastic side pillars by the windshield. They popped right off and are held in place by clips only (again SCORE, no screws!) and viewed it first from the sunroof opening, seeing my problem right away!

36132098930_9d49f643bd_b.jpg
pic 6 by Roger Bedard, on Flickr

5. Then I looked at it from the drivers door side of the headliner and saw the problem from that view!



6. I pulled up on the rubber tube that goes down into the pillar just a little, so there was no tension on it pulling it back down. I then put some superglue on the drain plug that came from the sunroof and pushed the rubber tube back on to it firmly. The other side was still together and not a problem, nor were the rear drains, so I left them alone. If they pull away, it is easy enough to take back apart for the quick fix.

7. I replaced everything in reverse order and now I have to wait for it to rain and test (didn't feel like pouring gallons of water over the sunroof to test. Will wait for the rain, the stopping and taking off again for, a true test). I will update again after that happens.

Not knowing what exactly I was up against and looking for, it took me all of about 25-30 minutes from start to finish and I was also just looking around at other stuff while it was all opened up. Never know when or if ever it will have to be again, so it was good to have an idea of the inner workings up there. If there is a next time and now knowing what goes where, it should take 10-15 minutes tops. Keeping fingers crossed this did the job!

This was on my 2002 Ford Explorer XLT

**UPDATE** It worked fabulously, no more leaks!
 






I know this may be an older post, but thanks so much for the awesome pics. Mine has been leaking awhile, gonna try to tackle it today. I'll try to snap some shots as well.
 






Found this thread by accident. I always thought I had a gasket leak. I neve new their was a drain hose. I will get at that the first chance I get. Thanks all for the pics. I know this is old but it's a very helpfull post/
 






There are FOUR (4) drain hoses, check them all when you pull the headliner down. You don't have to pull it down all the way and there is plenty of room to see all 4 hoses if you have the sunroof open when you check it. Let me know how you make out!
 






Sunroff Leaking

I located the two drains in the front corners, but are there any in the back? I can't see that far back. I have a 1999 Explorer Sport. Water builds up in the tray, but from the middle of the roof to the back. The front is clear. Is the front of the truck to high, preventing water from coming to front of the tray, or should there be drains in the rear as well?
Any help would be appreciated.

NAD
 






I located the two drains in the front corners, but are there any in the back? I can't see that far back. I have a 1999 Explorer Sport. Water builds up in the tray, but from the middle of the roof to the back. The front is clear. Is the front of the truck to high, preventing water from coming to front of the tray, or should there be drains in the rear as well?
Any help would be appreciated.

NAD

Yes, there are drains in the back. Look at the pic posted by Wood1 on the first page.
 






Thank you rlgdguy! Excellent documentation for instruction!!! Hubby now has a new honeydew for his list tonite!
 






That sun visor screw cover is a PITA to get off!

Leaky '03 Aviator FIXED!

Thanks EF members!!
 






It will help the hose to stay in place by installing a zip tie around the hose once re-attached to the nipple.
 






Sorry to dig up such an old thread. JUST bought a 2003 XLT 4x4 and it is leaking hard and pooling in the Driver side A pillar headliner. This is going to be my weekend job. Its a nice truck and well, this can't go on and it stay a nice truck.
 






Sorry to dig up an old thread, but thanks a million times over for the detailed pics RLGDGuy. This repair was painless, and done in about 30 minutes. My leak was on the passenger side, so I had to remove the handle from the A-pillar, but an 8mm socket and a small extension on the wrench, and it was no problem.

Another two thumbs up for everyone on ExplorerForum!
 






Just fixed mine! The passenger side front house was clogged. I got the headliner pulled down just enough. Pulled the house off and blew some compressed air through it. Went ahead and did the same for the other 3. Thread was a big help!
 






Hey guys, I pulled the headliner down and found that my passenger side tube was clogged. Sprayed it out with air and added gasket goo and reinstalled. Did the same to drivers side which wasn't clogged but wanted to be safe. Problem is, I can't find any tubes at the rear. I see a square hole in the b pillar where a hose could potentially be but there is no hose nor is there a hose coming out of the sunroof. The only drains from the sunroof are at the front. Everyone is saying 4 tubes so I was wondering if anyone else only has 2 as well? Or maybe they are farther back at the c pillar?
This is a 2003 limited. Thanks
 






Ok nevermind I found them. I thought those were wire looms because of the ribbed tubing. My bad
 






Hello all I had this problem a year or so ago and thought I had it fixed until I drove through a car wash yesterday and a waterfall cascaded down on me from the passenger side of the sunroof.

I went through the process once again, pulled the hose from the nozzle in the ceiling and blew through. It seemed a bit clogged so I pulled the hose a bit further but I DISCONNECTED it from the drain hole in the door frame!

Well I managed to pry the drain hole fixture out of it's slot in the frame but long story short I spent an incredibly frustrating 2+ hours trying to thread a very non flexible hose through a very small hole w very little access due to the door. I got so frustrated I actually considered trying to take the door off but thankfully the bolts were too tight so I gave that up. For the 1st time in a long time I actually considered taking the car to a dealer to have them fix it for (I'm certain) hundreds of dollars but I happened to get a friend to help me push and pull the hose so I could finally catch it, grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull it out enough to reconnect the drain hole fixture. Put all the parts I had to remove back in place and am saying a prayer that I fixed the problem.

One question. If the driver side drain plug was clogged (I didn't check it as it was starting to get dark) would that force the water to the passenger side where it would then leak out of the passenger side of the sunroof or would the water on the driver side find the path of least resistance and cascade down the driver side of the sunroof.

Were this just a typical clog clean it would have been very quick but due to my haste and stupidity of pulling the hose too hard and too far it was a hell of a job which my cut up hands are crying about today!
 






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