Hi there,

I've read the posts I could search for for leaking sunroofs, but did not find an answer for my leak.

I have a 2002 xj8. I have attached photos of what my sunroof looks like open/closed.

Question: Am I missing some part that diverts the water from the rear, or is this just how these look and I need to do something else to stop the leak?

The leak seems to be only from the rear of the sunroof which I can see exposed from the inside while seated in the driver's seat. Is there supposed to be another piece here??

I'm at a complete loss here.

That 3rd/last photo is what my car looks like with the roof closed (from the inside looking up) as much as I can, it still has that gap (few inch wide of black space ) it is leaking from...should this be able to close more?? The gasket material is fresh and no light can be seen through it/it looks to seal well enough from the top/ no wind noise.

 

Yeah, if you tilt the roof all the way, stick you head up in the gap from inside. You'll find the piece quietly awaiting retrieval at the back of the sunroof tray. Looks like you may need the tilt and slide pieces as well. I learned on my own car that the rear portion of the sunroof opening is indeed the water channel. Just slide the piece forward and dont use the sunroof until you can get it fixed. The repair is quite tricky and requires the headliner be lowered onto the seats and the sunroof tray removed from the car. The tilt and slide mechanisms need to be replaced if broken and the whole thing retimed.

 

Youre mising the panel that covers that area that catches any water that comes through and diverts to the rails and out the drains. That panel is slid in the back because the plastic clips that hold it and move it with the other panel are broken.

 

Dman 2 techs at once, what are the odds

 

I know right! I'm bored at work so.......

 

OK,

I reached back and found the missing piece. If I just pull it forward, and never move it..will it not leak any more because it is in the " non leaking position" ??

 

hmmm LOL I have no advisor(on vacation) and no work. I could make more at McDonalds today. Im just working on my cars up here since theres nothing to do for money

Newby, yes If you pull it forward and leave it youll be fine

 

Thank you everyone, you all deserve a prize for the fastest fix on the internet!


So, replacing the clips that hold this in place is a big job? The roof itself (tilt slide, etc) operates well and the grease is still clean from the factory, so I asssume it only needs these clips?

Since I don't use it much, I'm wondering if I could just reach back to retrieve the piece if I ever did use it, or if someone borrowed the car and used it?

 

Yeah, its a big job. It's the whole mechanism cause the brittle plastic that holds it all together breaks. Do the following if you have plenty of time to play with the sunroof. Now, if you are lucky, look (with the roof tilted still) at the track of the leading piece of the piece you slid forward. there should be a plastic hole. There should be a matching one on the other side track. I'm gonna try and explain this. It is hard to explain but i will try. First off, with the roof tilted, grasp, the inner cloth covered headliner part that tilts with the roof, with both hands on the left and right. Jiggle the headlining part towards the rear of the car. You should feel a tug then a release. Slide the panel out the gap between the tilted roof and the main roof. You will have to push down two springs (left and right) on the rear face of the headlining part to get it completely out of the car. so it can rest on the roof of the car (or another clean area so the headlining doesn't get dirty). Go back inside the car and look for a lever with a spring wound around its axis. The LONG end of the lever goes into the hole that is attached to the rain channel. Two things typically happen here. Either, the lever is bent away from the hole allowing it to slide right out, or the hole is actually bits and pieces of broken plastic. Hopefully the holes are still intact and the lever just needs to be put back in place. Remember, the same is left and right just mirror images. Check to make sure both holes exist and are intact and are connected to the rain channel. As long as all that is okay, just very gently bend the lever so that the pin on it stays in the hole. Now, I have done this on my car and it has popped out again but I've done it on other cars and it has been okay. DO NOT bend the hell out of the lever cause then your screwed. Just tweak it enough so it will stay in the hole. Finally, as long as all is okay with the sliding pieces and no broken plastic is floating around to jam the slides, reinstall the headlining piece removed earlier. Slide it back in through the opening in the roof and let it fall into place. Get back in the car and gently lift up on it. Grasping it with both hands, left and right, slide it back slightly along the sunroof. give yourself about a section of fingers distance down from the sunroof panel and slide it towards the front of the car. Now, the front should kinda lock into place, like gently easing into position and the back of the panel should be resting on the short end of the lever that was previously reset. It may take a few tries to get it right. If not all have locked in properly just slide the panel back again and try again. The headlining should raise with the tilted roof and the rain channel move slightly forward when all is good. If after all this and the hole is damaged or missing or some other part of the mechanism is broken, then the tilt and slides will have to be replaced. I am not sure if they are available still. The other alternative is to remember to pull the panel back up after use.

 

[quote=Brutal;451080]hmmm LOL I have no advisor(on vacation) and no work. I could make more at McDonalds today. Im just working on my cars up here since theres nothing to do for money

Slow week for us. We were cranking into the holidays but this week was calm.

 

Wow, thank you for the step by step breakdown. I think I'll wait on this one for a while and tackle a few higher priorities first since the roof is no longer leaking.

But thank you for the how to. I may do this in a month or so...

 

So, Jag Techs are just like the Maytag repairman because the cars run so good, huh?

 

I'm in Rover country now but I would have to say the Jags are sooooo much better now that it can feel like the maytag man sometimes.

 

For people who do not see the sunroof as often as a tech, here is a tip:

put some masking tape on the inside surface of the trim panel and headliner where the pins at the front have to line up

that way you have a sense for where the pins and receptacles are when trying to slide it into position.

 

Hi Guys. I just came across this problem in my car on the weekend. Had not opened the sunrood all winter long and first nice day that I did - this happened. Exact same problem. Can't believe that the exact fix was on here. I'll take a crack at it this weekend. Just when I thought I had the car 100% - something else happens. Oh well - guess that happens on a 9 year old car!

 

FYI, it can indeed be done without removing the roof liner, I watched someone do it using a few thin-long wire-tools, reaching from the above and below (inside the car) of the open sunroof sections. Not sure exactly what he did, but in the end everything functioned perfectly so I know that it can be done.