S14 - The definitive sunroof repair guide

[97GreenKouki]

Many sunroofs in S14's, being about 20 years old, begin to leak water into the car. I suffered a leaking sunroof myself until I couldn't take it anymore and fixed it.

In my situation, both the fiberglass trim and the rubber gasket were in good shape. Yet it still leaked. I did not know how everything was put together on the sunroof panel so I didn't know how water was getting inside. I had to disassemble the panel. This is what I found.

Before I begin, you need to know that I am not responsible if you break anything or hurt yourself attempting this repair.

Things needed:
Patience
Razor blade
Patience
Phillips Screwdriver
Patience
10mm Wrench or Socket
Patience
Replacement Rubber Gasket (optional unless yours is ripped or torn)
PATIENCE!
Some type of glass glue (automotive, silicone, etc.)
PATIENCE!!!
Some type of clamping devices (Wood clamps, C-clamps, etc. just make sure you have a rag or small piece of wood to keep from damaging the trim.)

The first thing you need to do is remove the panel from the car. I won't describe this step much because there are tutorials already floating around. Basically take out the 4 plastic screws on the sides of the sunroof on the inside of the car after pulling back the sunroof shade. Remove the plastic trim on each side. Then remove the 4 nuts that were under the plastic pieces. Lift the panel off of the mounts making sure not to lose the spacers underneath.

Now that you have the panel out, the fiberglass trim needs to be removed. This is where you really need to take your time and be extremely gentle as the trim can easily break. Do not bend or pry on the trim. It will break. You have been warned! In my experience the 20 year old glue tends to separate easily but some spots were harder than others. I started in an area that had already had signs of separating. Get a razor blade and start to gently press it between the glass and the fiberglass trim. Work slowly in one area and move outward. Use two hands, one pressing the razor blade between the glass and trim and the other gently pulling up on the rubber gasket to help create a gap for the razor blade. The fiberglass trim forms a "T", one side goes over the glass and the other side goes over the rubber gasket. Essentially what you are trying to do is gently lift the trim off the glass by pressing up (away from the glass) on the rubber gasket (which also puts pressure on the trim) while pressing a razor blade in from the other side to cut the glue holding the trim on. This process took me over an hour because I was afraid of breaking the trim. Once you are able to push the razor blade in till it stops, then you have reached the vertical part of the "T" on the trim. Start moving around the sunroof. Once I got a little separation in one spot I used that to slide the razor blade further. Slice the glue, then move the hand applying pressure to the gasket down. Be gentle, don't bend the trim or apply more than a few ounces of pressure to the gasket. We aren't trying to pry the trim off, just making room for the razor blade on the other side. A section of trim will come free once the razor blade is able to reach the vertical part of the "T" on the trim. Before removing the trim make sure you mark which side faces forward by putting a piece of tape or something on the front of the trim. When you have gone all the way around the trim gently lift it off while watching for any pieces of glue that may still be attached and set the trim aside. The hardest part is done.

Next we need to remove the rubber gasket from the sunroof panel and clean up all the leftover glue on the panel and trim. Once the gasket is removed from the panel use the razor blade to clean any leftover glue off of the glass and along the edge of the glass. There should be a pretty good amount around the edge between where the glass ends and the vertical part of the trim starts, remove it all. Just don't start removing what is under the glass.

Now we need to remove the glue from the inside of the trim. I used the razor blade carefully as not to cut into the trim. It won't be perfect with just the razor blade, it will be rough with some glue still attached especially on the corners. Then I went back over it with a light wire brush. The inside surface of the trim needs to be free of any old glue and clean. After I got all of the glue off I cleaned it thoroughly with rubbing alcohol to remove residue. Once it's clean and free of any glue, set it aside.

Now look at the edge of the sunroof panel where the metal has an upturned lip that the gasket sits on. Mine had a couple spots where the lip had started to rust in very small spots and it was a little thicker than normal. This lip needs to be clean and free of imperfections. I used a flathead screwdriver to scrape rust off of the lip. Clean this surface as well with alcohol, any debris can cause a gap in the gasket and allow water through.

If you bought a new gasket skip to the next paragraph, If you are reusing your old one read on. Take your rubber gasket and inspect the two lips. Make sure there is no debris in these lips. Again it can cause a gap and allow water through. I gently ran a flathead screwdriver through the lips (due to rust particles) then cleaned them with rubbing alcohol.

Place the gasket onto the sunroof panel and make sure that the lip is completely seated on the metal frame. You can make sure it is seated by rocking the gasket back and forth while pressing down. The ends of the gasket should line up with the back-center of the sunroof. Do not proceed unless you are sure the gasket is correctly seated all the way around the sunroof.

Now take your freshly cleaned trim and test fit it back on the sunroof panel, make sure you know how it is going to be installed. Get a feel for what will be needed to get it back in place. I noticed that in order to get it to seat all the way down I had to pull the gasket away from the trim, it's a tight fit. But once you see what needs to be done to get the trim back on correctly, remove the trim.

Turn the trim upside down so that the vertical part is facing up. Take your glue of choice and you are going to be running a generous, continuous bead of the glue around the inside of the trim where you cleaned the old glue off. Make sure you are ready for this because depending on the glue, it may start to set before you apply the trim to the sunroof. Have your sunroof and trim ready with plenty of work area. Apply the bead of glue without leaving gaps or low spots. Don't worry about applying too much, it will squeeze out but can easily be cleaned up with a razor blade.

As soon as you are done applying the glue, flip the trim over and line it up on the sunroof panel. Once aligned, start pressing the trim down into place. Start in one spot and work around the sunroof. Press the trim down while lightly pulling the gasket away from it to get it to seat and move along. Once it is completely seated all the way around use some type of clamping devices to make sure it stays there. Whatever you use make sure you aren't putting too much pressure on the trim in one spot by using small scraps of wood or something to spread the load along the trim. I used 4 wood clamps with scrap baseboards I had laying around.

There is one part I am not absolutely sure about. Every sunroof panel I have seen has a 1" gap between the edges of the gasket at the back of the sunroof. I did not purchase a new gasket, but I don't believe that gap should be there. I think the gasket on a 20 year old sunroof has shrunk over the years and a factory gasket should not have the gap. That gap allows water to get behind the gasket. So while I was at it, I took some black RTV and filled the hole between the Fiberglass trim and metal lip. Not to build up a gasket, but rather just to fill in the hole so water can't get behind the gasket. When water gets behind the gasket, gravity will channel it to the sides of the sunroof. and it will leak through the holes that the plastic trim attaches to.

Just let the glue cure and you are good to go. Reinstall the sunroof panel.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. I was not sure if this was going to work so I didn't take any pictures during the process. So far it has been 2 months in the southern US, and not a drop of water has made it inside the car.