Leaking Sunroof

[Virtual_Unknown]

(Reposted as i put in the wrong section)
Yup, it looks as though my Clio has joined the many others and now has a leaking sunroof, joy!

I've already checked drain holes and they are both clear so It is now working out what is causing it.
I am assuming it is either the seals that have corroded or the outer plastic trim that connects to the roof (as in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLbhMqtTkU) needs resealing.

Is there any way of telling which it is or am i best just to replace both?

Or would I just be safer to take it to a local garage/body shop?

 

[Zeitgeist0190]

you can replace it all yourself, i think it's the same job no matter what as you have the disassemble the whole bugger. Mine needs done too, supposedly takes a couple hours with a 10mm ratchet spanner, scraper and new silicone. If you are a full member, i think there's a guide for it. you could take it to a garage, put you'll be paying hourly labour. Could save a fortune doing it yourself!

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

Well the guide i posted the YouTube video to was just for resealing the outer plastic trim which in itself didnt look too difficult and all for about a tenner, replacing the seals bumps the difficulty up for someone like me

 

[Thrill]

Well the guide i posted the YouTube video to was just for resealing the outer plastic trim which in itself didnt look too difficult and all for about a tenner, replacing the seals bumps the difficulty up for someone like me

Do it then. Tape it up (to avoid getting silicone on bits of paint you don't want it on) then silicone it up. Mine has black silicone on it. Looks good, starting to peel off though now so gonna do sort it out soon!

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

The problem is, if I reseal the plastic outer trim and it doesn't solve the leak, it will make replacing the seal even more difficult to do.

Just looking online and the seals are crazy prices!

 

[Thrill]

If it's not the drain holes and you seal the outside seal.. it can't get anywhere else. Can it? Unless theres an inside seal aswell, but that's not expose to the elements so should be fine. Last time I looked they we're about £45 ish.

 

[Zeitgeist0190]

is it not partially to do with a gap between the sunroof frame and the roof as well? For all the sake of it, you might as well do it properly first time around.

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

Yes, the video i linked to in the first post shows how to reseal the frame to the roof and it looks pretty easy.
you are right, while i am doing that i might as well do the rubber seal as well, i just need to find a guide and a decentley priced seal

 

[Aston Hamer]

hi again i dont think it will be between the actual roof and the plastic trim as mine moves back a little when the sunroof is closed, try clear clue / silicone around the outside edge of the big rubber seal trust me worked on 3 clio's so far worth a try and cheap 10min fix

 

[Kenny.s]

Don't use silicone!

My old man runs his own garage and I often help out when i'm home. I've done lots of clio sunroofs now and silicone is the worst thing you can use. I've had to redo several that have been attempted with silicone and it's a nightmare to remove it all. That includes terrible attempts from the outside and those that have been removed and then siliconed in.
Those that have been removed and siliconed in, it sticks to the paint like the proverbial to a blanket but it doesn't stick to the sunroof, least not for long. They appear to be ok when first done but due to how the sunroof on these cars are fitted, with the movement and flexing of the roof etc, the bond fails and the water starts getting in again. You then have to try and remove all the silicone without damaging the paint on the roof, not easy or fun to do.

The way to repair these is to replace the foam seal with something like the link below. I bought 4.5mm thick X 6mm wide, still got loads of it left but they only seem to sell 4.5 X 10mm now, probably still work fine.

http://affixit.co.uk/single-sided-f...-sided-foam-tape-10mm-wide-thick-black-p-2131

The front edge of the sunroof will sit very slightly high for a few weeks and then it'll settle down and sit just a fraction off the roof skin.
I've done several with this and it works perfectly, it also means you can remove the sunroof easily if need be.
I fixed my girlfriends clio using this method and when she traded it in 2.5 years later it was still 100% watertight.

 

[dunganick]

This is what I did to solve the issue. It worked for at least 4 years, then I sold the car.

"Renault actually produce a fix for this issue (so they clearly know about it), what their fix is is basically a piece of self adhesive foam rubber. For the princely sum of £35. Being a skint student type i decided to check out homebase. 2 mins later £5 had got me a huge reel of draft excluder, actually self adhesive on both sides but i left one side on.

You dont need to remove all the head lining to fit this. Take the rubber strip around the sunroof off, the headlining half drops down (i also took off the light to get more access around the front part of the sun roof). Then use a ring spanner (ratchet ring spanner will save you ages) to undo the hundreds of bolts around the underneath of the sunroof.

Lift out all the sun roof bits, take off all the old sealant on the car and sunroof fittings.

Then get the metal frame that sits between the skin of the car and plastic sunroof bits, you need to fit the foam rubber strips along the top edge of this. I also put a load of new clear sealant on the underside of the plastic that sits ontop of the roof skin (makes sense when you have it apart)

Now just do up all the bolts and it should of stopped the leaking. Did in my case."

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

Cheers for the input guys, looks like im going to try and give it a go this weekend, just need to sort out what i am going to do about the rubber seals, risk leaving them as they are, replace them with the expensive replacements or try finding a cheaper alternative.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, I just didn't want to start yet another leaky roof thread but I will if I tread on any toes.

My wee Clio was sitting out in the heavy rain the other night and because I had read about the leaky roof syndrome, went to check it and happily it was bone dry with no leaks anywhere. Today I took it to a jet wash nearby and when I got back in the car I noticed a few small drips coming from the interior light. Now seeing as the constant rain had not caused any leaks do you think it was the pressure washer and maybe me being heavy handed?

 

[Arthur Dent]

Actually does anyone know how much a 2003 1.2 clio windscreen would cost to replace?

 

[Craigie-B]

Thanks for the bump, I too was looking for an answer

 

[Thrill]

Sorry for hijacking this thread, I just didn't want to start yet another leaky roof thread but I will if I tread on any toes.

My wee Clio was sitting out in the heavy rain the other night and because I had read about the leaky roof syndrome, went to check it and happily it was bone dry with no leaks anywhere. Today I took it to a jet wash nearby and when I got back in the car I noticed a few small drips coming from the interior light. Now seeing as the constant rain had not caused any leaks do you think it was the pressure washer and maybe me being heavy handed?

It shouldn't leak at all tbh. I jetwash mine and never have any leaks. If it's leaking when you're jetwashing, there is a problem. Obviously, you're forcing water in a specific position but rain could still get in. Water gets anywhere, we all know that!

 

[Arthur Dent]

Yeah, I guess I didn't like the idea of pulling out the sunroof. I don't have a lot of time to do this either, I guess I will see how much my mate will chrge me for doing it.