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Leaky Roof (Headliner)

RedTop

Full Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
Messages
20
Location
NJ
My 2002 Z66 just started with a problem --- ie.? a leak from the rear left retaining button in the headliner during and after rain.? I've had the AV for 4+ years and the leak just started without warning about two weeks ago.? Pedr0 described the same problem back in '03 and I've sent him a note about his final outcome.
:help:
Based on several posts under this heading, the logical cause is a clogged drain line from my sunroof water diversion system. Has anyone else encountered this problem and most IMPORTANTLY, have you solved the problem ??? Truck has 62K miles and is out of warrenty -- so help is most appreciated.


 
Blasting compressed air through the drains helps.
 
after a recent heavy rain, i, too, noticed a large wet spot in the exact same place. (i have an '02 Z71)  being as there are alot of trees where i live and work, not to mention dust, i'm guessing the drains from the sunroof may be clogged??  where are these drains located?

              maxine    :B:
 
thanks for the info link!  we're going to check it out this weekend.  hopefully, the drains are just clogged and it's nothing too major to fix. 
               
                maxine :B:
 
Uh oh...  it has rained here for 2 weeks non-stop and now I am noticing the same problem (leak from rear left retaining button).    I am guessing one or both of the drains going down the B pillars is the culprit.  Anyone successfully fixed this?  I have an '03 Z71 which I typically park facing uphill.  Here's a pic:

 

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Could be sunroof seal themselves...

You need to insapect corner drains and sunroof seal...
 
My headliner got wet, and I found out that the sunroof wasn't closed all the way.
Chevy really messed-up when they designed the sunroof.
When closing it, it doesn't stop when it reaches the closed postition, it continues to the tilted up in the rear position.
When it slides forward, it has to go up some to be in the closed position, not just the slide forward postion.
The trouble is finding the sweet spot of tilted up closed and tilted up open.
It would be nice if it stopped when it reached the closed position.
Bobby.
 
badinc1 said:
My headliner got wet, and I found out that the sunroof wasn't closed all the way.
Chevy really messed-up when they designed the sunroof.
When closing it, it doesn't stop when it reaches the closed postition, it continues to the tilted up in the rear position.
When it slides forward, it has to go up some to be in the closed position, not just the slide forward postion.
The trouble is finding the sweet spot of tilted up closed and tilted up open.
It would be nice if it stopped when it reached the closed position.
Bobby.

Yeah, I had to find that one out the hard way too...thought it was closed and apparently I had passed that point...
 
Ahhhhh no...
it stops in close position.
then press it again and it goes to vent...

yours needs to be reset... check manual..
 
Well... I pulled most of the headliner down today...  Enough to gain access to the rear sun roof drainage system.    This includes removing

1) Both rear passenger door carpet plastic trim pieces (easy to remove)
2) Both C pillar side plastic panels (fairly easy)
3) Panel above midgate window (this one requires a ton of force to get the fir-tree style plastic anchors out)
4) Both headliner fir-tree style plastic anchors (easily done with 2 flathead screwdrivers)
5) Both B pillar side plastic panels ( The top clip was TOUGH to get out on one side...  I ended up damaging one but I think it can be bent back, and another one pulled out but left its metal clip in the trucks sheet metal... I think it can be re-attached)
6) Removed both rear "oh-@#$%!" handles.  Easily done with a 10mm socket


At this point you can pull down enough of the headliner to get to the drain system.  There are two velcro stickers that will also easily come apart when you pull it down a little.  I did not remove the sunroof trim, but it might be a good idea.  I ended up having to push part of the headliner back in to the sunroof trim when re-assembling.

On my 2003 I discovered there are not just 2 rear drain holes, but 4!  This makes a total of 6 drain holes (2 in the front, 2 near the rear, and 2 in the rear, of the gutter system).  Both 2 rear drains on each side are joined together with a Y hose adapter and empty down the B Pillars.

The hoses easily twist off...  And, you really don't even need an air compressor to blow them out.  You can get your mouth on them and blow...  I used an air compressor anyway after doing this... but I don't think it was necessary... 

To my surprise the hoses were not clogged... I did however pull out a leaf, and a maple tree propeller from the rear of the gutter that could have been blocking *some* of my flow. 

I tested the system by opening the sunroof and pouring water in to the gutters.    If you pour too much at once, I believe even any Avy won't be able to handle that much water and leak.

There is an flaw in the design of this gutter system.  If you park your car on even a *slight* grade incline (engine above the rear of vehicle), the water will have to run UPHILL to make it from the rear drain hole to the top of the B-Pillar.    This is not possible so the rear gutter overflows, goes over the plastic dam that leads into the next chamber, which has a hole in it (because this is where the plastic fir-tree anchor goes), and guess what?  Headliner gets wet.      So, if you leave your fir-tree anchors out, the leaking water should pretty much come straight down without soaking  much of your headliner.  I suppose you could even go ghetto and attach a drain tube here if you expect heavy rain.

I really wish they could sacrificed a little bit of rear passenger headroom and ran the rear drain hoses down the C-Pillar.  Without a redesigned headliner, I don't think this can be fixed.

Anyway...  I took a few pictures to share along the way...


 

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nice action shot of the water pouring out the hole! lolz
i have been having a leak issue too,  we'll have to locate it
 
I caught the drip just at the right moment I guess. :)     

Another thing I forgot to mention is that the Y hose adapters are glued to the gutters with some sort of rubber compound.  You can see this glue in the Y Hose picture above.
Well... on both sides the rubber attachment was already broken, leaving the hoses to hang down freely (they only hang down about 3/4 inch or so).    After weighing the choice of leaving them be or reattaching them to the gutters with a zip tie, I decided it would be better to just leave them.  When they are attached to the gutters, it looks like water would have to go further uphill before reaching the B-Pillars.
 
Just FYI for anyone reading my old post.  The fix worked.  It has rained several times and I've even accumulated several inches of snow on top of the sunroof which melted.  No more leaks into the headliner.  Leaves can definitely get into your gutter system and blow towards the back of the gutters obstructing your water exit flow.  And it doesn't take much more than one or two small  leaves/maple seeds in the right spot.  Make sure to keep the top of your sunroof glass CLEAN.  Especially before you open it.  Because when you open it, you can pick up hitchhikers!
 
still no headliner leaks... and my av is always parked outside...      however, my 03 now has cargo panel leaks if i dont get them installed quite right...  sometimes reinstalling fixes...  i need to find a good thread on how to clean and and restore the seals...  i don't currently do any maintenance on these because its never been a problem before...
 
Ok I know this is an old Thread but my 02 z71 just sprung a leak on the drivers side head liner above the A post, the kicker I see through everybody posting is that they have a sunroof. That is where my question comes in Do I have sunroof drain lines with no sunroof, I would think no but I guess I need to go look.
 
Chooch58 said:
Ok I know this is an old Thread but my 02 z71 just sprung a leak on the drivers side head liner above the A post, the kicker I see through everybody posting is that they have a sunroof. That is where my question comes in Do I have sunroof drain lines with no sunroof, I would think no but I guess I need to go look.
Shouldn't.

do you have onstar antenna on roof above driver's head?
maybe that is leaking?
or windshield
Or roof rack....
 
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