Sunroof re-seal + headliner | Corners needed?

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Detroit Disco

Member
Posts
20
Location
Czech Republic
All,
Pulled my headliner last weekend as I had a couple of leaks. Here are a few questions for the wisdom of the board:
- Plastic drain corners: Both corners on both sunroofs are okay. They should be re-sealed, but they're not broken - yet. Question: Should I pre-emptively replace with the nifty metal corners available from Steve Parkers? Are these work the cost / effort? The entire kit (including an aftermarket seal) is about GBP 100 - a bit spendy when 2 are needed.
- Glass seals: I'm quite sure the glass seals require replacement, as it seems that too much water is passing into the gutter / drain. Question: Are aftermarket seals acceptable quality?
- Sunroof frame to painted chassis sealant: I'll pull the entire assembly and re-seal - any suggestions on the type of sealant, or is any black silicone / building style sealant acceptable?
- Headliner fit: The headliner didn't easily 'fit' on removal. It's quite wide when trying to pull out through the back door. Even with most trim bits removed, I needed to bend it a bit to squeeze it out - is that normal, or am I not fitting it out of the back in the correct rotation.

Ordered some 64" wide headliner fabric from the states - hopefully the black will look nice when installed. Need to find some spray adhesive in Prague - hoping for some Wurth product.

Again, thanks for any input / advice.
 
Had to squeeze ours a bit to remove.
Re-used plastic drain corners. Pretty sure the metal ones are better but the resealed plastic ones are working fine.
I used this on the front sunroof - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BUTYL-GL...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I used the sikaflex black stuff in a tube for the rear sunroof.
Both have worked well but I found the sealant tape neater and less messy. More uniform but if you are a whizz with a sealant gun then the other is fine.
I had bought 2 rubber seals but haven't fitted them. Put vaseline on the old ones and not had any leaks. If I get leaks then I will fit the new ones.
 
Yes it has to come out through the back door, but surely you have to play a bit with it (I have done it alone already 2x)
Regarding on spray adhesive, buy the best you can becasue I already had to do it 2 times as the first glue come loose after about a year due to heat.
I will double check but I think the 2nd time I used 3M....
 
I had to reseal my front sunroof a few weeks ago.
2½ years ago I had to refit both sunroofs as the previous owner had removed them due to leaks. I repaired 2 broken corner plastics on the sunroofs I bought on Ebay, replaced the drain tubes in the car and sealed them to the roof with black neutral cure silicone.
The leak this time was the near side on the front sunroof only, don't know why, they were cleaned and degreased all round exactly the same.
I refitted them back to the roof with Tiger Seal, a polyurethane adhesive/sealant, which I got from Halfords and is the same type of adhesive auto windscreen fitters use. I used plenty, it was messy but they are well and truly stuck in and waterproof. Isopropyl alcohol works very well for cleaning off the excess.
On removal both of my repaired corners were still spot-on. I'm using what are probably the original seals to the glass too. I have treated them to some silicone grease though which is so effective that no water gets into the tray or the drain tubes unless I open the sunroofs.
Owing to a recent windfall I did splash out before removing the leaky sunroof on some "Design & Development Engineering" corner plastics as I imagined one or more of the corner pieces had broken, didn't know what the real cause was. So, I fitted them anyway, again with Tiger Seal (the original silicone holding them releases from the plastic over time and causes the familiar leak), but not until I had to make 3 modifications to each plastic corner and one to each corner of the tray!
The retaining lug on the plastic corner is in the wrong place so I had to file the edge of the tray a little, the company name moulded onto the underside is proud and was in the way of the adhesive so I had to cut half of it off, the base of them all were not flat but curved upwards causing a bad fit so I had to heat and straighten them and the bottom edge at the outer curve is not rounded like the tray but square so had to be filed a little to make an acceptable fit. They are however a thicker plastic moulding, which does make them stronger. If I'd not had them sitting around for a few weeks before I'd been able to fit them they'd have gone back. My advice is don't buy the "lack of design & lack of development engineering" plastics. Even when I hoped for a perfect fitting piece they were expensive!
As for the roof liner I lower the nearside middle row seat and remove the left headrest, recline the front seat as far back as possible and that allows the liner to go diagonal and come out relatively easily.
Have fun.
 
