Went to drive the XJR today only to discover a slow leak in the front passenger side corner of the sunroof cover area. The headliner in the corner was wet, but none had dripped onto the seat, so it's clearly not much water coming in, but any is of course too much. Since I never use the sunroof anyway, I'm thinking of just having the bits remove and the panel welded in place, given that the car needs to be painted and the headliner needs replacing anyway. In my mind, this is removing a failure point, unlocking a little headroom when I get the headliner replaced, and only carrying the downside of a non-functional switch on the roof console. Any thoughts? Also, anyone who's done similar have advice on the topic?

 

There is a plastic 'tube' that runs down the 'A' pillar to the front wheel arch plastic liner.

A 'blast' of compressed air might solve your 'leak'?

 

It might, though I have already had the sunroof looked at and had the drain lines cleared, so I have a feeling this isn't that again. Even if it is, I'd rather not keep the liability of the sunroof (literally) hanging over my head, especially given I don't use it.

 

Another possibility is the PLASTIC drain spout attached to the aluminum frame sometimes 'cracks' causing the leak?

 

I'll have a look this weekend to see what's going on, and I'm sure it is fixable whatever it is, but I'm still curious if I can be rid of the sunroof once and for all.

 

windo weld

 

I use the sunroof often, and have never had an issue on the Duchess. The Beamer
on the other hand, is hand operated and I have had to ream the drain tubes on it..
I just inserted a long piece of wire and ran it through (back and forth) a few times.
From that point it has never clogged again.+

 

I like the idea of removing the sunroof, wish I could spend the money to do it on mine (and get a repaint at the same time). Mine's always rattled over bumps, I never use it, it's not even glass so it doesn't let light in when closed. Rather just have a solid roof at that point, less failure points and a hair more headroom. Unfortunately all US models came with sunroofs optioned by default as far as I know.

If you're doing this properly (welded and matched panel), it's worth getting a replacement headliner designed for no-sunroof cars, and yank all the tracks/drains for the sunroof while the headliner's out.

 

That’s the plan. I have a great shop that’s been helping me get the XJR exactly as I want it, so if they’re willing and able to get the welding done, I’ll have the junk removed and enjoy the extra space and a new headliner. Lucky guys across the pond at least had that option from the factory.