Disco 2 D2 water leaks

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Icantthinkofagoodusername

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Uk
Hi everyone

So I have just got my discovery 2 on the road again, after more than 2 years and I'm having some water leaks that I want to sort out, and I was hoping someone might know how to fix them.

The main one happened for a third time yesterday when I left my house and on the second turn down the road water started pouring out from around the front interior light pod and the slot for the rear view mirror and the blanking panel that's there (and on another occasion some ran from around the sunroof switches as well), down onto the radio the dashboard and running along the headliner and pouring on me.
At the same some water also soaks into the headliner at the front corners and some runs down the a pillars mainly on the passenger side but my first turn is a right turn so...
But after this happening 3 times I would quite like to fix it if anyone has any ideas where the water could come in from?

It has also been leaking water into the boot but judging by the water marks I am fairly sure it is coming in from the top of the rear door seal (but when I get I chance I will make sure with my pressure washer) so I will clean the seal as it looks in good shape but I don't know if I can adjust the door or do something to pull it tighter against the seal?

Thanks for reading

Edit: I forgot to mention it does have sunroofs
 
Sunroof drains.
They might be clogged or the corner piece broken where the drain hose attaches.
Also leaks between the sunfoor frame and the roof are possible.

Reardoor, adjust it by opening it to 90 degress, loosen the hinges on the body (bottom hinge just a bit and top some more), lift the door up from the open end (exterior handle side) and tighten the hinges, this should make it tighter from the top sealing better. Have a friend help or a jack and a piece of wood so You have the door lifted while tightening.
Some even add some additional seals to the doorside to have some extra sealing...
 
Dervishi said:
Sunroof drains.
They might be clogged or the corner piece broken where the drain hose attaches.
Also leaks between the sunfoor frame and the roof are possible.
Click to expand...
That ^^^... + see the attachments
 

Attachments

  • water_ingress_to_headliner.pdf
    170.8 KB · Views: 138
  • WATER INGRESS AT REAR OF VEHICLE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN.pdf
    607.1 KB · Views: 132
Sunroof.jpg

Look also at the holes in the undertray. These give direct access to the head linning if they don't drain. I've tapped all mine up, front and rear
 
The sunroofs don’t only leak at the drains. Sometimes it’s not the drains at all. The seal where the sunroof flange sits on the roof is crap. Stand outside the vehicle and slam the drivers door whilst looking at the sunroof and you will see it rising up with the pressure. That separates the ****y little seal in there and it leaks. Sunroofs need to come out and all face’s thoroughly cleaned and sealed with Tiger Seal.
 
Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while I had a couple of other projects that wanted me before I got a chance to look at my discovery

Dervishi said:
Reardoor, adjust it by opening it to 90 degress, loosen the hinges on the body (bottom hinge just a bit and top some more), lift the door up from the open end (exterior handle side) and tighten the hinges, this should make it tighter from the top sealing better. Have a friend help or a jack and a piece of wood so You have the door lifted while tightening.
Some even add some additional seals to the doorside to have some extra sealing...
Click to expand...
Thanks for this, it worked great


I tested the drains in the sunroof and the passenger drain is blocked, all the guides I found of people unblocking the drains have the headliner out and I really don't want to take it out because the cloth has separated from the board.
Is there any way to do it without taking the headliner out?

Also while I'm here, my ac isn't working.
I've checked the fuse and relay which were fine but the compressor isn't engaging (not getting any power) I read in another thread that if the system is low or empty it won't turn on the compressor (I checked for error codes on the climate control unit and there weren't any) but is there anything that could stop it sending power to the compressor? And is there an override or some other way I can test that it's not a damaged wire? And are there any common points I can check were it could be leaking from if that's the case?

Thanks
 
Icantthinkofagoodusername said:
Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while I had a couple of other projects that wanted me before I got a chance to look at my discovery


Thanks for this, it worked great


I tested the drains in the sunroof and the passenger drain is blocked, all the guides I found of people unblocking the drains have the headliner out and I really don't want to take it out because the cloth has separated from the board.
Is there any way to do it without taking the headliner out?

