Sunroof leak

cxf · Post by **cxf** » 22 Mar 2019, 13:19

Car is a 1996 850T that I have had for a long time. A while ago it developed a sunroof leak on the drivers side. If I put one of the drive on rino ramps under the left rear tire I get no leak at all. Finally a couple of weeks ago when it was relatively warm I removed the sunroof and blew out the rear and front drain lines. After blowing out I ran several quarts of water through all the lines and everything was draining as designed. Last night and today we had rain and the leak is still there. The "gutter" that runs across the rear of the sunroof(left to right) across the car is there and appears to be working as it should. I'm stumped... any ideas anyone?

Thanks in advance

p.s. seal around the glass seems ok... not perfect

p.s.s. next idea is to grab a new sunroof panel at a p'n'p if I can find a good one

Post by **scot850** » 22 Mar 2019, 21:54

If the drains are clear then there are a few options:

1) The drains are just plastic tubes and have been known to break at each of the four corners where the drains exit.
2) If the drains are clear it is unusual for the sunroof to leak. Where is the water being found?
3) I had a similar leak and it only happened if the rain was heavy from one direction or if the car was sitting a certain way. This was eventually tracked to a leaking windshield seal.

If you can tell us where the water is being found, it may not be the windshield or sunroof.

If it is on the drivers side floor then it could be your heater core. If that is leaking you often get a sweet small and a greasy residue on the lower part of the inside of the windshield.

Finally check the drains in the windshield wiper area under the plastic cover are not blocked. If they do then they eventually drain back into the car.

Neil.

cxf · Post by **cxf** » 23 Mar 2019, 08:25

Hi, thanks for the reply. The leak is around the sunroof on the drivers side. As I stated earlier drains were blown out and several quarts of water were emptied into the "gutter" for both left and right side front and back and I observed the water draining out. I am now leaning toward this being a leak from the top of the windshield and finding it's way to the area around the left side of the sunroof. Again, with the left side up on a rino ramp zero leak.

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 23 Mar 2019, 09:52

Where is the wet spot / where is the water pooling?

tysauce1986 · Post by **tysauce1986** » 23 Mar 2019, 22:07

So no resolution to this? Mine leaks when the front of the car is slightly pitched downwards. And it leaks at the center of the glass, into the light assembly, directly onto my window switches. I'm planning on cleaning the gasket really well OD and what I can easily get of the ID. then smearing a thin layer of silicone. Any thoughts?

WhatAmIDoing · Post by **WhatAmIDoing** » 23 Mar 2019, 22:29

tysauce1986 wrote: ↑23 Mar 2019, 22:07 So no resolution to this? Mine leaks when the front of the car is slightly pitched downwards. And it leaks at the center of the glass, into the light assembly, directly onto my window switches. I'm planning on cleaning the gasket really well OD and what I can easily get of the ID. then smearing a thin layer of silicone. Any thoughts?

in your case, a bead of silicone will probably do it, if it's leaking around the inside of the seal and not the outside.

Post by **abscate** » 24 Mar 2019, 06:04

I had a very slight leak after windshield replacement years ago, which I cured with a tiny application of RTV black applied under the seal, lifting it with a credit card and putting a film behind in about a 30 second operation. Worked beautifully