Sunroof Question

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ClassikFan

Active Member
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328
Location
Surrey
OK, I know there is plenty on here about the dreaded leaky sunroof issue and reading the how to fix instructions have given me the confidence to tackle mine when the weather improves. Had my TD5 for 9 months now and the previous owner had sealed the manual sunroofs by running a bead of silicone around the outside of the window and the bodywork. Wasn't too fussed last year as I had other jobs to do on the Disco but now I am planning to drop the roof lining come the spring. When I got in the car yesterday the windscreen took ages to clear even with the air con on and while waiting I noticed the roof lining at the top of the drivers side A pillar was wet. Not a massive amount of water, no sign of dripping but wet nonetheless. I had more chance to have a better look today and I spotted the the silicon applied to the roof had degraded a bit and there was a area on the right front corner of the front roof that had was no longer sealed. I cleaned the area and applied a new bead of silicone so hopefully that will solve the problem until I can do the job properly.
So my question is, if understand correctly, the long term fix is to drop the headlining and re-seal the sunroof from the inside? What is the best product to use for this?
 
Silkaflex 221 sealant is I believe a poplar product to seal sunroofs which the bathroom sealant doesn't.
The sunroof body to sunroof frame is sealed externally not inside but u have to remove the sunroof first hence removing the head lining first.
Loads of info on the www and in forums.
 
Thanks Discool, I haven't so far seen a photo or diagram which shows how the frame seal works. I suppose I won't really understand until I take mine out and see it for myself.
 
As Pete says, you need to seal the sunroof body to the rioof first, then sort out if the glass seals need looking at.

I got both my sunroofs out, sealed and refitted one mild February day about 4 years ago, didn't get the headling replaced immediately as I wanted to see if the sealing worked.

The glass seal is another matter.

The seal itself is sat in a groove, and the upper lip seals against the glass. I wouldn't describe it as weather proof, and opening door windows at speed will force the glass upwards and sometimes suck the seal out.

The tray has two drain tubes which take away any water that gets in between the glass and the seal.

The other area for water ingress are the roof bar mountings which don't really have what I would describe as a waterproof seal.

Peter
 
ClassikFan said:
My car has had the D4 roof bars added so I suppose they could have not been fitted very well.
Click to expand...

The base of the bars has an adhesive foam pad stuck to it, and the face of the foam presses against the roof panel when it's all tightened up. The foam looks to be non-intercellular so water gets through it and into the car.

Easy to check once the headlining is out, 2 X M8 nylocs per bar.

Peter
 
So, thinking things through, I re-sealed the sunroof glass to the surround. If that was the source of my leak would water get to the headlining near top of the A Pillar to soak it?
 
ClassikFan said:
So, thinking things through, I re-sealed the sunroof glass to the surround. If that was the source of my leak would water get to the headlining near top of the A Pillar to soak it?
Click to expand...

There' are two seals but if your sure the glass seal was the issue then ok.
As you know water takes the shortest route so any water entering the vehicle and falling on to the headlining need not be from anywhere near the 'A' pillar but saying that have u checked above the headlining? .
 
discool said:
There' are two seals but if your sure the glass seal was the issue then ok.
As you know water takes the shortest route so any water entering the vehicle and falling on to the headlining need not be from anywhere near the 'A' pillar but saying that have u checked above the headlining? .
Click to expand...

Haven't had a chance to remove anything yet. Just trying to understand where the water gets in.
 
On our TD5 the main problem was the top corner of the windcreen seal - not sealed fully to the metal around the glass. You should be able see if this is the cause when you get the roof lining out
Paul
 
The windscreen is bonded on D2's, so as long as the glass is cleanly attached, there should be no water ingress into the cabin.

Where the bodyshell panels come together in the corner just around the area where the corner of the windscreen is, is a little rust trap. Ours had a wad of filler pushed into it on both sides, but water had rusted the metal around it. We resealed it with a flexible sealer and hopefully that will hold it.

You need all the panel trims off to look in there.

Peter
 
Thanks for all the replies chaps. As soon as the weather improves I will strip the interior trim to get this sorted BUT my newly acquired Haynes Manual states " Note that headlining removal requires considerable skill and experience if it is to be carried out without damage, and is therefore best entrusted to an expert"
Should I be worried?
 
Hi Classikfan,
I'm new here but just posted the fix I did with my 2 sunroofs. The leak is between the roof of the car and the lip of the sunroof. Imagine it dropping into the car from the outside. Once my post has passed the moderator you can read it!
Hope it helps, VMEW
 
I want to fix my sunroof properly when the weather improves but I see most peoples leaks are between the sunroof surround and the body work. My leak is between the sunroof surround and the glass/seal.
 
ClassikFan said:
I want to fix my sunroof properly when the weather improves but I see most peoples leaks are between the sunroof surround and the body work. My leak is between the sunroof surround and the glass/seal.
Click to expand...

Renew the seal then.
I smeared a little petroleum jelly on the seal to help it a little bit.

It may well be the case that it ages the seal a bit but I wouldn't object to changing it every 5 years or so since taking the sunroof out is a nice easy job if a little fiddly.
 
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