Headliner material

DiscoWeb Message Board: Archives - All topics: 2001 Archive - Technical Discussions: Headliner material
  Subtopic Posts   Updated


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Tate on Tuesday, May 01, 2001 - 05:25 pm: Edit

Anyone know that the Disco 1 headliner is made out of? Specifically, is the backing plastic, or waterproof? I have trickles of water that show up inside my windshield after storms, and I'm wondering if it's the windshield, or if the sunroof could be leaking and tricking to the windshield.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Wesley on Tuesday, May 01, 2001 - 10:14 pm: Edit

Tate,
I have the same problem on my 97. I believe it is the windshield since it occurs, at least on mine, in only one area around the rear view mirror. It appears not to have been glued in very well. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what the headliner is made from.
Wesley

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Ross on Tuesday, May 01, 2001 - 10:24 pm: Edit

My 97 has leaked in the same area. It was the drains on the sunroofs that were clogged and caused the sunroofs to leak. The leak on the front sunroof appeared at the top of the windshield because that was the path of least resistance. I noticed it the first time I stopped after my Disco had sat outside in the rain. The rear soaked through the liner but the front didn't even appear to be wet except by the window. There are two drain tubes per sunroof. They are fairly easy to clean out with an air compressor. Mine were clogged with what looked like leaves etc...BTW this has happened to all 3 of my Disco's.

Ross E

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Dave H. on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 - 06:10 am: Edit

This happens on my 97 also, but only when it rains very hard, or in wet snow and hail, when the vehicle is parked on and incline to the left or right. Drain tubes are not blocked. Tests with a jug of water, after dropping down the front of the headlining, showed it was coming in in the area where the drain tubes join the sunroof pressing. Here there is a folded joint which is sealed (or not?) with some sort of setting compound. The water then runs down the inner waterproof lining of the headlining and appears at the windscreen.
I re-sealed everything I could get at and it is better, but not perfect.
My humble opinion is that under some circumstances water gets in too fast to drain down the tubes and overflows the gully. What I don't understand is how so much can get past the sunroof lip seal if it is pulled down properly. I'm still working on it.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Antony K on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 - 06:41 am: Edit

I've got similar problems on my 1997 ES.

It started with water seeping through the electric sunroof switch panel onto the center console at the front and onto the rear seats from the rear one.

I've cleaned the seals between the glass panel and the top of the sunroof. I've checked the drains and all four are OK.

The water appears to be seeping in through the winding mechanism. There's a red disc with a metal spindle through it visable from below. Water comes past this spindle.

I have heard that putting petroleum jelly onto the rubber seals expands the rubber and also helps create a better seal between the glass and the rubber. I've also heard that stripping down the sunroofs and applying copious amounts of roof and gutter sealant between the black plastic trim and the metal of the roof helps. I've never done this. I only read about someone performing this repair a couple of days ago so I don't know how difficult it is.

The article was in a copy of the magazine published by The Discovery Owners Club of which I will hopefully become a UK member.

http://www.discoveryownersclub.com

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Tate on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 - 11:13 am: Edit

Thanks for the replies. I know at least that I'm not alone in this. But now I can't get the insurance to pay for the work. :-( I'll check the sunroof drain tubes tonight and see if there's anything in them. I like a cheap and easy fix. Then on to exploring the seals. Maybe just leaving a towel on the dash when we expect heavy rain is the way to go!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Bill Gill (Bluegill) on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 - 12:03 pm: Edit

My 96 has no sunroofs but had water droplets on headliner at front driver's side after heavy rain. Turned out to be a bad seal at the top left corner of the windshield. I had the windshield replaced last year and the problem went away. I also just had the windshield replaced yesterday (rock shattered it) - the numbnuts put a 95 windshield in my 96 and have to do it again today. Anyway, when they pulled out the old windshield, I saw RUST on the driver's A-pillar from water ingress (I have a picture, but left the digicam at home today). A little sanding showed that it's only surface rust, and a coat of primer hopefully stopped any oxidation. Beware - if water is getting all the way to your headliner, it can be oxidizing out-of-sight areas!!!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By blahblah on Wednesday, May 02, 2001 - 04:54 pm: Edit

The headliners are sloped so that all water runs out at windshield. this causes much aggravation because all leaks travel to the front and therefore are much harder to diagnose.


Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.

Administrator's Control Panel -- Board Moderators Only
Administer Page | Delete Conversation | Close Conversation | Move Conversation