Leak in roof above drivers side

Houandrew · Post by **Houandrew** » 27 May 2020, 18:23

Hi all. Thanks so much for those who have responded to other of my issues in the past. So for this time I noticed the roof was getting wet along the a pillar above the driver’s side about 3 inches from the corner of the windshield up along the pillar. The water was mostly collecting and dripping at that corner. Thought it might be the after market windshield so did water test at corner. All good esp since water wouldn’t travel upward. Then did water test higher up and it started leaking so thought it was the weather strip on top of car because there was a gap under the strip. Today I tested the sunroof front drains and poured three bottles of water in drain above driver’s side. Water did drain onto the ground but water started leaking at roof at the 3 inch mark up from windshield along the a pillar. I think there is a leak in the drain tube. Any ideas on how hard and how much this might be to fix?

Post by **scot850** » 27 May 2020, 19:52

The drain tubes will need the headliner to be removed to get to, unless someone else can suggest how to get into them.

The drain tubes are known for sometimes splitting over the years and you getting wet. I had a leak in the same area, but in my case it was a badly fitted windshield replacement. Was made more frustrating as the car had to be in a certain position and rain direction for it to happen.

Drain tube if I recall correctly runs down the windshield pillar behind the trim. If you are lucky it may be reachable and fixable with plumbing self healing tape.

Neil.

Houandrew · Post by **Houandrew** » 28 May 2020, 11:19

Thanks neil

Houandrew · Post by **Houandrew** » 28 May 2020, 11:21

Is it possible to just cover up the left front drain? Won’t the water drain to the left and not seep into the car?

Post by **scot850** » 28 May 2020, 12:34

You actually have 3 drains so I guess it is worth trying although you may still get wet in heavy rain or if the car is leaning that direction. Nothing really lost by trying it and see.

Neil.

Post by **JimBee** » 29 May 2020, 19:41

It's been a while since I cleaned my drain tubes so I'm not sure this is correct—but it's worth a try. There's a catch channel along each side of the panel to route water (that leaks around the sun roof gasket) forward or back to a front or back tube. If the sun roof window is open a lot the channels collect debris from the air, road, etc.. The debris will settle in the channels and get flushed into the tubes when there's a lot of water. Eventually, the tubes can clog.

I know you cannot get to the rear drain tubes (1 each side) without removing the headliner.

On my 850, I seem to remember that the front 2 tubes are accessible with the sun roof open and all the way back. I used a length of single strand 14 gauge (or maybe 12 gauge) insulated wire to probe from the top down all the way through to the end. That cleaned them out. I think I stripped the insulation back an inch and bent the lead end of the wire so it would slip easily through the tube. Worked well.

Post by **dcarlson12** » 06 Feb 2022, 14:46

Is there a link to a procedure to lower the head liner so I can access the rear drain(s). Are there more than one? i.e. one on left and one on right?
I am parked from of car facing up hill and the water is ending up on the right rear passenger foot 'well'.

Post by **FireFox31** » 08 Feb 2022, 18:29

In 1999 and 2000 V70, there are four drain tubes for the sunroof, one at each corner. The front ones run down the A pillar. The rear ones seem to run down the C pillar. At least on the right side, the rear drain exits at the base of the C pillar and runs horizontally below the trunk window (remember, I'm talking about a wagon).

There are threads on here about repairing the headliner so they might have disassembly info. I tore one out at a junkyard to remove the sunroof assembly so here's what I learned from that:

The hardest part is removing the sunroof trim. The trim grabs on to the metal using built in clips on its non-visible, upper face. The best solution is to wedge thin sheet metal (like a spackle knife) to raise that upper face away from the car metal. Open the sunroof fully and maybe you'll see what I mean. The attached picture shows the clips.

The second hardest part is removing the rearview mirror assembly. On the junkyard car, I had to just rip it down. Check my picture for hints on where the clips are. Unscrew the mirror because it can't fit through the headliner hole.

Third hardest part is the sun visor wires. They run down the A pillars. It will be easiest to remove the A pillars to disconnect the wires way down at the dash.

The headliner is mostly held on by the trim pieces but also has a few wires running through it. You can remove the pillar pieces, then the roof line pieces. The headliner board can be carefully bent just enough to sneak it out around the trim pieces. Be careful not to crease it. Remove the A pillar trim (for the sun visor wires) and B pillar trim (because the seats are in the way making it hard to work). Then gently bend the rear of the headliner in around the trim (since the trunk is more open, in a wagon).

I've attached some pictures of a 1999 V70 to show what's up there. I should have been more gentle with that headliner board because it was perfect. The rear removed easily with all the trim in place and no damage to the board.