Sunroof leaking water into cabin and boot

[irish-e30]

Hi,

As you can see the sunroof is not flush with the roof, water is getting into this space and drenching me, my passenger and now the rear of the boot. i poured water in today to see where its draining, the two front drains i can see no problem and they drain to behind the front wheels. i cant see the rear drain holes at all so i cant clean them out (which im assuming is half the problem, the other being the sunroof is not flush with the car roof) anyone know how i can unblock the rear drain holes? Is it a touch job? Im a total newbie to this mechanic stuff so ill need all the help and advice i can get. The water also now pisses into the back seats at the side by the windows.

Any experience of this happening to you guys?
Any suggestions?
Is it a tough job for a guy with no mechanical experience at all??

You can kind of see how the sunroof is not flush with the roof in this photo but ill add a better one so you will understand soon!



Thanks!!
J

[nickso]

not sure about the rear drain holes but you will need to put the sunroof back into its proper place obviously. has it always been in the wrong place or is this something recent? if its recent there might be some reason why it wont close properly.

to adjust it back into place (assuming there is nothing else wrong) its just 3 torx bolts on each side that you can loosen then push or pull the sunroof into the desired place. to get at the bolts you need to take off the sunroof headlining. best way i found was to put it half way back then pull it down at the front then close it and remove the rest....it can be a pain to get off.

im still concerned that something else might be wrong if this just started not closing properly....maybe someone else will have a suggestion

[irish-e30]

I dont know if its something recent or not its been on the car since i bought it and the previous owner has no idea as he only had it a month!!! But thanks for your advice ive the same concern too!

[nickso]

hmm in that case i would just adjust the sunroof up.....as long as it all seems to work on tilt and slide

maybe the previous guy has messed about with it and couldnt sort it

its a fiddly job but not too bad.....if the seal around the sunroof is looking bad then you might as well replace it at the same time....beware though cos bmw will want around 50 quid for the seal

[ian332isport]

The sunroof not being flush and the seal being dodgy will not cause a leak. The seal is there more for cosmetic and wind noise reasons than water sealing.

You will find it a lot easier to poke something up the drain tubes from inside the boot than trying to get them from the top.

If you are getting water dropping straight on you from the sunroof, then it's probably the drain channel then runs across the full width of the sunroof at the rear of the sunroof hole. It's actually on runners and goes backwards and forwards with the roof. If this is not in position, you will get very wet. It's not uncommon for this to get detached from the rest of the sunroof mechanism and get left at the back of the roof when you slide the sunroof open. If you tilt the sunroof up, you should be able to see the channel just below the rear edge of the sunroof.

Ian.

[irish-e30]

Thanks Ian,

I think the last remaining problem is this thing the cross bar (channel) lying at the back


I think it should be connected to this other part in the picture

Should this be connected to the channel and toe it along if you like? its unattached to anything at the rear and just seems to serve no purpose....here it is in the pic



Should I just go out pull the channel forward to lie directly under the rear width of the sunroof seal and then connect this to the item in the pic??? Any advice???

Thanks again Ian

[ian332isport]

Yes, that's the channel, and it should be connected to those little arms.

They should clip to the front of the channel and travel backwards and forward when you open/close the sunroof. It should always be direclty below the rear edge of the sunroof panel.

Ian.

[Martinaston]

Have a look at this thread and scoll down a few pictures, you will see one of the roof lining. You can just make out where it attaches to the roof liner.

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... ic&t=43270

[irish-e30]

Thats great thanks lads!!!!

[dazleeds]

quick Q ian


but where do the ends of the drains go in the boot???

could do with checkin mine but dnt know where they come out
sounds a lot easier to get at from the boot like you say

cheers

Daz

[ian332isport]

quick Q ian


but where do the ends of the drains go in the boot???

Daz,

You know those vent thingy's on either side of the car (behind the rear bumper). You know the ones with the rubber flaps in them. Well, the pipes poke into the top of those.

Pull the side boot trims away, and they are dead obvious.

Ian.

[dazleeds]

cheers ian

yeh i know where ya mean
will check em sometime this week