Sun/Moonroof Problems

[keelhaul]

hello there.

i also have a leak somewhere around the sunroof, on my 92' RS wagon

when it rains, my seatbelts get all soaked up. and the bottom of my headliner, above the driver and passenger door windows gets dripping wet. ive not seen moisture in my seats yet.

i have to fix this before winter kicks in, or else i fear the frost can do bad damage if i get a lot of ice in there.

i guess it is the damn drain pipes.

can the black linings above the windows outside my car leak water inside my car? i dont know the words for it, but its the long, black "rails", which eventually turns silver because of the black paint falling off as the years go. sorry for being unclear.

keelhaul

[kimokalihi]

I fixed my leak for the most part. It did leak on me once more but it was only a couple drops on my head when I started driving. I opened my sunroof, got some steel braided cable aproximately 1/16" thick and was able to shove it down the front drain hoses and I think it cleared them out because it's rained a lot lately and no leaks. I think the rears must be clogged too and I wasn't able to get to them. Don't feel like removing the headliner again and risk breaking more panels so as long as it doesn't leak anymore I'm done messing with it. It's super easy and worth a try. You can get some thin metal cable or very thick weed eater string. It has to be flexible but strong.

[keelhaul]

ive decided to pull the headliner after reading thru a lot of stuff on this lovely forum. got 4 days off work now. i hope ill get it down without destroying too much plastic crap. i need to sort this out before the harsh winter kicks in.

i think i have a severe leak, and i bet its the rail-sealant.

but please, i hope someone can answer this question: can the black roof lining/ trim in this picture leak in water? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... ide-1-.jpg the plastic which starts to turn silver color here, above the door windows. sorry, i dont know the english word for that part.

[Legacy777]

No, that's just a decorative trim. The body panels are joined underneath and should not be leaking.

[kimokalihi]

Something is still leaking in mine but hardly at all now. Last night I was driving the car and when I came to a stop at an intersection I felt a little splash of water fall on my head. But it no longer seems to be leaking water on my seats when parked.

[Elcapitan]

Does anyone know the importance of the deflector and what happens if you remove it?

[Legacy777]

It helps reduce wind buffeting/noise. If you remove it....you'll probably just get more noise.

[darkcrave]

Bump for winter time!

[darkcrave]

I just removed my sunroof, took a few hours but was not that hard to do. The pictures help a lot! Thanks guys!

[BoneIslandScooby]

Brian,
The four drains are basically flexible plastic hoses. If you can get your hands on one of those retractable metal snakes used to fish electrical wires through walls that would do the trick. If not, try (and I do mean try ) to get as many coat hangers together as possible. make sure they wont fall apart from each other and get stuck in there! Also I havent looked at mine yet but I dont recall moonroofs having 4 drains. usually they just have two, one on each side in the front. that drain into the "A" pillar area. For those of you who dont know where that is, its just behind where the front door hinge is.

Mike

Where do you get access to these drain tubes? I've searched on here but have not found the answer. Also, I have tried removing the A-Pillar interior trim, but do not want to break it in the process. Any suggestions on how to remove these properly?

[BoneIslandScooby]

Re:

This whole job can be done in about 4 hours actual WORK time. Check out my process (pics to come soon). This is a '91 Sedan, I know the wagon and even 92up is slightly different.

1) Remove headliner, map lights, "oh s***" handles, rear view mirror (basic mechanical knowledge is required)

2) unbolt all frames around the moonroof assembly (this will not drop the roof, it will just allow access to all bolts).

3) remove all drain hoses, there's one at each corner.

etc.

Any way to restore the pictures that were once posted here? Great write up. Would appreciate some more details on removing headliner and trim pieces. (without breaking clips or trim) I guess once those are removed finding the drain tubes should be painfully obvious?

[Legacy777]

The trim pieces just take some time to get off. I recommend getting a trim removal tool at a local parts store. They are not too expensive and help. You just need to take your time to find where the clips are so you are using the tool in the right spot.

Here's a pic of the tool



To get the headliner out, all the trim has to be removed....yeah I know....it sucks.

[virginwidow]

Any way to restore the pictures that were once posted here? Great write up. Would appreciate some more details on removing headliner and trim pieces. (without breaking clips or trim) I guess once those are removed finding the drain tubes should be painfully obvious?

What he said ^^^^ Any way to repost those great insterxions WITH the images? Or is there a U-toob on this? I saw another post one the drain tubes exitting beneath the car (the better to clean them my dear... )

Anybody got the location of said (4) exit points? I reason that "snaking" the tube with .41 safety wire )(from the bottom toward moon-roof) might poke said gook (bug nests eww) someplace up in never never land,

might using vacuum on the exit tnd do the truck?

THANKS
Bobby in Tennessee

[BoneIslandScooby]

http://caverpilot.com/cars/how-to-remov ... headliner/

Here's a writeup of the whole process with pictures which are currently hosted and visible.

[Legacy777]

Awesome work and great documentation/pictures!

Thanks for sharing.

[BoneIslandScooby]

"(11/8/2012 update: You can remove the actual glass via 8 bolts under the 2 plastic covers, making it easier to get the entire assembly out of the car (I was able to manage the whole job on my own) – thanks to Bryson for this tip!)"

Can anybody break this down any better? Is this a major time saving step? Which plastic covers is he talking about? I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before attempting this this weekend.

[BoneIslandScooby]

I ended up completely taking out the headliner, and the whole heavy ass moonroof system, and I ran a bead of silicone down right next to the rails. and ran my finger down it to form a "quarter pipe" of silicone that covered up all the visible original black stuff. I didn't remove the rails from thier original seats.

Bosco said this...

...to which you replied this:

Bosco: So you did it the hard way and the wrong way at the same time? You should lift the rails and remove the old sealant, it becomes hard and brittle with age. You only need to remove the sunroof glass and the two A-Corn nuts for the wind deflector to do it. Running the silicone caulking underneath will produce better results because the old cracked sealant acts as a sponge and pulls water in.

Can you please clarify? I think this is related to the question I asked above. I'm talking about the "hard way" comment. I'm thinking it is possible to do this job without removing the complete sunroof assembly from the car. The impression I get is that it is possible to remove the glass, and be able to remove the rails and seal under them all while the sunroof assembly is still sitting in its opening in the roof of the car. Is that correct? Will I still be able to seal the rear part as well doing it this way? (the part where caverpilot says to seal the rear "dam".)

[yazmo]

if anyone can help with the last pin that hold the sunroof panel i need the tissue one, im not actually capable of reaching the sunroof assembly bcuz there is something that still hold the roof in place i have remove the 3 bolt from the mirror but there still something a black plastic pin i try to pull it out push it in but im worry ill break it if i continue.
i can post picture but im sure you guy know what i am talking about.
i follow instruction i found from here

http://caverpilot.com/cars/how-to-remov ... headliner/

note that it has a break-away clip to prevent head injury in collisions – and we didn’t hurt it!)

[BoneIslandScooby]

The trim pieces just take some time to get off. I recommend getting a trim removal tool at a local parts store. They are not too expensive and help. You just need to take your time to find where the clips are so you are using the tool in the right spot.

Here's a pic of the tool



To get the headliner out, all the trim has to be removed....yeah I know....it sucks.

I believe this is the tool that will help you get it out without breaking it.

[yazmo]

I see i went today at the auto part store but they had none in stuck
i just pull it out and break it i guess ill find another store near by before doing that,
thx for the reply