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Is it possible to completely seal the sunroof?

11K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  ralf 
#1 ·
Tired of the damn thing leaking. Has anyone completely sealed theirs or even done a complete delete?
 
#2 ·
I ended up taking mine out and sealing the gasket at the glass on both sides with clear silicone.... Where there glass goes into the rubber surround.

This worked for a couple years but ended up having issues when it rained for a while. The water would pool up where the sunroof met the roof and then leaked in behind the catch where it would normally go down the clear out tubes. I think the rubber seal wasn't as strong anymore.

I then redid above and then put it back in and sealed the top side between the roof and sunroof with clear silicone all the way around it.

You have to make sure the surfaces are super clean before applying the silicone and tape it off so the lines look good.

I disconnected the switch so no one would accidently open it.

Hasn't given me issues for the last year or so.
 
#3 ·
Honestly I was thinking of doing a complete delete, I haven't progressed to the body work stage of mine yet though (still working on the suspension, engine is next). When I got it and I was doing 80 on the highway the sunroof was flapping up and down, so I re-mounted it in the track and haven't touched it since. It just seems like a problem (and yes mine leaks too).

I wonder what the repercussions of taking sheet steel and doing a complete weld/sand/finish would be. You'd have to match the contour of the roof and that would be a pain and a half...could turn the sliding cover into a nifty overhead compartment if you did. It's just a thought, but let me know your opinions guys and gals.
 
#4 · (Edited)
OP without knowing your history I recommend doing a couple checks first before you go all drastic. If you have a bad gasket that's another story, but if it's from a poor seal between roof panel and car, do this..

Take your sunroof off. There are 3 torx screws on either side. It comes off very easily. Sit it safely out of the way.



If the pin on either slide is out, push it back in. With a loose pin, the sunroof can open and close but it won't be as tight as it should be. Pins must be pushed in. Do this with the roof panel OFF. The pin slides back and forth, line it all up. Also, Don't lose or forget your little round pin holder than slides back and forth in the inner slide. You can see it in my third pic below. It is there to keep things solid or the slide can make noises over bumps. To sum it up, The pin makes contact and sits within with three separate parts of the slide. FYI the middle piece that flips up and pops the roof open is kinda tight around the pin deliberately to hold the pin in place, that is until the next time it backs itself out haha



Reinstalling the roof panel is surprisingly easy, also easy to do wrong. This is where the issue happens, you can cause your own own leak. You need to tighten down the panel, NOT simply reinstall the torx screws and call it a day.

First, line up the sunroof panel on the slide rails. Reinstall all 6 screws but don't tighten them down yet, just enough so you can close the roof under power. Close it. Next loosen all six screws a bit. The next part only takes a minute but it's the key to a tight seal.

Second, have a friend stand on the outside of the car and press down, firmly but not like a hulk, on the front and rear corners of one panel side. From inside the car, you can now tighten the screws in this order: front and rear corners, and last the middle screw. You and your friend Move to the other side and repeat.

Now check it under power, open and close again. It should seat like mine is below. The front of the panel is pretty flush with the roofline..My pic is jacked, it's actually more flush than it looks. The rear of the panel sits below the roofline. That's how mine came new in 2005 so it's right.

Now if you press down on the roof panel it's a little spongy but not a lot of slop. If you do a search you will find other sunroof threads where the owner complained their panel was sitting up high and they didn't know why. Water will find its way in.

Note: if your pins were not loose or out you can just follow the steps to redo your screws without removing the sunroof. Hope this helped.

Front

Rear




Sent from my Corded phone
 
#5 · (Edited)
A couple of years ago I found a large water leak coming from the sunroof after a heavy rain and decided to fix it. The leak source as the seal between the rubber and the metal bracket in the sunroof glass. So I removed the sunroof glass, then carefully separated the rubber seal around the glass and found that the metal bracket holding the glass and the rubber was rusted in several places. Cleaned it with a wire brush and applied a lot of black silicon to the channel in the rubber seal in contact with the metal edge and reinstalled it, then applied another layer of silicone between the rubber and the glass and cleaned everything.

The seal between the rubber and the roof is never intended to completely seal the water out, that´s why every sunroof have a water catch channel below. You should clean everything and check if the drain tubes are not clogged.
 
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