What's in your wallet sunroof drain

[GON]

What's in your wallet sunroof drain.

Lots of rain in Seattle the last 24 hours. Two days ago I replaced the windshield on the Navigator, simply to get a new seal around the windshield where I thought what was seeping in. Last night carpet soaked (again) on front passenger side of Navigator.

Tested the right front sunroof drain- clogged. The drain tested functional nine months ago. No way to clear the navigator drains from the sunroof, clearing requires pulling the drain from the bottom of the four-foot-long drain hose, which is accessible by pulling some under dash interior pieces and fuse boxes.

It amazed me all the junk that came out. All packed in the house tight as can be. It takes patience to get the packed in dirt out.

One thing I need to start doing, is monthly cleaning of the sunroof frame. Seems to attract a lot of dirt.

On a side note, I went to the highest rated auto glass shop on google in the area. One man shop (with an assistant). Guy did a horrible install in every possible way- the cowling is messed up, the trip is messed up, didn't even out the rear-view mirror back properly. Although I don't do windshield replacements, I am to the point that expectation management needs to be do it yourself- the chances of getting a professional job from start to finish is no longer realistic in anything, from a meal to an auto repair.

 

[zzyzzx]

Did you leave a bad review for the horrible install?

I also wonder where you are parking the vehicle where it's getting dirt like that, meaning like under a tree or something?

 

[GON]

Did you leave a bad review for the horrible install?

I also wonder where you are parking the vehicle where it's getting dirt like that, meaning like under a tree or something?

ZyZx,

No, I didn't leave a bad review.

The left sunroof drain had a like problem that I cleaned out nine months ago. The navigator sat for a long time from its previous owner, so that did help. Just a note to self that every quarter I need to clean the sunroof assembly area of dirt and test the drains. It is not hard/ difficult. But the cost for a clogged sunroof drain can be pretty high.

 

[Nick1994]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

 

[GON]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

Nick,

I think cleaning the drains and the area around the drains is a great preventative thing to do. If one parks their vehicle inside, less of an issues.

I suspect cleaning the drain area, even in Phoenix is good to do. Phoenix has a lot of silt/ dust, etc in the air. That may slowly accumulate at or near the drain, and may cause a clog. When the car does get a big rainstorm, it is to late to clean the drain- the damage has been done.

 

[01rangerxl]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

Sitting under trees makes a mess. Thankfully my 1997 Explorer doesn't have a sunroof, but the door jambs were a mess from wherever it sat before I got it. I used a Bissell steam cleaner to clean them up.

I don't like sunroofs, they don't do anything for me, but my 1994 Explorer does have one. It's the pop-up style though, so no tracks or drains. It has a thick gasket too, so hopefully it won't be an issue. 2nd gen Explorers got a powered tracked sunroof and drain leaks on to the headliner are very common on them.

 

[PF52]

One sunroof vehicle was enough for my lifetime..... I never had any problems with it, but I've known too many others that did. This thread just adds more evidence to that end. Nasty!

My brother had a Jeep Grand Cherokee which needed significant body work after a hailstorm. I can't believe they didn't total it! Anyway, after he got it back the sunroof drains apparently weren't even hooked up right, and every time it rained it would leak through the dome light, the sunvisors, the coathooks, etc, etc. He had to keep taking it back for more and more fixes!

 

[Nick1994]

Sitting under trees makes a mess. Thankfully my 1997 Explorer doesn't have a sunroof, but the door jambs were a mess from wherever it sat before I got it. I used a Bissell steam cleaner to clean them up.

I don't like sunroofs, they don't do anything for me, but my 1994 Explorer does have one. It's the pop-up style though, so no tracks or drains. It has a thick gasket too, so hopefully it won't be an issue. 2nd gen Explorers got a powered tracked sunroof and drain leaks on to the headliner are very common on them.

Yeah I don’t like them either. They’re pointless to me. I opened my Jeep’s panoramic sunroof last month for the first time in a couple years. Was sick of it after 30 seconds or so and closed it.

 

[PimTac]

Lots of pollen, tree needles, and other stuff play havoc with sunroofs around here, especially if you are parked out in the open.

I also recommend a liberal treatment of Gummi Pflege on the seals. I use it on all my seals once a year. Doors, hatch, hood and sunroof.

Gummi Pflege Rubber Care Stick

Gummi Pflege Weather Seal Conditioner Rubber Care Stick restores and revives dry weather seals around doors, sunroofs, trunk and hood lids, and convertible tops

www.nextzettusa.com

 

[RooflessVW]

No sunroof on two of my cars!

If your drains are accessible, here's my top tip:

Us a drop of super glue to put a faucet screen over the hole.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

Same here. Our house doesn’t have a garage, and my t-top tracks/drains and sunroof tracks/drains stay spotless.

 

[Luftmasse]

I think it is people that lives in dusty areas or park under trees usually have this problem.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Know a guy who uses a gun cleaning kit to keep his drains clean and flowing nicely. GON, you may want to look into that.

 

[zzyzzx]

No, I didn't leave a bad review.

You really should!

 

[RooflessVW]

I think it is people that lives in dusty areas or park under trees usually have this problem.

In the southeast it doesn't matter where you park. Pollen accumulates and gets gross.

 

[vavavroom]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

A clogged drain could cause water intrusion and corrosion problems. I inject water into each sunroof drain with a large syringe. If I don't see water freely flowing from behind the bumper/wheel well/door jamb drain, I use the thickest nylon tubing I can feed into the drain and twist the tubing in all the way which will remove any debris. You could also use monofilament nylon or a plastic-coated speedometer cable or similar.

 

[Luftmasse]

In the southeast it doesn't matter where you park. Pollen accumulates and gets gross.

I consider pollen as dust too.

 

[RooflessVW]

I consider pollen as dust too.

Dust doesn't grow things.

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

Have not done my cleaning yet, but I bought some string cutter filament that is super thick (0.155") and has a twisted surface profile. You could also use that vinyl-covered spring (light duty) curtain rod mtl. NP for the frt drains. For the rear, I will try the following: cut a length of 3/8" tubing that I can insert between headliner and (glass) sunroof's fabric pull-shade - and with pull-shade in closed position use a bright light in positioning end of tubing (in turn) near each rear sunroof drain hole. Feed cutter line in to said 3/8" tubing (it acts as conduit) to rod out the rear drain pipes.

In my view, rear drains are a PITA. I'd rather rod-out in the flow direction... instead of chasing debris back up top to the sunroof tray where it's hard to retrieve.

 

[Marcozi]

Do sunroofs need to be cleaned in areas that get a lot of rain? Never had to do it in my cars or heard of anyone here doing it.

I would clean then annually. My car came with a moon roof even though I specially ordered it with moon roof delete. I've never opened the moon roof.