Has anyone had trouble with factory fitted sunroof? I have a wet seat and damp head lining. This is in a warranted MY00 UK Turbo. I was wondering if there are any drain holes to clear.

I wonder where I stand with Subaru as the car now smells and the lining is stained.

 

hi mate,

is it an electric tilt/slide glass sunroof?

if so reply on here again and i'll tell you how to stop it leaking.

cheers
ian

 

Ian

Yes mate it is.

Sorry to repeat the thread...I didn't read through well enough.

 

no probs mate

the reason it is leaking is because the rails are sealed onto the assembly using a sort of black mastic material. this will now have gone hard and cracked. the water that passes the outer seals drains along a tray and down the drainage pipes at each corner.
however, as the sealer is cracked, there is an amount of water that will seep through these cracks and soak your headlining/seats/seatbelts etc.

to do the job:

1) remove the headlining.
subaru headlining is a card type of material. remove the interior light, sun visors and mirror assembly. (covers prize off with screwdriver to reveal the screws).
next step is to remove the grab handles and any plugs in the lining etc. now free the plastic trim around the perimeter of the lining.
once you have done this you can get the lining out easy. i put the front seats as far forward as they can go, then wind the backreats so that they rest on the rear seat. you can now fit the lining through one of the rear doors.

now that the lining is removed, you are able to see the sunroof assembly. open the sunroof so it is in its fully open position (slid back). now disconnect the power supply to the motor located at the rear of the assembly. also, unclip the wire that powers the interior light.

now you are ready to remove the sunroof assembly. note however that the best thing to do is rest it on the seat as its quite big and weighs a bit. therefore when it is ready to come off its fixings get another person to help you lower it.

removing the assembly from the roof is easy, just go around and remove the number of bolts, then lower it.

i put binbags on my seats before lowering it down, ready for the next step:

there is no need to remove the rails and glass from the assembly. i done mine the following way nearly 2 yrs ago and it hasnt leaked whatsoever since.

now look at the rails, on their outer edge (where the water channels along) you will see that they are sat on the crappy black sealer.

what you now need to do is go around this and scrape whatever you can see of it off with a knife. once you have done the front half of the assembly inc along the front etc, connect the motor supply and put the glass forwards and do the same to the rear half.

once you have done this bruss any dust/crap away.

then get some clear silicone sealer and run a bead around where you have removed the old crap. spread it with your finger to give a good smooth finish and effectiveness.

now make sure the roof is in the slid rearwards position and refit the assembly and lining in the reverse procedure.

i know it looks a big job from what ive typed, but it isnt difficult and should take a few hours. just do it on a spare day and take your time applying the new sealer, as this is the important bit lol

hope this is a help to you in saving a lot of money

ian

 

much appreciated thanks

Mark

 

no problem

....have you done it yet?

 

i'd like to do mine, but (A) its lashing it down and (B) i fear destroying it

 

you wouldnt destroy it, its easy trust me.

tell me about the rain. im supposed to be doing the garden

 

Ill have to remember this and add it to favourites.

Ive got one of these that was fitted new to my 98 Type R.

Hollander, or something such isnt it>

 

oh yeah, do it on a dry day cos you dont want any rain touching the silicone before it sets.

also, before you remove the sunroof asembly, pull off the drain pipes, one at each corner......but remember to put these on when it back in position, or else you will be wet

ian

 

well...spent hours trying this, got it all stripped, but the sunroof mounting bolts would not move one bit was easy until then....oh well....atleast i tried..

also, was your car you fixed an impreza? cus the mounting on my legacy looked like more than a few bolts to remove, motors and all and electrics would have to be removed to it all off, one huge black plate the entire width/length of the car!

oh well..off to a specialist

 

mine is a legacy too

that big black plate is actually the sunroof assembly, thats why its heavy, and hence i said get someone to lower it down with you.

the motor and electrics etc are bolted to it and do not need touching, just bring the whole lot down in one piece.

are the bolts rusted or something? they will be tight

ian

any more questions just ask, hate to see garages etc ripping people off [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

 

yeah, the bolts just will not budge m8, got my big beefy m8 to try too, wouldnt turn one bit

 

ah bugger

what you gonna do? might be worth trying wd40 over the next fews days, if it works it'll save a bit of money.

ian

 

yeah, but i cannot drive around in a car with dangly bits of cable and light boxes flaping round me face looks like tsl are gonna get my business unless anyone in nottm fancies a crack

 

ah thats a shame mate, if you were closer i would have done it for ya

ian

 

gonna give it another crack on SAT! gonna get a decent ratchet and WD40 the bolts night before, fingers crossed for dry weather SAT!!!! may the force me with me...owe you a beer m8 if it all works in the end

 

Gave this a shot over the weekend. Followed information above, and hopefully have succeeded in preventing the problem now, only time will tell this week!

Cheers for the help, and I will now add my tips to it.

Found it much easier to get the roof lining out the front door.
Once the black roof plate is unbolted, I actually removed this from my car, and took it into the house to sort out, was very easy to do then. And yes, you do need two people to make this job so much easier.

Many thanks on the information which has hopefully led to me fixing this issue..if it doesnt, at least It enabled me to a stab at it. It does only take about 3-4 hours from start to finish too.

Cheers

P

 

excellent, glad you managed it

if youve sealed it as above, then it should leak again, done mine just after i bought the car (no he didnt tell me it leaked like buggery!). had the car a few days then one rainy day got in it and the headlining and seatbelt were soaked, i was gutted

anyway, tackled the job and nearly 2yrs on, not a drip has come through again

cheers
ian

 

sirp, has the sunroof been leak free so far?

ian