Warped sunroof causing water ingress

[jymmiejamz]

Has anyone come up with a fix other than replacing the sunroof assembly? The plastic warps which causes too much water to come in past the seal and it will overflow the pan in a downpour. No water should even be getting past it in the first place, and the drain pan is really there as a backup. I can confirm this because a new sunroof assembly will not allow any water past the seal.

The problem is that the sunroof assemblies are no longer available through Land Rover, and every used one I get is usually worse than the original. I think I got the last one in North America because I replaced one in a Disco, and then the rear started leaking, and it was no longer available the next day:banghead: Needless to say, that was a very unhappy customer.

I'm not interested in sealing the sunroof shut, so don't even suggest that, I know it works.

 

[KyleT]

try one of the suppliers from the UK or rovers north? surely they are still making them because tons of insurance companies would need these to replace roofs broken for various reasons i would think.

that said I have never replaced one on a disco other than the rails.

 

[seventyfive]

fwiw, we had a situation with a P38. manhattan (rockville, md) said center console switch nla, world pac didnt have one. my buddy at hunt valley (baltimore) had 2 in their warehouse.

that being said, would your dealer parts manager allow buying parts from another dealer?

 

[ERover82]

There are two seals and two ways water gets in. The most obvious is between the glass and surrounding seal. The less obvious is between the plastic frame on the roof and the metal roof itself. There's an adhesive strip that seals the plastic frame to the roof which dries out and leaks. I replaced it with a new adhesive strip from Home Depot and it hasn't leaked since. You could also use silicone. Replacing the seal requires completely removing the sunroof.

 

[jymmiejamz]

There are two seals and two ways water gets in. The most obvious is between the glass and surrounding seal. The less obvious is between the plastic frame on the roof and the metal roof itself. There's an adhesive strip that seals the plastic frame to the roof which dries out and leaks. I replaced it with a new adhesive strip from Home Depot and it hasn't leaked since. You could also use silicone. Replacing the seal requires completely removing the sunroof.

I know what you are talking about, and I have fixed that before with sealant, but this is a different issue. This is the actual frame itself that is warped, so replacing the seal does nothing. You can typically look at where the glass meets the seal and see that its warped.

 

[jymmiejamz]

fwiw, we had a situation with a P38. manhattan (rockville, md) said center console switch nla, world pac didnt have one. my buddy at hunt valley (baltimore) had 2 in their warehouse.

that being said, would your dealer parts manager allow buying parts from another dealer?

Other dealers that have them won't sell them since they are NLA. That's a common situation with Land Rover dealers if its a common failure item.

 

[listerdiesel]

Trying to visualise how the two parts get warped so badly that the seal doesn't meet the glass.

The glass itself is going to be fairly rigid, so we can eliminate that, the seal sits inside the main housing that is bolted in two parts through the aperture in the roof, and assuming that the roof itself is straight and square, where else is there to accomodate the distortion?

A new roof may cure the problem simply because the seal to the roof is new.

We did our D2 roof some years back, Sikaflexed it to the roof, fitted rubber washers under the heads of the scews that hold bottom to top and fitted new glass seals.

Had a huge thunderstorm after the hottest day of the year over here, not a drop came in. We did the roof in February 2010, so nearly 3-1/2 years.

Peter

 

[jymmiejamz]

Trying to visualise how the two parts get warped so badly that the seal doesn't meet the glass.

The glass itself is going to be fairly rigid, so we can eliminate that, the seal sits inside the main housing that is bolted in two parts through the aperture in the roof, and assuming that the roof itself is straight and square, where else is there to accomodate the distortion?

A new roof may cure the problem simply because the seal to the roof is new.

The plastic tray that the seal sits in gets warped, that's why replacing the seal doesn't fix it. I know for a fact that a new sunroof assembly will fix it, but they aren't available.

 

[listerdiesel]

The plastic tray that the seal sits in gets warped, that's why replacing the seal doesn't fix it. I know for a fact that a new sunroof assembly will fix it, but they aren't available.

Can you take a picture of that?

It's a fairly stiff moulding (molding) and if it's firmly clamped to the roof, there's not a lot of flex available. The seal has 1/4" or more of 'give' in it, so would be nice to see where the issue is.

Peter

 

[KyleT]

Fwiw I saw new 04's leak when they were washed for the first time....

And I have an eternal roof leak somewhere that I can't find...

 

[kennith]

The plastic tray that the seal sits in gets warped, that's why replacing the seal doesn't fix it. I know for a fact that a new sunroof assembly will fix it, but they aren't available.

You could hit an audio shop and have them level it with fiberglass.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[jymmiejamz]

Can you take a picture of that?

It's a fairly stiff moulding (molding) and if it's firmly clamped to the roof, there's not a lot of flex available. The seal has 1/4" or more of 'give' in it, so would be nice to see where the issue is.

Peter

I'll try setting up a good light and get a good pic later. It seals, but during a heavy rain, it will eventually leak in and fill the drain pan.

 

[jymmiejamz]

You could hit an audio shop and have them level it with fiberglass.

Cheers,

Kennith

That's a good idea, but it would be tough because the seal has to sit in a channel if I remember correctly.

 

[turbodave]

Hey JimmieJamz,
Just noticed you have a SD1... I love these cars - had a 1985 vitesse myself many years ago.
Sorry for the OT lol.

 

[*NR*BRENT]

Fwiw I saw new 04's leak when they were washed for the first time....

And I have an eternal roof leak somewhere that I can't find...

check the seams at the rear of the roof in the corners where the panels meet. ive repared 2 this years. The water travels via the headliner to the front. Worth a look see

 

[*NR*BRENT]

Has anyone come up with a fix other than replacing the sunroof assembly? The plastic warps which causes too much water to come in past the seal and it will overflow the pan in a downpour. No water should even be getting past it in the first place, and the drain pan is really there as a backup. I can confirm this because a new sunroof assembly will not allow any water past the seal.

The problem is that the sunroof assemblies are no longer available through Land Rover, and every used one I get is usually worse than the original. I think I got the last one in North America because I replaced one in a Disco, and then the rear started leaking, and it was no longer available the next day:banghead: Needless to say, that was a very unhappy customer.

I'm not interested in sealing the sunroof shut, so don't even suggest that, I know it works.

im not all that far away from you and I have a parts truck with good front and rear trays . PM me if your interested.

 

[n8thgr8]

check the seams at the rear of the roof in the corners where the panels meet. ive repared 2 this years. The water travels via the headliner to the front. Worth a look see

I just found out that mine leaks this way during our last tropical depression. A typhoon formed right over us and every time I turned right, the headliner dumped water right in my lap.