sun roof isues

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:56 pm

ok I don't know if anyone can help but I have been having problems with water coming in the passenger side for weeks now. I have read other threads and tried blowing OUT the tubes with air... that seemed to help for about a week or so. then Irene came. Again a swimming pool in there. So I took some 14 gauge wire and tried to push it down the drain tube. that didn't seem to go in more than a few inches and didnt help. I still got water in at the car wash. what else can I do to fix this once and for all? smaller wire down the tube?

I am tired of sucking out water with a vacuum and having wet carpet.

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:59 pm

Until you can get new rubber seals and the such, lay a few beads of Scotch 33+ across the seam. Will last a few months.
Do not use jap wrap.

There is no other fix, I don't care what they'll tell you.
The seal has shrunk and weathered past your drainholes ability to properly drain, spewing over into your "Oh S#it" bars and down to your floorboard.
Be lucky that your driverside isn't taking the brunt of the water, that's where my water was running down.
:furious:

Right through the fuse panel.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:29 am

Thanks thats not what I really wanted to hear but was thinking thats what it was going to take. so how much is a seal for the roof and how tough is the removal and install?

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:55 am

so you are sayin electrical tape? and do I stick it to the metal frame?

I called my local dealer about the glass seal $91 and on back order for 3 or more weeks :furious:

wonder if its something I can install with out much grief

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:48 pm

Yes, and only use the good stuff or it wont last and will leave black glue behind. 33+ is good stuff.
Start a strip on the metal and work your way to the glass by overlaying the strips.
You'll want to do it to all four sides.
When you are ready to replace the seals, it'll all come off with no problem.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:31 pm

Very cool I will have to get some I have a ton of electric tape but not sure that its 33+. so then I am guessing that I should not open and close it anymore after I tape it up?

Interesting thing is I asked at the body shop about it. he told me there are 2 kinds of sunroofs, ones that leak and ones that will. His advice was to check the drains again. take off the trim and make sure the tubes in the front were still connected to the tray. he said the rear tubes are hard to get at and usually are not the problem. he also said in most cars the seal is part of the glass and not replaceable by its self, but there is a part for ours and its back-ordered so that seems to me that its telling something.

I am going to check out clearing the tubes again and check the connection to the tray this weekend. if I still can't get it to drain right I am ordering the new seal.

My only question is how easy is the seal to change? it looks like it will just pull off the glass and press back in but I am not sure about the rear of it.

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:22 pm

mikey1273 wrote:

I am going to check out clearing the tubes again and check the connection to the tray this weekend. if I still can't get it to drain right I am ordering the new seal.

You can check the tubes till the cows come home, go ahead and order the seal.

mikey1273 wrote:

My only question is how easy is the seal to change?

I like your optimism (how easy rather than how hard).
Anyways, you'll have to tell me the answer to that question. I'm still rockin' the 33 with much bigger fish to fry.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:59 pm

Well I try to be an optimist its my nature

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:10 am

well the soggy saga continues with all the rain and flooding my area is getting I got my own personal flood in the KJ. Still it seems the front passanger drain is the problem. I checked it is connected to the tray. If I park with the nose up higher than the rear it dont seem to leak. I am going to try to get compressed air in there again to see if that helps, maybe find a more flexable wire than the 14 ga solid copper it tried last time and didnt get far with.

One thing I did do is ask at the body shop. he gave me a few more ideas. he told me to try to align the glass since it didnt look like it was in so there was an even gap around the roof and glass. that helped some but then now the rain is more.

the glass is easy to get out or loosen to adjust. there are 4 torx bolts (2 on each side) it is not something you could do very well with out a helper though. The seal is replaceable and you would have to remove the glass to do it. I ordered a new seal today. now they tell me that it will be in in 5 days and the price went up a few dollars from what they told me last week. it was a part they said they never stocked so I had to prepay 100% of the part cost.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 3:10 pm

Before I saw you got a new seal I was going to suggest taking the glass out, slathering the seal with vasoline, and then setting it out in the sun on a hot day, this will often cause the seal to swell back up, we do this all the time on our 20 year old nissan t-top and convertible top seals.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:07 pm

Sam I was thinking of that but we have not had many clear days here in the last week and none coming until maybe next week. being I don't have a place to park under cover with the glass out for long I wanted something more permanent than that old trick. I used to do that with my old Ford's flip up roof when I was a poor broke teenager. It works good but only got me by 6 months and I'd be doing it again.

this evening I fished about 5 feet or so of #12 THHN wire down the drain, then blew some air down it. I tested it then by pouring some water down and confirmed it drains out right behind the front mud guard. not sure what I can do now until I get a seal in other than tape it like KJ 119 said.

Now I will have to take out the seat when I get it stopped and dry out the pad under the carpet. is there anything I need to be careful of like air bag sensors and other wires when removing the passenger seat?

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:49 am

mikey1273 wrote:

Now I will have to take out the seat when I get it stopped and dry out the pad under the carpet. is there anything I need to be careful of like air bag sensors and other wires when removing the passenger seat?

No, just unplug everything, you will need a large torx to get the seatbelt off the seat.(t50 maybe?)

tim wulf · **Posted:** Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:40 pm

I've had this same issue and had to solve it myself. When I parked pointing uphill my cargo area would get soaked. Dealer could not fix after 4 attempts.
I had the dealer take the headliner out and I noticed the sunroof would not leak anymore. I inspected the back side of the headliner an saw a slight impression on all four corners where the drain tubes are. The headliner when installed from the factory smashed the drain tubes shut. I took a metal pipe and heated it with a torch and melted a space into the styrofoam profile blocks at all four cornrers to give the drain tubes space. I had the dealer reinstall the headliner with specific instructions to make sure the drain tubes fall into the channels I made. This should fix your problem.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:57 pm

Well mine seems fixed :BANANA:

since it has rained a few times since I worked on it I have had no water in side. :BANANA:

the front tubes are hard plastic and I got what ever was clogging the front drain with the wire and compressed air and aligning the glass. I did order a seal but it has not some in yet.

mine would not leak if I parked so the rear was lower and front end higher so mine is a different issue than yours.

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:26 pm

WooHoo

Do tell more about aligning the glass.

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:11 pm

KJ 119 wrote:

WooHoo

Do tell more about aligning the glass.

easy stuff but you need a partner to see the position of the glass as you move, hold and tighten the torx bolts.

there are 4 torx bolts 2 on each side that hold the glass unit in place. loosen them to adjust the glass alignment, removing those you can remove the glass.

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:05 pm

Thanks for the tip!
Maybe after time the thing loosens up and it gets jarred around.
Were the torx bolts loose?

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:56 pm

no mine's bolts seemed tight but you could tell that the glass was not in there straight. there was a large gap in the front on the passenger side and same for rear drivers side to so degree.

I also seemed to have a clog in the front right tube that was not so easy to free up. Now I have a new seal and don't need it...... think I might hold on to it in case it leaks again.

So KJ how is the engine? any progress?

Khaki-KJ · **Posted:** Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:13 pm

Parking at an angle is why mine leaks. I have the sunroof as well, but if you take a look at the bottom of the door frames, you will see the rubber gasket has a small track. If I have parked with one side of the Jeep higher than normal (gravel driveway) then I get water in that small groove and it manages to build up and drip / run into the Jeep where the black plastic step is glued over the plastic trim. I have actually seen the water running into the Jeep at this point when I opened the door. This only happens when there is a heavy rainstorm, otherwise the inside is dry, no matter what angle I am parked at.

sun roof isues

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