Can Disco sunroof leaks be cured?

I would just like to repeat the word "flange".....because as has been observed before , it sounds obscene , or mildly so at least . Flange . FLANGE

shocker said:

Drill the centre of the torx with a 6mm or larger bit until head of screw falls off . Repeat . Once upper section is on the bench drill down the centre of the screw shaft until through metal but be careful not to plunge through the plastic frame . The torx screws fit into a brass rivnut style affair pressed into the plastic post so you can either hoik these out with some device or use flange pan pozi self tappers to re fit ....

....or at least thats what I did .

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But then if the torx screw is just spinning without coming out that will mean that the "brass rivnut style affair" is also turning so will also turn while trying to drill the head of the screw this will enlarge the hole that the brass nut sits in.
This is what we found on my mates sunroof so we just cut the head off the two screws with a Dremel, then when the frame was removed we could remove the brass nut and soak the remains of the screw and nut, they then undid easy with the nut held in a vice and a pair of grips on the screw.
The brass nut was then placed back into the frame fixed with Aualdite.
When refitting, all the 14 screws had a dab of grease on them.. Job done

I've had my Disco 2 since January with no problems with the sunroof(s) until last week. Doesn't leak all the time, just now and again. Mostly when it's been parked up and I move off. The front one leaks by the handle that you use to open and close the sunroof. I'll have a look on the weekend for the drain tubes and see if they are blocked. Other than that, will see if trusty old Dad will help me to take them out and reseal them when (and if!) the weather dries up. The joys of motoring!!!

No doubt your sunroof is leaking 24-7 you mean you only see the result of the leak when it's been parked up and I move off.

Both of my mates sunroofs leaked past the body to sunroof frame seal, the rear one we removed as we also had to replace a nylon roller, we then sealed with Silkaflex.
The front one we just masked up around the frame and roof and injected Silkaflex under the frame, next day after removing the masking tape hardly any sign of sealent... job done and still no leaks two years on...

If you have water leaking past the glass seal then some say that dab of Vasaline on the seal works but then the seal its self is wasy to replace.

To quote Dis ..."But then if the torx screw is just spinning without coming out that will mean that the "brass rivnut style affair" is also turning so will also turn while trying to drill the head of the screw this will enlarge the hole that the brass nut sits in. "

well , the one I just did , it was more a problem that the torx screw was rust damaged and so rounded out when the attempt was made to remove it . If the brass spun free then that would have been a result too as I could rivnut the hole or use a self tapper into the plastic . I dont have a dremel !

Either way , there are more than a few ways to skin this particular cat any with so many possible problems all the methods have a place here as a resource for the future .

Is the seal a latex rubber or a synthetic , do you Dis ? Are most seals synth stuff these days ? I am never sure .....

BTW , the mask up and sika injection sounds appealing for the front sunroof on mine - did you rake out any of the old material before applying sealant ?

cheers for that...

will have to invest in a dremel... usually use my angle grinder but not a good idea with all the glass and plastic...

1st time i've ever needed a delicate aproach with a landrover...

shocker said:

Is the seal a latex rubber or a synthetic , do you Dis ? Are most seals synth stuff these days ? I am never sure .....

BTW , the mask up and sika injection sounds appealing for the front sunroof on mine - did you rake out any of the old material before applying sealant ?

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Hi Shocker,
The glass seal is a synthetic not pure rubber so rubber with added stuff, the other one is just a plastic foam, thats what it looks like.

For cleaning underneath the plastic sunroof frame we used petrol could have used meths on a bit of rag and a small screw driver blade, it was just a tool we had to poke the rag in sometimes only 10mm under the plastic other places 20mm+... just push it in and pull it a long a few times all the way round took about 20 mins with tea..

It was not that difficult as there are a few penny wide gaps existing and where the frame was flush just by pushing down on the metal roof allowed us to get the rag in with a terminal screwdiver.
The same method when using the the Silkaflex, where there was a gap no probs and again just pressing on the roof again allowed the nozzel into the gap tight but do able, when the gap closed any surplus sealant went on the masking tape so looks nothing like the white stuff around a bath, the only time you can see the Silkaflex is in the penny wide gaps and flush with the end of the sunroof frame.

On the sunroof we removed we only used something like a pencil thickness bead 8mm maybe of sealent you don't need much and Silkaflex is sticky stuff it's shame it doesn't keep, as we had over half a tube left.

nick2303 said:

cheers for that...

will have to invest in a dremel... usually use my angle grinder but not a good idea with all the glass and plastic...

1st time i've ever needed a delicate aproach with a landrover...

Click to expand...

Drimel, great for cutting mud flap bolts... so they tell me... I'm sure an angle grinder is as well

I'm convinced !! its masking tape and Sikaflex time. My sunroofs have have been pretty good really but this last couple of weeks.........disaster. The rear one has never leaked but its pi55ing in now ? I did intend to bite the bullet and take them out to reseal them but the torx screw problem is a bit off putting, I was always concerned about the fixings and I am now convinced, don't touch 'em.

when i converted my manual to electric roofs, headlining out
i had to replace the front roof competely, as the last owner buggered it up
with sealent.
so sealled the outer to the body and both roofs inner wells to the roof.
cleaned and checked the drain tubes, then sealed the gap between the tube connector and the pan. so it was water tight except for the tubes.
having had exactly the same problem as you, this worked and never been wet since, even in a monsoon rain..