let's discuss Sunroof drains

[junkman300SD]

On another car (85 Mercedes 300SD) a friend who bought my car got to digging and discovered that while the drains appeared to be working perfectly, they were actually full of holes.

The problem is that allowed some rust to get started. This eventually involved removing the front fenders and the entire Sunroof frame for diagnosis and access then hitting it with POR.

Those drains happen to be NLA so he replaced with heavy clear tubing.

Has anyone actually viewed their 911 drains? How much work is it to access them?

[MichaelSJackson]

In my '78 SC, the sunroof has four drains.

One going down each 'A' pillar. Easy access from the open roof. Exits under the front fender, near the top, rear mount. I had to remove the passenger fender to access the exit. (The passenger side was blocked.)

The backs exit at the top corners of the rear window. I never accessed the top ends.

I put some weed-wacker line in an electric drill and just did my roto-rooter imitation. I didn't find rust. More like a dried mud from years of pollen dust? The back drains have left a little rust stain on the white paint at the back. I did squirt Kroil oil down the front drains. And probably up the back drains? (It was years ago.)

[junkman300SD]

Did you actually go deep enough to see the tube part of the drain? The Mercedes part that got me concerned is the same vintage as the 911 and was nastily coming apart and allowing rust to form.

This takes effort to get to on the mercedes and is out of site. Suppose it rusts through. Then there will be unexplained water on the floor causing a tail chase to even figure it out.

[donbecker1234]

Subscribed as I have a sunroof and would rather test it's water-tightness in a dry garage than in a downpour.

[junkman300SD]

The seals are to control wind noise and slow the water enough for the drains to handle the water. They don't seal the water completely out.

My understanding is that weed eater line can be used to clean the drains somewhat/sometimes. The fronts on these cars look like they can be accessed from both the top and bottom.

The rears look like the sunroof needs to come out of the frame and possibly can be accessed from below. Someone else can confirm.

I note that a little maintenance isn't difficult goes a long way to having a working roof and never understood people putting lots of effort into deleting them if the roof came stock.

[David Inc.]

I don't think you could get to the tops of the rear drains without pulling the sunroof out. Maybe by snaking a wire between the sunroof panel and the headliner but you'd have to be incredibly lucky.

Easy to access from below, they drain out under the top corners of the engine lid into the water channel there so that's where you'd want to hit them with a pipe cleaner.

[ramonesfreak]

I used a bicycle brake or shift cable to clean mine out when I got the car 15 years ago

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by junkman300SD

I note that a little maintenance isn't difficult goes a long way to having a working roof and never understood people putting lots of effort into deleting them if the roof came stock.

1.5" of additional headroom, weight, aesthetics.

[Paulporsche]

You can send the cleanout wire upward from the drain holes @ the back of the rear pillars through to the space between the headliner and the roof.

Send the wire downward from the front drain holes through to the ground inside the wheel wells.

[don gilbert]

What I do to all mine that came with a sunroof,,,,delete delete delete.

[4flyboy]

Love my sunroof. I live in Florida

I wouldn't own a P-Car without one, same goes for an excellent stereo.....

That said, I cleaned my drains during a recent respray...I was terrified to remove the sunroof to replace seals. It's EASY! Don't be intimidated, there's a great YouTube video on removal, adjustment and rebuild.

I was amazed at how effortless the whole process was, learning curve but I can have the whole panel out in 15 minutes now

[junkman300SD]

I'm happy mine has a Sunroof. I don't want the hassle of any convertible but the Sunroof stays.

Shop is almost ready to let the wrenching begin.

[MichaelSJackson]

Your car, do what you want.

I'm only 6'2" and don't need the extra head room. It's not a race car so the extra weight, up high, is not significant in the tradeoffs equation.

I like having it open on those sunny mountain drives.

I've found that if I crack it open, about an inch, the low air pressure formed over the roof at speed will vacuum the air out of the cabin and my heater works much better than turning on the engine compartment fan. I've removed the fan and the extra hoses back there. Really, cleans up the compartment. I've surprised a few passengers when doing this, when it is cold outside. But when they feel the sudden flow of hot air on their legs, they understand. But some of you have eliminated the heater boxes anyway. I'm a big SSI proponent.

[David Inc.]

Originally Posted by MichaelSJackson

Your car, do what you want.

I'm only 6'2" and don't need the extra head room. It's not a race car so the extra weight, up high, is not significant in the tradeoffs equation.

I like having it open on those sunny mountain drives.

I've found that if I crack it open, about an inch, the low air pressure formed over the roof at speed will vacuum the air out of the cabin and my heater works much better than turning on the engine compartment fan. I've removed the fan and the extra hoses back there. Really, cleans up the compartment. I've surprised a few passengers when doing this, when it is cold outside. But when they feel the sudden flow of hot air on their legs, they understand. But some of you have eliminated the heater boxes anyway. I'm a big SSI proponent.

Yeah it's really bizarre just how well that works. Not going to defrost your windshield at a stop light but it'll cook you to medium rare on the highway.