Exterior

Sunroof Leak

> The downside of all this as I was submarining my way back in the torrential
> rain on Saturday, was that my sunroof seems to have a bit of a leak.
> Does anybody have any idea how big a job seal replacement is on a shark?
> Any advice would be appreciated.
> thanks,
> Paul
> 928s2 silver/blk{damp} hide.

Dear Paul:

Before you try to replace the seals, check to see that one or more drain holes are not plugged. Last year I found one plugged and cleaned it out with a bicycle brake cable. I snaked the cable to the obstruction and twisted it through. The twisting action is always in the direction that keeps the cable
strands from fraying. The sunroof has not leaked since.

Merry motoring. Ed


It also works if you use trimmer line from a weed whacker. It won't kink, and you can twist it either direction without worrying about fraying the cable, and it won't scratch the inside of the drain.

wk



Editor's Note:
It has been previously stated on the List that it is wise to snake from the bottom up - pushing any debris back up through the opening in the roof.



Paul:
I replaced my sunroof seal(s) this summer. There are actually two seals, the front seal which wraps around both sides and a short rear section of seal. The seals slip in easily enough. The only tricky part is removing the sunroof to replace the seal, then putting the sunroof back. When examining the sunroof carefully, you will notice that it really is not a "tight" seal between sunroof and roof. There are channels which take water which passes below the seal and divert it front and back. As Ed says in his post, check these channels first to see that they are free from obstructions. Check the manual for sunroof removal instructions.

Regards,
Joe Rausa '89S4



I have a leak that comes through the cover of the sunroof motor. Anyone have any experience about this? It leaks only under heavy rain conditions.

Thanks,
John 85S



The drain holes may need to be cleaned out. The two up front are pretty long. I have used cable from a bicycle brake line, but others have used weed wacker line. The rear holes are fairly short and are usually not the problem. Snake the line down the hole and give it a roto-router job. Open the sunroof, then search along the perimeter of the opening. You should be able to fine four holes, one along the right and left edge, and two in the rear, but all near the corners of the opening. The rear holes go straight back and the exit holes can be seen when the rear deck is open. The end locations of the front holes are not readily visible, but are hidden between the joint of two body panels. In any case, doing a roto-router job on each one will eventually clear them.

Caution: Do not use high air pressure, as it may cause the plastic lines to seperate from the nipples that keep them in place. If that happens, then the water will drain directly onto the headliner and then into the
cabin.

~ Merry motoring ~
Ed Ruiz



On my 86, the front sunroof drain hoses exit behind the black plastic (front) wheel well protectors. On my particular car, the left front hose was pinched by the cruise-control vacuum reservoir. This was probably a factory mistake that was never discovered or corrected. To diagnose, I located each of the drain holes from the top, poured in water (slowly and carefully), and discovered which corner had a problem. After unsuccessfully using a flexible steel rod and compressed air, I located the hose end, freed it from its bondage, and cut off the last couple of inches of permanently disfigured plastic hose. BTW, my symptom was water accumulating at the driver's side footwell.

-Daryl
86.5 Indischrot/black/5spd/sunroof
Chesapeake Region