Also while I'm here, my ac isn't working.
I've checked the fuse and relay which were fine but the compressor isn't engaging (not getting any power) I read in another thread that if the system is low or empty it won't turn on the compressor (I checked for error codes on the climate control unit and there weren't any) but is there anything that could stop it sending power to the compressor? And is there an override or some other way I can test that it's not a damaged wire? And are there any common points I can check were it could be leaking from if that's the case?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Doubt it's got any gas in it, son had his regassed and worked fine.
They will know if its low when they connect the hoses.
 
Icantthinkofagoodusername said:
I read in another thread that if the system is low or empty it won't turn on the compressor (I checked for error codes on the climate control unit and there weren't any) but is there anything that could stop it sending power to the compressor?
Click to expand...
This is correct, it won't engage the compressor if the pressure is too low.

Icantthinkofagoodusername said:
And are there any common points I can check were it could be leaking from if that's the case?
Click to expand...
Most common point is the pipe that runs by the headlight with the arrow on this picture: https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/discovery-2-air-conditioning.113651/post-1179629
 
Icantthinkofagoodusername said:
I tested the drains in the sunroof and the passenger drain is blocked, all the guides I found of people unblocking the drains have the headliner out and I really don't want to take it out because the cloth has separated from the board.
Is there any way to do it without taking the headliner out?
Click to expand...

Go under the car, and somewhere on the innerside of the body under the a pilar is a hidden hole towards the center of the car.
Thats the end of the sunroof drain, atleast on the front.
It's a bit hard to find at first as it might be so fully clogged and hidden out.
If I remember right, it's a "finger sized" hole.

Clean it up as much as You can and maybe stuff a syringe with a hose up there to flush out more crud.

I tried cleaning my drains on the front via pushing a cable/whatever semirigid from the top down but none would go very far in.

One clog spot is the plastic and brittle corner pieces on the sunroof drainpan that the drain hoses attach on to.

I wouldn't drop the headliner for that, only if theres a leak on to the headliner.
 
Dervishi said:
Go under the car, and somewhere on the innerside of the body under the a pilar is a hidden hole towards the center of the car.
Thats the end of the sunroof drain, atleast on the front.
It's a bit hard to find at first as it might be so fully clogged and hidden out.
If I remember right, it's a "finger sized" hole.

Clean it up as much as You can and maybe stuff a syringe with a hose up there to flush out more crud.

I tried cleaning my drains on the front via pushing a cable/whatever semirigid from the top down but none would go very far in.

One clog spot is the plastic and brittle corner pieces on the sunroof drainpan that the drain hoses attach on to.

I wouldn't drop the headliner for that, only if theres a leak on to the headliner.
Click to expand...

When I poured water in to the drain it filled up the channel then went through the holes that access the headliner so I assume that it then sits on the headliner until I brake for the first corner from my house to come out of the front of the liner, then as I turn the water moves in the drain to the access holes to put more on the headliner.

I also tried pushing some wire down from the top and was unsuccessful, I also put a narrow rubber hose on an air line to try and blow down the tube to clear it and that also failed.

My discovery has a set of these side step fitted (https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1929762460) when I got it and I think their mounts block the exit hole if the pictures I saw when searching the Internet are where the hole actually is.
Does anyone have a photo of where the exit hole actually is?

Interestingly though I was in the back of it yesterday cleaning the seats and I could see a crack of daylight inbetween the glass and the seal on a 5cm portion of the sunroof so that must be what is filling the drain in the first place so I'm going to try and replace the seal unless it can be adjusted somehow to bring the seal and glass closer together?
I was just reading this thread
(https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/how-to-fit-disco-2-sunroof-seal.346891/) So I am not sure if it is best to replace it or not?

I read somewhere that the drain is only for any water that runs off the sunroof when it is opened if thats the case then replacing the seal should cure my problem? I don't open the sunroof anyway.

