***Pictures*** My sunroof is leaking. Please help!

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Signe

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I've been lurking on this site for a while now and hope you guys don't mind my asking for help on my first post, but I really need it.

For starters, I did a search and couldn't find the answer.

My sunroof is leaking. I conducted an experiment and concluded the sunroof is definitely the source. The water runs down the right A pillar and onto the floorboard. The water never makes its way to anywhere else. The headliner is always 100% dry, too.

I took my '03 KJ Limited to the dealership and the mechanic said the sunroof just needed a minor adjustment. I paid $118 for the labor and I was on my way. The result? I still have the problem. When I took it in again (less than three weeks later), the mechanic told me I've got a warped sunroof. He showed it to me and told me how obvious it was that my sunroof was warped. When I asked him how come he didn't notice it before, he said he didn't know. All I've heard from this guy are a bunch of "I don't know's," "maybe's," some "possibly's, and then more "I don't know's."

He said the front part of my sunroof is okay because it's flush with the roof. He said the rear is up a bit (i.e. not flush with the roof) and therefore the glass must be warped.

I can see what he's saying. However, since the mechanic hasn't struck me as being too bright, I wonder whether or not replacing the glass will really solve the problem. I've never had this problem before.

Thanks!
 
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VTNomad

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Sunroof

Welcome to the club. Don't worry about your first post being about a problem, that's how a lot of people find out about us, and we're glad to help.

I've never heard of automobile glass warping. Give use some more information. What year is your KJ, how many miles (Is it still under warranty?) and where you are located? Maybe someone on the forum is close and can recommend a better dealership.

The glass doesn't look warped from the pics, and the seal doesn't look bad. My guess is that something is caught in the tracks preventing it from closing all the way, or the tracks have worked themselves a little loose and are preventing the sunroof from closing snugly.

I know this may seem obvious, but in case you haven't, open the sunroof and visually inspect the tracks and seals. Clean out any debris, and you might want to spray some silicone in there. Also, give the tracks a wiggle and make sure they're snug. You may want to remove the piece of rubber around the opening in the interior of the headliner for a better view. It's easy to remove and easy to reinstall, it just pulls out, nothing is holding it in, and pushes right back in. Be careful not to get any dirt or grease on your headliner and stain it (if you do, some mineral spirits will clean it right up).

If you have a loose track, or your glass is warped as your mechanic says, the headliner will have to come out. To get the headliner out, you'll have to remove the seats (definately the front, maybe the rear too), interior panelling and everything attached to the headliner (sunvisors, overhead consoles, grab handles, lights). Then the only thing holding the headliner in is part of a wiring harness hot glued to the headliner, just pull it off and duct tape it to the roof. You'll want to be careful not to bend and crease the headliner where the rear grab handles are. You'll need a buddy to hold up one end while you hold the other. Reinstall everything in the revese order you took it out. (This is also a good time to install some sound dampening materials while you have the interior apart).

You jest need a few sockets and a large Torx driver for the seat belts and a small torx driver for the sunvisors. I'm not sure if you want to get in to repairing this yourself or not, but I gaurantee it will cost you several hundred dollar in labor and parts at the dealership. It's not difficult by any means (2 out of 5) but it is time consuming, you should plan for the whole day to take everything apart, diagnose and repair your problem, and put everything back in. I could save you quite a bit of money in labor at the dealership. You may even want to talk to your dealer and ask if you remove the interior can he look at your sunroof and save you some on labor.

If you do end up taking it back to the dealership for repair, I'd ask to see the new piece of glass, and compare it side by side with the old one before they do any work. If the look the same, and you decide you don't want to replace the glass, worst case scenario they charge you a 15% restocking fee.

I hope this helps, and keep us posted on the diagnosis, and repair.
 

Signe

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Thanks for all that info!

My KJ is an '03 Limited with about 57k miles. It's no longer under warranty.

I've never heard of warped sunroofs either, but that's not to say it's not possible. The seal looks good and I've already checked for debris (none there.) The tracks also appear to be okay. The leak is definitely coming from the sunroof, though.

As for what I'll do next, I don't know (other than I don't want to go back to the same dealership; the mechanic and service advisor didn't come across as competent at all.)

Since I haven't removed that rubber piece around the opening (on the interior), I may try that next just to see if I see anything.

Maybe this forum has a sunroof expert living in Chicago?! Wishful thinking, I know. I may go through the yellow pages to see if I can find a shop that specializes in sunroofs. The LAST thing I need right now is a large bill because I just don't have that kind of money right now.
 

Signe

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glass doesnt warp.

I believe you. When the service manager and mechanic told me that I remember thinking how full of $hit they were.

All sunroofs will leak after time,it doesn't matter what vehicle you have.

You probally need a new seal and have the sunroof adjusted.

The seal looks good and the mechanic said he had adjusted it as far as he could. I think I'm gonna have to go somewhere else (like I said, maybe a place that specializes in sunroofs.)

Meanwhile.....

I know this looks ghetto but it's only temporary. I bought some camper tape at Pep Boys for $8 and put it around the entire area of the sunroof. After putting it on and closing the sunroof, it appears to have made a good seal. I'm gonna take my Libby to the car wash in a little bit and see how it holds up. Now I just need to find a sunroof specialist. Since I live in such a large city, there's gotta be some around here.
 
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tjkj2002

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When does it leak? If it is while in a high power car wash there is nothing you can really do since the sunroof/convertable tops are ONLY ment to block out "NORMAL" atmosperic pressure,which is 22psi.
 

