Well, the wife's much valued sunroof on her 1980 244 is leaking now that the rain has returned in force to the PNW. It has been a minor issue for a while and we have managed to live with a few drops here and there. But it seems I have to do better at this point.

I understand that there are drainage outlets somewhere in the front and the back of the sunroof that can get clogged with debris. I am not yet sure how/if that is the problem. I have read elsewhere here that bicycle brake cable housing can be a good way to roto-rooter these out. I have plenty so I could do it once I discover where the drain holes are located.

Can anyone suggest other methods or other possible sources of the problem? I don't see anything that really looks like a seal or gasket that could be the issue. But I am new to this.

Thanks!

Thanks to you all. Once (and IF) the rain stops for a while I will follow your suggestions and see what I can find out.

PS - I am aware of the door drain problems. See my "solution" to debris entering the cowl vents here. So far, I am very happy with the results.

We had 4 sunroof 244s. (A 244 is a 240 sedan)

Not exactly the PNW here, but so far I've had not one issue with a leaking sunroof, so I was a bit concerned about all the disdain for them, especially from folks up your way.

I'm not saying we don't have rain. We now have 3 sunroof 244's. The one we don't have any longer was ruined by a sudden rainstorm, parked in an employee parking lot while a flash flood came along and totally inundated it.

So, not having any experience with sunroof leaks, I decided to use its carcass to investigate the drain system of this '91, because the mud filled in the sunroof while in the swollen Jones Falls.

There are drains run from each corner of the sunroof pan, the rear ones being virtually inaccessible without removing the headliner. The drains are clear vinyl tubing leading to the A-pillars from the front, and Y's with the rear window drain in the rear.

Here, you see a speedometer cable insert used to clear the drain. A bike brake sheath sounds a bit stiff to me, but same principle is at work. I got curious about the rear drains, so I gently blew some air backward from the trunk tubing and listened for it with a long stethoscope before fishing with the flexible speedometer cable.

I think there could be a problem where the "seal" passes water fast enough that the drains have trouble keeping up, or the trough overflows. I put seal in quotes, because it isn't really water tight, but just enough barrier to slow down the ingress, more or less like the window scrapers on your side windows. I imagine if this gets bad enough, it could overwhelm the drains whether clogged or not, but as I said, no experience here with that.



Below you see the tools I brought to bear. The long tube adapted a shop vac to snake under the roof in the sunroof storage pan. The air mattress pump helped me locate the upper limit of the rear hoses in the roof.



Below you see the exit point in the door jamb from the A-pillar, just below the wiring tunnel.



Here you are looking in the trunk just past the cover for the fuel tank filler plumbing at the Y-connector joining the rear window drain.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.” - John F. Woods

Only now that winter is releasing its wet and icy grip on us in the Pacific NW, I have opened the sunroof today (in the sun actually) and ran some stiff, insulated wire down the front holes. To be more precise, I ran the wire down the left side seemingly without problem. But on the right side, the wire only seems to go as far as maybe 2/3 way down the pillar and then it hits something that blocks progress entirely. I have not tried to put any water down there yet. But I am wondering if the left and right sides have similar routing and what I might be hitting on the right side. Thanks!

PS on the left side, I can run a longer length of this wire up from the door jamb but cannot seem to make it come out the top. Neither can I make it come out the door jamb when feeding through the top. Maybe there is some form of connector or something preventing this?

On the right side, i can run the wire down only about half way to the jamb and only about half way up from the jamb. In both cases I hit something quite solid and resistant to the wire. No idea what. Again, maybe a connector or splice? I removed the right pillar trim hoping I might be able to see what is going on. But there is just painted metal there, no tube I can see.

I guess I should try to pour some water down there to see what happens... Well the fronts drains seem to work fine. No idea where the rear ones come out but once I figure that out, perhaps the water test will tell me more. Thanks!

The drains are probably located at all 4 corners of the drain pan around the sunroof. The front ones drain down the windshield posts, the others down the posts at the rear of the front doors. Sunroofs are NOT waterproof!

It is quite common that they clog up.

I use a stiff, insulated wire to clear drains - make sure that whatever you use has no sharp parts.

Do not get aggressive with power equipment - you can damage or dislodge the drain tubes, which are pretty old now.

After you clear the drains, you can check them by pouring a glass of water down each one and see it coming out the bottom. I do this about every two months - the sunroof can pass water summer and winter.

If you have a sedan, there might be drains in the front corners of the trunk - check with a glass of water. Also check the rubber strip at the front of the trunk, as debris can cause a leak.

Have you checked your door drains, your rocker drains? If they are damaged or clogged, they can cause rot that will lead to the end of your car.