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another leaky sunroof

5K views 22 replies 5 participants last post by  reverendALC 
#1 ·
hey all,

got my 03disco2 back from elite with the new engine/trans/cdl/rear end. super stoked about that.
now i'm ready to tackle the rear sunroof.

it was leaking and was not opening. i got it open, but i can't understand why it's leaking.
both drain hoses seem firmly attached and have no evidence of water escaping.
i did however notice this hole toward the rear of the vehicle on the roof pan... has a tattle tale:
Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Automotive design Auto part


the arrow points toward the orifice, and the blue line highlights the path of water out. this is on the right side of the vehicle, the one on the left side seems fine. after a good rain, i have noticed water dripping from the right side rear ceiling air vent and a puddle beneath on the rubber mat.

am i right in assuming that the drain hose must be clogged, and water is only getting here because of an overflow of the gutter?
 
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#2 ·
i don't understand what's happening here. both drain hoses are clear, i can blow through them with my lungs.
no damage to the drain boxes or nipples.

where the water is leaking from, it's on the inside of the gutters..

is it possible that the hardware fastening the glass to the rails is leaking?
I had my wife pour a gallon of water all over the rear sunroof while sitting inside, and i didn't see a drop of water.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Welp, could be hairline crack(s) or your seal is not up to par anymore.

Orrr, you can have both like me. Def irritating and I feel your pain. Plan to have a shop go through and just retrofit whole new assemblies and seals that won't fail like this again, financial PITA btw.

If you have the hearing off, I'd do a water leak test and just throw water on top of it trying to recreate the issue, need a hose and not a bucket to recreate constant flow. (if I'm reading your problem correctly)
 
#4 ·
so i just pulled my roof glass, trim, and pan.

it's quite easy if you remove the glass from the trim, i did it by myself with no issue.

there were significant puddles in the rear pockets of the pan, which were overflowing (both sides i see now) into the headliner.

after removing the pan and trim, it's incredibly clear that the shiesty 5mm sunroof seal was compromised and was allowing excessive amounts of water in... but after inspecting everything thoroughly, i can't see how those rearward cavities will ever NOT overflow into the headliner. the sunroof design guides water into the pan, and drains out of the two front corners... if i'm parked on any significant incline, gravity will pool the water toward the rear and overflow still? i don't know, maybe i'm missing something... this is my fifth disco, and miraculously the first one that's leaked (from the sunroof lol, dammit windshield), so i guess that system has to function somehow.

what a chore scrubbing all of the old seal off of the trim. i'm going to replace the rubber grommets on the glass hardware while i'm in there. i wish i'd taken the time to drop the whole headliner, because mine is stripped and painted black and i'm sick of it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
well, i successfully reassembled the sunroof assembly, with a generous amount of poly sealant.

i will NOT recommend removing the glass from the exterior trim. while i am elated to see thick rubber grommets on the rear glass, there was obviously more tension when tightening. the (cheap) cast hardware that fastens the glass down stripped out when reinstalling the glass on two out of four. if i had not been equipped to retap with a larger diameter, and didn't have larger screws on hand, i might've been boned. if you go that route and remove the glass, i would at least recommend buying longer screws. i went with 5mm longer screws, and they got about 4 threads deeper before starting to snug, and i think that was helpful in not stripping out the soft metal again.

i couldn't have re-used the rubber grommets if i wanted to, they were smushed paper thin and two of them disintegrated when popping out of the glass.

aside from getting the headliner half way in before i realized i forgot to connect the drain hoses, it went smoothly overall.

the hardest part was scraping and scrubbing the old gasket from the sunroof's exterior trim.

i hope that it worked!
 
#6 ·
Fantastic write up! Def gonna take notes for sure.

Definitely deciding what to do with my headliner as I need to fix the rear window as well. I also have to replace the sunroof rail assembly as the rails and guides are damaged beyond repair.

You are correct about the pan design....prob the most major point of contention haha. Oh to be the fly on the wall when they approved this design!
 
#9 ·
@masantschi; it was actually really easy. my rear sunroof was the leaker, so i didn't even have to fully remove the headliner.
start with the ceiling panel over the rear door, that houses the headrests (if you're SE7). this piece just yanks off, but be careful as the little sliding beauty plates at the headrest may fall out and break if they make it to the pavement.
pop the cargo light cover off, and there are two nuts securing the headliner beneath that
peel the felt trim off around the roof opening
pop the heater and roof controls from the overhead console, there's a screw in there securing the liner too
pop the beauty plate off of the rear seatbelt openings in the cargo pillar trim (if equipped)
pull the ribbed fasteners out, there are two screws on either side with beauty caps
i simply left the pillar trim (with the seatbelts still attached and threaded) in the cargo area, just off to the side
drop all of the oh-**** handles in the 2nd row and cargo area

at this point i was able to lower the rear half of the headliner with ample room to service the sunroof
i toyed with the B pillar trim, but as i have read, they are a complete SOB to remove, so i left them in place. you'll have to pull them to fully remove the liner
@DiscoBenny; here are the grommets i used, picked up at the local big box hardware store. they're definitely not OEM, or even a "direct-fit" replacement, but they worked like a charm and look factory in place. i didn't opt for the shiesty OEM seal system, i used a clear polyurethane sealant also from the big box store... a hefty bead around the exterior trim, and a smaller bead around the exterior roof opening. after installing the trim and pan, a fair amount oozed out. after allowing to harden, the sealant is easy to peel/roll off with your fingers. several leak tests including a trip through the carwash, and still bone dry!
Auto part Rim Wheel


i just ordered some 2004 roof racks, when they arrive next week i'll probably have to fully drop the headliner to put them on, and i'll report if anything changed.
 