JeepJeepster

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Youre sunroof looks 100% like mine. The seal is the same and no, the glass is not warped, thats just how it is. From what I can gather, there really isnt a seal for the sunroof. That black seal you see going around the glass keeps *most* of the water out then the rest is drained out via tubes. The tubes run down the A-pillars and drain the water down from the sunroof and theres a high chance that dirt, leaf bits, tree sap, etc, could clog those which makes for youre situation. I do not know where the tubes terminate.

First thing is first, dont go back to that dealer. Ive never taken my a-pillar covers off so idk where those tubes are or if you can get to them by taking the a-pillar covers off. Ive read about those tubes plugging up so I know that does happen.

Ohh, welcome to Jeepkj!!
 

2003KJ

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When does it leak? If it is while in a high power car wash there is nothing you can really do since the sunroof/convertable tops are ONLY ment to block out "NORMAL" atmosperic pressure,which is 22psi.

Agreed. Better test would be to hit it with a garden hose on moderate pressure.

Also as a temporary fix until you can get around to having it looked at, you might take some silicone (i've always had good luck with the clear kind) and run some around the seal. I've had very good luck fixing leaking door seals and leaking windshields with it.
 

offrovering

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do you know where the sunroof drains are located? both at the top, by the sunroof, and bottom, where it should drain? you can check those locations for debri, even blow some compressed air down the line.

land rovers are notorious for this, mine is like a rainforest and almost everytime it is the drain tubes.
 

Signe

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the leaking happens every time it rains. consequently, i think it's safe to assume high pressure water from the car wash isn't the problem.

when i opened the sunroof, i could see the drainage holes (one on each side by the front). however, they look fine. i have no idea if something found it's way down one of the drainage tubes. i'm no expert, but if this did happen, i would think water would be leaking overhead and onto the headliner. every time it rains, i end up with a puddle on the passenger side front floorboard and nowhere else.
 

tjkj2002

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the leaking happens every time it rains. consequently, i think it's safe to assume high pressure water from the car wash isn't the problem.

when i opened the sunroof, i could see the drainage holes (one on each side by the front). however, they look fine. i have no idea if something found it's way down one of the drainage tubes. i'm no expert, but if this did happen, i would think water would be leaking overhead and onto the headliner. every time it rains, i end up with a puddle on the passenger side front floorboard and nowhere else.
Then that would be the drain tube on that side,you will need to remove the passenger side inner A-piller molding(with handle) and check to make sure the drain tube is routed correctly,might have pulled back through and is now draining inside the cabin instead of in the cowl area like it's supposed to.
 

tulsa

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From the service manual it looks like the sunroof has two drains one on the front passenger side that goes down the A pillar and one that is on the rear drivers side and goes behind the rear door. You might also want to make sure the drain is not disconnected along the way. I had an Escape that leaked at a rear window washer tubing connector in the A pillar. If you pull the A pillar cover you should be able to see if the tubing is draining properly.
Lewis
 

VTNomad

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Puddle

Are you 100% sure its the sunroof? A puddle in the passenger floor could be from condensate dripping from the air conditioner.

Have you instelled any aftermarket accessories in the floor? Best Buy installed my navigation system and didn't use any silicone to seal around the two screws that secured the unit to the floor, and surprise, my floor got wet, go figure.
 

Andynator

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Take a cup of water and slowly pour it down into the front drain hole...does it leak into the cabin?

My guess is that either the plastic fitting is loose where it is attached through the sunroof pan, or the hose is split where it is forced onto the barbed drain fitting. Either way, you will have to take out the pillar garnish and probably pull down the corner of the headliner to check. Take it back and insist the bodyshop manager to do it, free. The mechanic is an idiot.

It is correct that the sunroof seal is not watertight against the body. It's there to keep out large volumes of water, and wind noise. Some water will leak through - that's what the drains are for.

I doubt the drain is clogged, but you can check. The front drain just behind the right wheel well, in front of the passenger door. You'll see a plastic drain opening. If the drain is clogged, it's in the last couple inches of the tube. Take about 6" of wire and gently poke up into the drain, and see what you can work out.

Let us know how it turns out!
 

BjBnet

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Actually glass can warp.
Remove an old windshield on a vehicle that has extremely high mileage and you'll notice the glass being kinda "pushed in" from the wind over time. Whether you want to call it warp or flex I think you know what I mean.....but yea in this case I doubt the sunroof glass would "warp" or "flex"
Even though there's a chance it could leak, I would love to have a sunroof :(
 

tulsa

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Actually glass can warp.
Remove an old windshield on a vehicle that has extremely high mileage and you'll notice the glass being kinda "pushed in" from the wind over time. Whether you want to call it warp or flex I think you know what I mean.....but yea in this case I doubt the sunroof glass would "warp" or "flex"
Even though there's a chance it could leak, I would love to have a sunroof :(

Glass can easily warp given enough time. Glass is a liquid not a real solid, over a long peroid time it will flow. When stained glass windows are taken out of cathedrals during renovation or war they are stored upside down. That said your sunroof is probably not warped unless made that way.
 

VTNomad

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Glass

I know that pane glass can warp, just look at any old building. But automotive glass? It's tempered and has a layer of plastic sandwhiched in the middle to prevent shattering.

I could maybe understand the front windshield, but all the other windows and sunroof would feel the same force, so I have my doubts.
 

Signe

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FYI, my little trick didn't work. It rained a couple days ago and the front passenger floorboard still flooded.
 

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