All,
Pulled my headliner last weekend as I had a couple of leaks. Here are a few questions for the wisdom of the board:
- Plastic drain corners: Both corners on both sunroofs are okay. They should be re-sealed, but they're not broken - yet. Question: Should I pre-emptively replace with the nifty metal corners available from Steve Parkers? Are these work the cost / effort? The entire kit (including an aftermarket seal) is about GBP 100 - a bit spendy when 2 are needed. Parkers stuff is overpriced...IMO !! When I had my sunroof out, I removed and resealed the drains with Tiger Seal (Sikaflex...same stuff)
- Glass seals: I'm quite sure the glass seals require replacement, as it seems that too much water is passing into the gutter / drain. Question: Are aftermarket seals acceptable quality? The glass seals don't stop water getting into the sunroof cassette gutters !! That's why the drains are there. Again IMO, the glass seals rarely cause issues.
- Sunroof frame to painted chassis sealant: I'll pull the entire assembly and re-seal - any suggestions on the type of sealant, or is any black silicone / building style sealant acceptable? This is the most common cause of sunroof leaks. Remove, clean surfaces and reseal with Tiger Seal.
- Headliner fit: The headliner didn't easily 'fit' on removal. It's quite wide when trying to pull out through the back door. Even with most trim bits removed, I needed to bend it a bit to squeeze it out - is that normal, or am I not fitting it out of the back in the correct rotation. As said previously, Its easier with all the seats flat, but still needs a bit of bending. Fragile areas are around the Alpine Window cut out area.

Ordered some 64" wide headliner fabric from the states - hopefully the black will look nice when installed. Need to find some spray adhesive in Prague - hoping for some Wurth product. Whatever you use, it should have some heat resistance. The roof area can heat up in the summer and this can cause adhesive to fail, then your back to square one with a sagging headliner.

Again, thanks for any input / advice.
 
Sunroof glass seals usually just need a good clean with soap and water. When done treat them to some silicone grease.
Frame seal. Remove and use tiger seal.
You may find the rear sunroof will not seal. (glass) due to the roof being of off shape. The frame gets tightened and distorts due to the metal roof being bent. This then means the glass will not pull down enough the meet the seal.
Only option I can think of is expensive or tiger seal it shut.
Mate of mine used torch on roofing felt.
Looked a mess but never leaked!
 
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As regards the headlining
I just removed all the fabric. Washed all the sponge and crap of it. Then bought a few cans of a spray primer and a colour of your choice.
Job done. Wipes clean. No worries about it sagging again.
And it still looks like fabric due to the backing showing through.
 
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Status Update:
Over the weekend I removed and replaced both sunroof assemblies, the roof bars, and GPS antenna. Here are some tips:
- Start with the rear sunroof: Once removed, it's possible to stand in the roof opening - allowing for a much simpler clean-up and reinstallation. I started with the front sunroof - and it requires a lot more ladder time.
- Corners okay? My corners were okay - so I taped my drip tray to the roof (from the inside) and only removed the sunroof assembly. This made re-assembly simpler / quicker.
- Corners - are you sure? I did add some 2-part epoxy (JB Weld in the States) to the corners from the wet side to both reinforce and help make them water tight. The corners aren't particularly well sealed - using a small amount of RTV from the factory. NOTE, my drip tray was very clean - only a bit of tree debris / insects.
- Sunroof seal: The seal is very high quality, with no visible deterioration; it was, however, very dirty. Seal is set with a trace amount of RTV. I removed, replaced, and treated with silicone.
- Glass fixings: These are a challenge - and I predict I'll have a leak from one of the (8) total points. The fixings aren't adhered to the glass - and are easily stripped with refitting. I recommend cleaning the threads of the fixing screws with a tap and die to remove the blue Loctite. Be careful. Reportedly, you can use a longer screw. I'll likely need to re-set at least one of mine. Replacements are available - but are 10-20 GBP each.
- Sealant: I used a multi-purpose, black silicone. It was more readily available - and should be adequate. The contact point between the frame and the vehicle roof is relatively small. I used a continuous strip of thin foam seal as a 'backer' on my frame, allowing me to fit a consistent bead of silicone around the entire perimeter. I wanted a trace of 'ooze' around all sides and was nearly successful. I have one gap without ooze. Today I'll trim the excess using a straight blade. Using a continuous line of windshield sealant (rope-like sealant) would be simple and likely more durable. 3M is the most common supplier in the US - not sure where I'd purchase within the EU.
- Roof bars: These are sealed using 3-4mm thick foam - and by having a relatively small opening in the roof. I applied a ring of silicone on each mounting point and could get a bit of 'ooze' from the narrowest side. There was no evidence of leaking here - but removal / replacement is very simple.
- GPS antenna: No leaks - just pulled to facilitate cleaning / waxing

Overall, I think my sunroof leaks were largely the result of a perished foam sealer between the body and frame of the sunroof. This allows excess water to enter the gutter system, and when parked on a slope, the water cannot drain away. If the glass to frame seal is clean and the body to frame seal is good, very little water should hit the 'gutter' pan and the chance of leaking is very small.

This was a fussy project - but hopefully will work. Will replace the headliner fabric shortly (waiting for delivery on my Wurth adhesive) and provide a final summary.
 
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