#10 ·
I'll be interested to read your best practices once you get the whole thing out. I'm going to be doing some work around the Rearview Mirror and installing a camera in the rear (running the wires behind the headliner), so it all has to come down for that.
 
#11 ·
as evidenced by my actions, i'm usually a fan of doing as little work as possible to accomplish the task!
however my 2004 racks will be here on 6/5 and i'm positive i'll have to drop most if not all of the headliner to access the bolts inside.
 
#13 ·
it's really not that bad.. if you're just running wires, you probably don't even need to drop the whole liner, just a few trim pieces to tuck under the edges.
it took me less than 15min to take the entire rear half down, and even less to put it back up.

when i do the 04 bars, i'll take pics of the b-pillar hardware so you can see what needs to be done. it's rather frustrating tugging blindly and wondering where the contact points are.
 
#14 ·
hahahaha. turns out my front roof is leaking too. going to drop the entire headliner this afternoon to redo the front roof and install the 04 bars.

will take pics
 
#15 ·
alright, so i had the whole headliner down in about 30min this time, getting easier. a few notes for those looking to undertake:

the rear door trim is a bit of a bugger, it needs to pop forwards toward the front of the car. here's a pic of the clips on a partially removed trim piece:
Vehicle


the B-pillars are kind of tricky, you just need to pull the rubber seals from the door jamb then you'll see the clips. they fasten to the frame beneath the rubber:
Suit Blazer Hand Tuxedo Formal wear


instead of unbolting and fishing out the 7pass. seatbelts, just flop the panels over like this:
Vehicle Car Vehicle door Windshield Auto part


and i'm a lazy one, so i left the entire headliner in the truck and shimmied myself up through the sunroof holes:
Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Auto part Sport utility vehicle


here are some baller '04 roof bars!!!!
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Roof rack


front roof is definitely leaking... good news that the rear is dry, but i didn't make it to reseal the front roof...
 

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#17 ·
Thanks @reverendALC for the pics and writeup.
I have a leak also at top front of my windscreen. I'm holding off pulling the whole headliner until I get some soundproof matting and find time to do this leak maintenance and matting install at the same time.
 
#18 ·
that leak is probably from the front sunroof. if you drop the headliner, you'll easily be able to see where water is pooling and where it escapes to! it's entirely possible that the windshield is leaking, as that happens too on these rigs, but my bet is the sunroof seal or drain boxes.
 
#19 ·
Here is my freshly upholstered headliner. Took two tries and this one is probably 90-95% factory quality. Most importantly it’s black.

So are ALL my pillars, vents, and trim.
 

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#20 ·
So how do I actually take the rear sunroof out to seal it? I have the headliner out. Do I need to take the glass off from the top first? I unfastened the bolts on the inside but does the motor need to come off as well?

My leak doesn't seem to be at or around the drain tube so I think I have to take the whole apart. I don't want to break anything.

Thanks!
 
#21 ·
When I resealed my rear roof, I took the glass off of the assembly and then lifted the housing out. It was only sealed about 1/3 of the way around at that point.

If you decide to remove the glass, be prepared to replace the rubber grommets, as mine had disintegrated. Thicker rubber replacement grommets were difficult to install and longer screws would’ve been helpful unless you’ve got somebody to push down on the roof glass while you’re screwing up from inside. Be careful as I stripped out a few of my fasteners (Metal is soft) and had to retap and use larger screws to complete the work.

When I resealed my front roof, I left the glass on the assembly and lifted the entire deal out. It’s significantly heavier like that and more difficult to reinstall, and I required another set of hands to place it.

The motor needs to be detached either way, and then the assembly slides about .5” and you can lift it up.

I had truly hoped that I was suffering from drain tubes, but after 16 years of weather, that 1/4” foam strip they installed at the factory was in laughable condition.
 
#22 ·
I think my window grommets are good so I'm going to try and not touch the glass. My leak seems to be the same as yours.

So do I remove the exterior trim with the window open and then close it and lift the whole thing out? After I take out the bolts on the inside and unhook the motor?
 
#23 ·
I don’t recall needing to open the roof at all. Just remove all of the bolts around the glass and the motor from the inside, and you should be able to lift it out. It’s pretty heavy, and if you have any seal intact it will give some resistance.
 
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