Leaking front sunroof

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Royston 90

Active Member
Posts
250
Location
Royston
Hi guys, hoping someone can give me an idea where to start looking for the cause of my leak. When I bought my discovery td5 I knew about the leaking sunroofs, so as the one I went to buy had 2 & it was a wet day I felt all round the headlining to make sure there was no dampness & all good or so I thought . Mine leaks & drips down through the actual front sunroof handle so would mine likely be a blocked pipe or could it be the sunroof seal, as I`d like to have the part`s that I`m likely to need on the day.

Cheer`s, Dan.
 
Dry weather, and some good sealant, take em both totaly out, clean up and seal and re-fit, headlinning out to do this, it is your only chance, search on here and you will see
 
Dry weather, and some good sealant, take em both totaly out, clean up and seal and re-fit, headlinning out to do this, it is your only chance, search on here and you will see

I guess your right, I was just hoping someone would say it may be as simple as a bead of sealant round the edge of the sunroof seal or something like. Just finished installing the third row seats in the boot (5 seater on air) so was hoping not to pull anymore interior out for a while.

Thank`s, Dan
 
I agree with the guys above.

Mine was exactly the same, ( leaking from winder handle ). Taking the sunroof cassette out and re-sealing it to the roof skin is the only way.
 
Thank`s for the above advice/links guys. Also glad to see mine is`nt the only one that leaks from the winder as most posts i`ve seen describe it leaking round the edge.

Thank`s, Dan.
 
My rear s/r was leaking, I checked the drain tubes without removing the lining and they hadnt snapped on the corners so to save the hassle and time it takes to reseal properly i tried just sealing the outer edge on the roof with sealant and they've been fine ever since.
 
Mine was a posh leak, I've got lekky sunroofs

Show off :p

Right, just had a read through of "Mantamads" guide & it looks like I will have to seal the other side of the plastic where the winder mounts. I take it I will also have to remove the inner/underside of the plastic sunroof part where the sunroof fixes to the roof & seal that too, or is it the outer seal on top of the roof that may need replacing :confused: that is letting the water to enter through to the winder :scratching_chin:.

Thank`s, Dan.
 
Right pain of a job, especially to do both.
I reckon part of mine was down to the rubber seal not bedding properly, as it did it again after I re-sealed the frame to the roof.
Re-seating the rubber seal cured the second leak
 
Right pain of a job, especially to do both.
I reckon part of mine was down to the rubber seal not bedding properly, as it did it again after I re-sealed the frame to the roof.
Re-seating the rubber seal cured the second leak

not really!! once you get roof linning out easy to do!! 99 % of leaks are the frame, good quality low modulas sealant so it wont go hard, then jobs done, properly!! the sunroof seal just want taking out cleaning and putting back in, as it's been compresed all the time when shut just makes it flat,
 
Mine were leaking a bit too, i sealed round the outside with Black silicone

Its a bodge, I know, but will keep some of the damp out till we get some decect weather, and then i'll do it properly

cheers
 
Both my sunroofs were leaking.Stripped it all down.Sealed the cassettes removed the drains and flushed them as well with the garden hose 2 out of the 4 were blocked and no probs since then.The sunroof drain fits inside the garden hose no problem
 
I had the water dripping from the handle problem on my front sunroof. A bead of sealant between the black plastic frame and the roof has cured this for me.
 
not really!! once you get roof linning out easy to do!! 99 % of leaks are the frame, good quality low modulas sealant so it wont go hard, then jobs done, properly!! the sunroof seal just want taking out cleaning and putting back in, as it's been compresed all the time when shut just makes it flat,

I ended up misaligning the sliding mechanism on one of the sunroofs while it was out, then breaking the drain lug, and it started tipping down & blowing a gale while everything was out, so had to tie down a (nearly) waterproof tarp over it to get it finished
 
I have finally gotten around to attacking my sunroof leak problem. Having read the various threads on the subject, I'd been led to believe the problem would be solved by removing the sunroof and sealing between it and the car roof and ensuring drain pipes all clear and sealed. However, on inspection, it seem obvious that the problem is actually due to a glaring design fault: the torx screws that fix the sunroof frame with drainage channel to the sunroof glass frame have no seals! The momment the drainage channel fills with water, it will leak through the screw holes. Same problem with the bolts holding the winding handle; no seals.
I park my Disco on my garage drive which is on a slope. This means that water getting into the sunroof drain channel accumulates and fills up as the drain pipes are at the front of the frame and hence uphill! As the water fills up, it seeps through the unsealed screw and bolt holes through capillary action. The design of this system is stupid as it can only work reliably provided that the car is on flat level ground and any water in the channel can drain through the pipes.
I'm tempted to add another 2 drain pipes to the opposite side of the frame and 'T' join them to the existing pipe run.
I think that I should be able to stop the leaks by simply applying sealant to each of the screws and bolts and renewing the sunroof frame to roof seal.
In my opinion, the sunroof arrangement was never fit for purpose and ought to be eligable for remedy by Landrover at their cost. Shame so much time has passed. Same with the bloody chassis too; mind boggling that a aluminium wax injected, undersealed body sits on an untreated mild steal chassis!
 
Last edited:
I don't know how much you want to spend...but faced with the same problem on 98 Disco, I took it to the Bristol Sunroof Centre and they fixed both sunroofs for about 300 quid. A year and a half later still no leaks.
 
Back
Top