Leaky Es300 Moonroof

[SteveyG]

I've noticed the moonroof leaks a bit in drive-through washes. Is there any way to adjust the tightness of the seal? Do I need new seals? Should I take itto a dealer, or can I do this myself?

-SG

please note: this post was merged into this thread from an unrelated thread where is was first posted.

Edited January 3, 2006 by steviej

[SteveyG]

Leaky moonroof when taken through drive-through car washes. Can the closing tension be adjusted? Is that something I can do by myself,or do I have to have the "pros" handle it? Seal itself seems OK-- just not closing tight enough.

-SG

[CUMan]

There is no way that the sunroof can be closed tight enough to prevent water from entering the space between the car roof and the sunroof. Instead, the car roof has drains to move this water down and out of the car. Most cars have four drains - two at the front and two at the rear.

If you open the sunroof and look at the roof assembly close to the points where the front corner intersections are, you will see the two front drain holes. More than likely, one or both of these are stopped up. This prevents water from exiting the car and allows it to leak into the car.

You can try running something down these holes to open them up. The problem is that you quickly encounter a point where the tubing makes a turn, and it is hard to get past this turn. You might try a pipe cleaner or a length of trimmer line.

The dealerships use compressed air to open these lines. If you have a compressor, you can try this. The problem you will encounter is that it is difficult to close off the entry hole sufficiently to force the air pressure down the drain tube. I have found that the best way to use a compressor is to attach a short length of plastic hose (small enough to go into the drain hole) to the compressor nozzle and then insert the plastic hose into the drain hole. Hold the nozzle very tight against the drain hole, and you can seal it off pretty well. Several short bursts of high pressure air should blow out the blockage.

You can tell if you have opened the drain hole by running a small amount of water into the hole. The water should drip out of the car just behind the front wheel.

The rear drain holes are another matter. You cannot access them from the top on most cars. However, I understand that these drains run through the trunk area and can be accessed by removing the trunk liner.

Keeping the drain assembly under the sunroof clean would lessen the possibility that the drains will stop up. Open the sunroof and vacuum out this area; or, better yet, wash out and dry these areas periodically.

Edited January 3, 2006 by CUMan

[Toysrme]

Take 20psi of air & blow it through the drain holes. Then blow 40psi down them.

It'll be good as new! The great news is import makers got smart about sun roofs in the 80's. WHile everyone else was struggling to get seals to work, the Japanese said "screw that. We'll let it like a little bit, but we'll put drain holes under the car. That way even if the seals do go bad, it still wont' leak into the car!".

I use to have a picture of them. If you open the sunroof, you'll find two little holes burried in the round corner. Kinda hard to see, but if you run your finger along it you'll feel them.

[tckcumming]

Leaky moonroof when taken through drive-through car washes. Can the closing tension be adjusted? Is that something I can do by myself,or do I have to have the "pros" handle it? Seal itself seems OK-- just not closing tight enough.

-SG

I have a similar problem... but slightly different.

I have seen water leaking past the seals in my moonroof in a carwash - I, too, always thought it was very clever to let it leak a little and just be sure to have a path for the water to get out - the drains. Brilliant!!

Here's my problem:

The scene: A very rainy, windy day, plenty of heavy rain.

If I park my car with the front of the car at a slight downward angle (my parking space at work has a slight downward tilt), water seems to collect at the front edge of the sunroof. It eventually finds its way into the car, the headliner gets wet at the front corners and a slight drip occurs. This only occurs when it rains heavily or steadily for a prolonged time - NOT on every slightly rainy day. I'm guessing that any rain water that finds its way past the seal travels forward due to the forward-tilt angle of the car. The drains are in the back corners of the sunroof channel, so the water can't get to the drain... drip drip drip into car!

However, if I remember to park the other way 'round (with the nose of the car facing the other way, a slight upward tilt), NO wet headliner, NO drips. Any "leakage" presumably finds its way to the drain holes at the rear of the sunroof channel - they do their job - no water inside car.

I KNOW the simple answer - always park the car the "right" way 'round so this won't happen. But that's not always possible (I forget!!). Besides, I'd like to know if it's possible to fix this from occurring at all.

BTW - it's a '93 ES300, I've looked at the rubber all around and under the glass sunroof - all seems to be in good order, no cracks or tears or signs of shrinkage or other damage.

Any ideas??

tck...

[steviej]

As far as the replacing seals are concerned, they are replaceable.

The glass is very slightly repositionable, however, making one side tighter will make another side looser.

I replaced the seal on my old Bonneville SSEi and the Lexus dealer replaced the one on my ES under a TSB/warranty. It is not too hard, but a mechanical knowledge of the sunroof glass removal is key.

Check the seal for cracks and rips. You could try applying some silicone to it to bring back the suppleness. If it is too far gone (meaning dry and cracked) then replacment is most likely.

When they did my Lexus the time showed it was and hour and a half job.

But before you get too much into replacing the seals, do follow previous suggestions about the drains.

steviej

[norbertk]

To follow up on the sunroof discussion, if I have a cracked glass piece, how painful is it to install a new/used unit?

[steviej]

To follow up on the sunroof discussion, if I have a cracked glass piece, how painful is it to install a new/used unit?

if it is just the glass, not bad at all. I think it is held to two brackets with four screws.

steviej

[Toysrme]

The instructions for Body Mechanical are in one of the FSM's I posted I know. 'cause I glanced at the instructions for taking the sunroof out.

It's the '93, '97, or '01. I'm not sure which. Maybe more than one, IDK.

[SteveyG]

Thanks to all! Appreciate the helpful advice. It appears the drains are doing their job-- I just noticed the water in the drive-throughs because I've been watching for leaks, and the pressure is obviously greater there.

-SG

[Toysrme]

Blow them out anyways. They may be part way blocked & simply cant drain enough as it rains.