Discovery sunroofs

[ballcock]

Decided to repair the leaking sunroof on my newly aquired Discovery it's a 1997 V8 ES. Both electric sunroofs were sealed up when purchased so decided to bite the bullet and strip them out. First job remove headlining, bit of a pig but out in one. Next checked drain pipes all clear. But why did Landrover only put drain tubes on the front of each sunroof? This I think is the biggest problem with the sunroof leaking if parked slightly uphill any water getting into the sunroof will collect at the rear of the gutter within the sunroof and drain through clip holes as there is no sealant or any other means of evacuating excess water. My plan is to add extra drain pipes to the rear section after removing and resealing the frame. Has anybody tried this modification? Next question, I find that the sunroofs will not close correctly as they appear to catch on the runners at the point when it tries to drop the glass back down. I assume there is a plastic bush that runs in the channel do these wear are they replaceable? Help thoughts appreciated Tom.

[Trevorevans]

It is more likely that the leaks are coming from where the sunroof cartridge is bonded to the roof itself (as mine and two other mates sunroofs were). They are easy to remove, you've already done the fiddly bit by removing the headlining, so take them out scrape away the old seal and renew using the likes of Tiger seal/sikaflex (I used tiger seal and have so far had no further ingress). I made the mistake of thinking it was coming from the rubber seals or drain tubes but could not be botherd to remove the headlining etc. so I opened the roofs and squirted silicone everywhere and just closed them down wiping the excess from the outside, needless to say they still leaked and I had to remove the headlining afterall, so in being a bit lazy I lost the use of two perfectly functional sunroofs.

[ballcock]

I intend to take the unit out and reseal the frame into place but the glass seals are not always ideal and will occasionally allow water in, if the vehicle is parked uphill then this water can accumulate at the rear of the channels and drip out into the body as it has no where else to go. So adding rear drain tubes should alleviate this. I just wondered if any one else had attemted this.

[teabag]

You don't need drain tubes if the two seals are working. The tubes are only at the front to take any water run-off from the glass if the sunfroof is opened when wet, as the glass is tilted before opening water runs forward and is directed into the side channels by the plastic finisher at the front of the class that's why it's there.

The tracks do indeed have white nylon sliders/guides which do wear, they are replaceable but you will have to dismantal the track completely to replace them although you can't buy the parts, so easier get a second hand track.

Make sure the motor is in synic with the track mech ie. the drive cog dots are aligned and and the glass is closed also the front sliding locking pins slide ok they also have a black nylon bush and are equal in their travel and so pull down the glass onto the seal.