Landmark2 said:
View attachment 317839
Look also at the holes in the undertray. These give direct access to the head linning if they don't drain. I've tapped all mine up, front and rear
Click to expand...
Also my sunroof drain doesn't look like this one?

Thanks
 
Anaconda said:
Side steps won't block the drain, the drain is literally a hole in the very bottom of the A-post
Click to expand...
Sorry, I meant the mounts are in front of the hole so I can't push anything up the hole, there is a few mm gap between them and the body if the drain hole is where I think it is

From this thread is where I think the drain exit is (https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/sunroof-drain-tube-exit-point.157091/) specifically the 14th post.
I probably should have mentioned I have a 2003 facelift discovery 2
 
Icantthinkofagoodusername said:
Sorry, I meant the mounts are in front of the hole so I can't push anything up the hole, there is a few mm gap between them and the body if the drain hole is where I think it is

From this thread is where I think the drain exit is (https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/sunroof-drain-tube-exit-point.157091/) specifically the 14th post.
I probably should have mentioned I have a 2003 facelift discovery 2
Click to expand...
Gotcha, as far as I can tell the sun roof drains just dump the water in the a-post and then hope it exits that hole, stupid idea if ever there was one. The rubber/plastic pipe should run the entire length of the a-post and exit clear of the panel work. Guess Land Rover couldn't afford the extra couple of feet of pipe.
 
I am a new disco2 owner and the sunroofs were sealed up by the previous owner. Can I ask the group if the general feeling is that it is indeed worth refurbishing and reinstating rather than just leaving sealed? How long does the repair last and what may be necessary to keep it fully functioning and water tight?
 
Gingerbread said:
I am a new disco2 owner and the sunroofs were sealed up by the previous owner. Can I ask the group if the general feeling is that it is indeed worth refurbishing and reinstating rather than just leaving sealed? How long does the repair last and what may be necessary to keep it fully functioning and water tight?
Click to expand...
That depends on you to decide if sunroofs are worth it.

My disco 1 is the first vehicle and the last to have sunroofs , at the time there wasn’t the option not to, but as it also has A/C there’s no need to open them other than once for a spring clean around the glass seal and a bit of lube.

In the old days before A/C I just lowered the windows of my car, now A/C is standard. 😎
 
Gingerbread said:
I am a new disco2 owner and the sunroofs were sealed up by the previous owner. Can I ask the group if the general feeling is that it is indeed worth refurbishing and reinstating rather than just leaving sealed? How long does the repair last and what may be necessary to keep it fully functioning and water tight?
Click to expand...
There's not a lot to do. There's the seal from the roof to the sunroof frame which can be sealed with Tigerseal or similar, and there's the seal from the frame to the glass which isn't particularly expensive. That's it.
If it leaked a lot before the previous owner sealed it, the water might have got into the motor and that might need fixing/replacing too.
 
jamesDiscoTD5 said:
There's not a lot to do. There's the seal from the roof to the sunroof frame which can be sealed with Tigerseal or similar, and there's the seal from the frame to the glass which isn't particularly expensive. That's it.
If it leaked a lot before the previous owner sealed it, the water might have got into the motor and that might need fixing/replacing too.
Click to expand...
So why does it seem to be such a problem area for discos? I has assumed there was some design fault that was hard to fix and make reliable hence the common practice of entirely sealing over the glass preventing opening. Both front an rear sunroof motors are working fine but of course cannot open. Here is what it looks like....

IMG_5062.jpg
 
Gingerbread said:
So why does it seem to be such a problem area for discos?
Click to expand...
They're all old and the rubber seals deteriorate and/or flatten over time.
Gingerbread said:
I has assumed there was some design fault that was hard to fix and make reliable hence the common practice of entirely sealing over the glass preventing opening. Both front an rear sunroof motors are working fine but of course cannot open. Here is what it looks like....
Click to expand...
I just think that most people don't care enough about opening them so take the simplest/cheapest route of sealing them up.
 
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