Leaking Sunroof

Leaking discovery Sunroofs

Both my sunroofs LEAK which is destroying my electrics, headliner, seats, electrics, flor pans and my worst of all my patience. Land Rover deserve a big kick up the backside, the design of these sunroofs is rubbish, the materials are rubbish and the workmanship probably even worse.

As I’m not a mechanic/engineer and not that good at DIY either I have decided to seal the outer perimeter of my sunroofs with a thin bead of black silicone and if that doesn’t stop the problem then I'm going to fill the void between the sunroof and the plastic frame with silicone as well which I think will solve the problem completely and the sunroofs will remain closed forever. If however I need to have a nice refreshing shower in the morning before I go to work then I'll have one before I go rather than having one while I’m doing 70mph in a rain storm on the north bound carriageway of the M1.

Does the panel think this will work?

If anyone is local to Abingdon in Oxfordshire and fancies a proper go at my sunroofs for not too much cash then the money is yours.

Also Anyone know of a good sealant or alternative to silicone that will bond to metal, plastic and rubber etc.

A quick fix may also be had by altering the 'park' position of the winder handle, I found that the sunroof on my old disco had been siliconed up as you describe, although most of it was coming loose... i stripped and cleaned the glass and while it was out checked the mechanism - once the glass is lowered there are two little catches at the rear of the rails which lock the rear of the mechanism down.
These were only just catching the mechanism so I tried closing the winder further and found I could get another 90 degrees of travel on the winder and this brought the catches fully into mesh with the rails pulling them fully down.
Once the glass was reinstalled - minus silicone - and the winder removed and refitted so it 'parked' in the position I discovered in my experiments, no water found it's way past the seal!

Be aware though, that there are many reasons why the sunroofs leak... some not due to the glass seal at all and these really require the sunroof assembly to be removed completely to repair!

Yes it should work fine. Both my Discovery's have suffered from leaky sunroofs, and the TD5 front sunroof has even been sealed completely up with black mastic. Thankfully to Landyzone info, I have sealed the outer frame to roof seal with silicone and I am now in a drought. Brilliant.

Im New to Your Forum But not New to Landrovers.

I have addressed this topic on Landroversonly before!

#1) The only way to know where the water leak is coming from is to remove the headliner board and Water Test the Roof to Locate the Water Leak, By just looking under the headliner board is not enough the Board needs to come out.

#2) Discoverys have had problems over the years with Front Windshield leaks.

#3) The Outer Plastic Trim rings in which the Sunroof Seal & Glass lay flush to make the seal become warped from the Heat from the Sun and does not allow the Sunroof Glass to lay flush on the seal,...This is not a Seal issue its a Outer Trim Ring Issue.

#4) Most Sunroof leaks come from the Rear Sunroof!

#5) Weak not worn Sunroof Rails wont have enough strength to Pull the Sunroof Glass tight against the Seal.

#6) Cracked Sunroof Drain Tube at the Cup which is siliconed to the Lower Tub Assemble

#7) Broken Drain Tube

#8) Pinched Drain Tube between the Headliner Board and the Body of the Vehicle

List goes on.....Remove the Headliner Board, Water Test the Roof of the Vehicle, If you cant see the water issues with your own eyes you will only have answers based on assumptions by other people that have not done the same.

Webasto Manufactures both Factory and Aftermarket Sunroofs, What is your Discovery is a Aftermarket Sunroof made by Webasto, Whats good about that is Wabasto is still in business and parts are in stock to resolve just about any issues your having.

Let me know how i can help in any way.

I have over 20 Years doing Headliner & Sunroof repairs on these vehicles

Bill

And as ever, there's Discovery Sunroof Guide. Vaseline cured my front one, Vaseline and reseating cured the back one, New windscreen cured another leak. Now it's just the Alpines...

How difficult / easy is it to remove the roof lining. I would certainly like to make a proper job of this as it does cause other serious problems in time.

Neither sunroof on my 200 leaks at all!

jmattley said:

Neither sunroof on my 200 leaks at all!

Click to expand...

Smug bugger, you probably don't take it out in the wet.

If it doesn't leak it's not a real Landrover.

I do! It gets rained on and pressure washed and not a drip! Go me! I do close it really tightly if that helps?

Regarding the roof lining, i removed mine in about 30 mins with only my 9 yr old daughter for a help! I then hosed the car to death to find no leaks from the sunroofs at all. My leaks were coming from between where the roof meets the body side panels and the factory sealant had cracked allowing the water to ingress. So it probably is worth removing the headlining to be sure, it's quite rigid and has no weight in it, just a lot of screws to remove! Good luck.

Hi, try this guys page....very handy info on sunroof n headliner

Discovery Sunroof Guide

/\/\/\/\ Thanks for that, it looks just the job.

Hope this is of some help the discovery sunroof is very much like the renault clio and the problems are the same. If you find that the pipes are not blocked then it will be that the water is coming in under the sunroof frame. Any water that gets under the frame will not get to the drain pipes. The only way to stop this is to remove and reseal the sunroof. As a guide you can follow my info on how to fix a clio sunroof they only difference is you need to remove the sunroof visors and storage compartment at the front before the headlining can be pulled down to enable you to get to the bolts also remove the motor

Hope this is of some help the discovery sunroof is very much like the renault clio and the problems are the same. If you find that the pipes are not blocked then it will be that the water is coming in under the sunroof frame. Any water that gets under the frame will not get to the drain pipes. The only way to stop this is to remove and reseal the sunroof. As a guide you can follow my info on how to fix a clio sunroof search google for renault clio leaking sunroof they only difference is you need to remove the sunroof visors and storage compartment at the front before the headlining can be pulled down to enable you to get to the bolts also remove the motor.

Might be of help. I used Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. Its a throw over from the days of towing tin tents. Its a liquid based sealant and it cured my alpine windows from leaking, fancy putting the join at the top of the window. Tch tch Land Rover, naughty boys! it also cured the front sun roof of occasional drips. As for the sun roofs leaking, its worth cleaning out the drains periodically of gunge. I found out the hard way when a gallon or so of freezing water fell on me, not a good move when the seat is all electric and the bum heater was on!

buffer01 said:

Might be of help. I used Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. Its a throw over from the days of towing tin tents. Its a liquid based sealant and it cured my alpine windows from leaking, fancy putting the join at the top of the window. Tch tch Land Rover, naughty boys! it also cured the front sun roof of occasional drips. As for the sun roofs leaking, its worth cleaning out the drains periodically of gunge. I found out the hard way when a gallon or so of freezing water fell on me, not a good move when the seat is all electric and the bum heater was on!

Click to expand...

that is meant to be the bollocks a boating friend of mine suggested i try it on a leaking seal i had on a car he has been using it for years

I had the front sunroof leaking on my Disco II, water running out from interior light and ponding by the gearstick. Carried out a check to find out that the leak was not from the rain trough or drain pipes, proved it to be the frame to roof seal. I cured the leak using "Captain Tolleys Creaping Crack Cure" (few £ from a caravan dealer)which works on a capillary action filling any break in the seal, follow the instructions and you will not have any sealer showing unlike silicone sealers. I use to be a marine technician and used this sealer on several jobs with success.
The only problem is finding somewhere dry to do it, good luck.

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