How water proof are sunroofs
- Thread starter wheelman
- Start date
Look for clogging in the flexible rubber tubes that go through the body, they should be yellow plastic tubes going inside the rear panels and into the floor near the spare tire well. Remove the tubes from the rubber and then remove the rubber tubes to clean them.
The Golf in these years were known for cracks in the sunroof frame, there is a TSB on how to seal it but when those leaked it usually dumped water on the front seat area.
The Golf in these years were known for cracks in the sunroof frame, there is a TSB on how to seal it but when those leaked it usually dumped water on the front seat area.
I ran water and weed eater string through them and had zero clogs. Do I need to be more thorough than that or is that sufficient?
I use Honda shin etsu silicone grease...... a little goes a long way....
Did you see the string come out the bottom? Did you do all of them, check if it has front ones also.
Yes it came through all of them and I did all 4
JHZR2
Staff member
The key is keeping the drains clear. Some seem to be more prone to clogging. Climate probably is a factor too - pollen gets in places other things don’t.
Keep the drains clear and the seals in good shape, you shouldn’t have any problems. I had a sunroof in a 1991 Lexus LS400 - no issues.
VW's tend to suffer from drain line issues, aside from dirt clogging, the traps at the end tend to clog (some TSB's state to remove them), sometimes the joint connectors somehow work their way loose.
D
Deleted member 89374
Just remove the sunroof and weld the roof shut. 
ALL sunroofs leak. My conversation with a fellow GM engineer for body systems once told me that a sunroof in nothing more than an engineered leak. It's how they deal with the water that makes them "dry" or not. All sunroofs have water mgt systems that start with the rubber seals. As water gets past the seals they will run thru the sunroof channels and out the drains. There are normally 4 drains. On cars with the larger 2 piece full lenght roofs there will be a center trim that collects the water and channels it to the sunroof frame and out the drains. As long as your sunroof is properly adjusted, seals are good and drains clear - you won't have any issues.
Semantics. A properly designed sunroof will channel water that has gotten past the seal away from the cabin and prevent leakage. I think it would be more appropriate to say sunroofs are not waterproof but water resistant and they prevent leaks.
So it would appear as though a recalibration of the sunroof helped. I did the recalibration procedure and I actually have less wind noise and now I can spray it with a hose and watch the water trickle in but it doesn't spray into the cabin. Shining a flashlight around the seal I noticed on the back corners a small amount of light shines through the very small gap between the seal and roof. Not sure how much if any I should see. I've never tested any other sunroof this way. 
I've had a number of vehicles with sunroofs including a 1995 Cavalier I paid $1,200 for and the factory sunroof worked fine and never leaked. I can take it or leave it when it comes to the sunroof, but on nice days or cool nights it's nice to pop it up and have ventilation flow through the vents without using the fan or having the windows down.
No they don't. OR-maybe more specifically GM SUNROOFS ALL LEAK.....
