leaking sunroof 1999 disco

hi guys,
new to forum but i expect this subject has been covered before ,
my father-in-law has a 1999 disco with a leaky sunroof we have tried the usual cleaning rubber, vaseline on rubber , checked drains all ok.
ottons of sailsbury have suggested worn runners and it will cost £800 to replace has anyone tackled this themselves or do you need special tools.
i work on vehicles myself so dropping roof linning etc not a problem but will this solve the problem
any advice will be much appreciated
cheers mark

Its very likely to be the plastic connectors onto the metal gutter, the mastic breaks down and the joint leaks, have a look here for details.
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/disco-gs-sunroof-drains-36370.html?highlight=sunroof

I know you said you checked the drains but when this happened on my Disco I used an air line with a rag wrapped tightly around it to stop air escaping and blew it straight through, cured mine, if you havent already tried this try it its cheaper than £800 good luck, BENI

Before you drop out the headlining...

Stand on a ladder and have a realy close look at the fit between the sunroof frame and the metal of the roof. I have a 1999 TD5 and in some places the frame was out from the metal by about 1mm!

I got up there one day a few weeks ago cleaned it up and ran a fine bead of clear silicone around them and it hasn't leaked since.

I thought at first that it was the rubbers/drains etc and had gaffer tapped up the sunroof glass and frame from the outside. with the intention of dropping the headlining in the summer.

Even with gaffer tape, Parked on a hill it still leaked about a 1/2 pint of water every time it rained, the moment you pulled off it would come gushing out of the headlining above the rear door if parked face uphill, or in front of the grab handles at the 'A pillar' if parked downwards.

Now the gaffer tape is gone and my sunroofs open again...

battenberg said:

Before you drop out the headlining...

Stand on a ladder and have a realy close look at the fit between the sunroof frame and the metal of the roof. I have a 1999 TD5 and in some places the frame was out from the metal by about 1mm!

I got up there one day a few weeks ago cleaned it up and ran a fine bead of clear silicone around them and it hasn't leaked since.

I thought at first that it was the rubbers/drains etc and had gaffer tapped up the sunroof glass and frame from the outside. with the intention of dropping the headlining in the summer.

Even with gaffer tape, Parked on a hill it still leaked about a 1/2 pint of water every time it rained, the moment you pulled off it would come gushing out of the headlining above the rear door if parked face uphill, or in front of the grab handles at the 'A pillar' if parked downwards.

Now the gaffer tape is gone and my sunroofs open again...

Click to expand...

So just to clarify, did you have your sunroof in the open position, run around the seal with silicon, wait for it to set, then close the roof so the silicon acts as a further seal?

No...Nothing to do with the sunroof seal at all... and forget whether they are open or closed..

The gaps on mine were actually where the plastic outer frame of the sunroof fits into the metal panel of the roof. I think the sun must get to the plastic and cause it to warp over time.

Stand on your back bumper and look closely at the point where the painted body of the car meets the black plastic of sunroof frame. I had gaps there which fluctuated from a good fit up to about 1mm. Try pressing it down you will see the gaps close up.

Carefully run a tiny bead of clear silicone around this perimeter into the gap on each frame, (if you are not too clever with a silicone gun -Use masking tape on the bodywork leaving a 1mm gap between the painted surface and the sunroof frame - but remember to remove the masking tape as soon as you have finished so it dosent get trapped between set silicone and the roof panel.)

If you are careful with the silicone gun, the repair will be completely invisible take you only 1/2 hour... and hopefully, will cure your leak!

Hi Battenberg, i went to work Tuesday morning in a mobile shower, then while i was at work i remembered reading your advice. I went to my local caravan dealer and got a tube of clear silicon sealant, went home and applied it. That night it chucked it down, next morning i drove to work in the dry.

Cheers Rob

them sunroofs are such a bad fit...

my mate sitting in the seat behind the driver could see daylight between the glass and the seal... gonna need looking at again.