Roof rails leaking. How do I remove?

[Shaheenis]

*EDIT: SEE POST 14 - Sat Mar 02, 2013 10:22 am - for answer on how to remove roof rails on a Gen4 Liberty*

Hi there,

I had noticed a water stain on the passenger A pillar trim when I purchased the car. I was lucky to witness it actually wet during heavy rain and when I removed it the water (only a little bit) appeared to be coming from the windscreen seal. Today I decided to do some troubleshooting and taped off the windscreen seal (to outrule this) and hosed some water around the front of the roof rail. I noticed water almost running into the car . Under normal circumstances rain obviously doesn't put this much pressure on it luckily so the water ingress has been minimal.

Anyway, now it is quite obvious where the water is leaking, how can I remove the roof rails and for those that have previously removed them of fixed leaks, what can I expect to see, is it a seal that is likely to need replacing or will it be a silicon/sealant job?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers,

[zch91]

Roof rails are normally removed by removing all of the interior roof lining..... Not fun.

The other day I actually had a leak on the passenger A pillar too. It was from the sunroof. I'd check that the sunroof drain is not blocked as part of your diagnosis aswell.

[Shaheenis]

zch91 are you sure that the lining needs to come out? It is definitely leaking from the rail as I have tested it but if I was taking out the roof lining (which I will avoid at all costs) I will check the drains for some pro-active maintenance. Incidentally I thought the drains were supposed to go down the passenger A-pillar yet mine does not have one.

[zch91]

That is only in my experience with Foresters, it could well be different with the lib.

[bigBADbenny]

A member has done the sunroof drain tubes fix with DIY on the forum. Ill dig up the link, but maybe tape off the sunroof too to confirm its the source of the leak as opposed to the roof rails?

[zch91]

Not sure if this is the thread Ben, either way it is informative

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15841

[bigBADbenny]

Yep thats it!
Actually if you're sedan I believe its heaps easier to remove the roof lining because its smaller.
If wagon have a friend on hand to help you manipulate the liner.
Theres a drain at the back too on the wagon at least, thus removing the lot might be the go.
The rivets referred to are actually press studs - easy!
Toughest bits are correctly removing the A pillar trims the right way (screwdriver down to top of clip to release and don't pull with too much force esp if the clip is not unlocked), and sliding off the grab handles in the right direction.
Have the FSM instructions to hand and plenty of time so as not to rush anything.
Bag and label and take pics of everything removed.
But def confirm if the sunroof is the source first.

[Shaheenis]

Thanks. As mentioned above I have definately confirmed the sunroof is not the cause. Put hose on roof rail (with no water going anywhere near the sunroof) and with windscreen taped off, instant water dripping from the roof lining with A-pillar removed.

It would be nice to know what type of seal to expect on the roof rails. On the old wagon they were just studs on the rails with thin rubber washer seals.

[bigBADbenny]

Where/how did you rule out the sunroof? It's designed to "leak" but blocked drains run over into the A pillars

Theres bolts for the rails (I guess) under the roof rack plugs.
Mine were fairly rusty so I greased them up a little.
Theres 6 nuts total, accessed from inside. Seal looks to be 3bond. Got the FSM?

[Billsy]

tim, with gen 2 and 3 theres bolts that go through the roof into supports in the roof.

its a lining out, or maybe you can just drop it down to access the nuts.

there should also be a seal under the roof rails around every bolt hole. maybe these are missing if someones had them off to respray the roof at some point.

[jay.ritchie]

Don't stress too much about removing the roof trim. It's not that hard. Might take a couple of hours the first time around!
I think you'll need to completely undo the trim, but you can leave it hanging in the car about 20cm down from the roof. It holds onto the side pillar seat belts.
Should be enough for you to access the bolts for the rails without having to remove It from the car completely!

[Shaheenis]

Thanks guys. A job for this weekend and yes I suspect the rails have been removed previously. I just didn't want to drop the lining only to realize I need a special seal/part. On my G1 I could drop the side of the lining but the G4 seems to have airbags galore up there.

[jay.ritchie]

Yeah the entire top corners are lined with airbags.
Its a bit tricky getting the roof trim over the side pillars once they're unscrewed at the top, but its possible. Just try not to crease the trim when you pull on it!

[Shaheenis]

So lucky I did not remove the roof lining because this advice given above was incorrect.

I just happened to have my car in at a panel shop yesterday having a small mod done to the rear bumper for the tow bar and discussed the issue with the owner. He said he was pretty sure the lining didn't need to come out and had a look at it for me during the day. When I picked the car up he showed me exactly how to remove the roof rails and what the problem was and you can do the whole job from outside the car and no hood lining or trim removal necessary.

The rails on the Gen4 actually use a combination of press down clips and two bolts (where the roof rack - accessory - mounts are). So you can lift/unclip either end of the roof rail without even removing a bolt and to remove the whole rail you undo the bolts (under the inspection/rack mount panels) and simply carefully lift and unclip (being careful not to flex and crack the rail). I will take some photos when it stops bloody raining.

So the reason mine was leaking is because the knob who had previously refitted the rails decided to leave out a few of the seals allowing water to weep into the clip holes. The seals are a clear plastic oval shaped push in seal/seat with a 1-2mm high lip that directs water away from the hole. The ones that are missing I am probably going to use a non-adhesive silicon sealant on the clip seat.

Cheers,

[bigBADbenny]

+1 for pics when you do that