Leaking Car Roof - Help Please!

helen_dui

I hope someone can help me out with some constructive advice please.

I drive an old M Reg Peugeot 306 which is in fantastic condition and drives perfectly with one exception - it has a persistant leak on the roof. This was my dad's old car which he gave to me a few years ago - when he owned it it also began to leak in heavy rain. Not like it is pouring in or anything, but on the driver's side where the door meets the roof on the windscreen side, just up in that area water seeps in and at the moment my floor is sodden wet with this awful weather.

When my dad owned the car he had it professionally fixed, where they actually sealed the sunroof and repainted the whole roof to stop it - but somehow a few years later it has started up again. You can actually see where it is getting in - the paint is starting to just bubble slightly on the roof at the front of the car and I think the water is getting in in some gap inthe area between where the roof meets the top of the windscreen on the rubber.

To stop waffling, absically, it is a cost of several hundred pounds to get this fixing job done again, but the car has clocked up more than 180,000 miles and so it's actual value is probably only a couple of hundred anyway - but I am loathe to get rid of what is otherwise a brilliant little car just beacuse of this problem.

I am currently keeping it in the garage overnight and have a car cap cover for the days when it is parked where I work - but this has numerous problems of its own. And I have even tried to fill the gap with waterproof bathroom sealant in a moment of desparation - but as I need a thick layer to cover the area affected it never has time to dry properly before rain carves it all out of the gap again when I drive to work.

Can anyone offer any advice or recommend a product to stop this dastardly leak!?

Bokken_2

I would take it along to Peugeot dealer explain the problem get them to LOOK at it not fix it.
Listen to their thoughts on the problem ask them how they would fix it.The go away to a small carcraft shop buy any necessary sealant and do it again yourself.
Also check the rain gutters to and from the sunroof these are small holes that allow the rain to run away to the door and down the rain channels in the door and out at the bottom of the door.
Use a thin piece of wire to clear any debris from the holes.If the channel on one side is blocked this will cause the water to pool and the flow to the other side of the car.
Hope that helps.

saintjanet

There is a product called dum dum which is a sealant that dries leaving a waterproof skin,i have cured various leaks with it.You can get it from halfords or small motor factors,being made for outside use ,it will be far better than the sealant you have tried.

Bokken_2

Remmber Terry Paine?
He was a Saint!

scatz

Just a thought, if the water is leaking in through the sunroof it may well just be the drain holes. These can normally be located below the roof line in the corner/s of the sunroof. If you look you will see a 'hole'. What these are for is to drain away any water which seeps in through the seal on the sunroof, which will happen on all cars regardless of age. The water is then channelled down one of the pillars on both sides of the car and emitted from below the car.

Anyhow, there could be two very easy and cost free ways of solving your problem, if it is indeed the drain holes;

1) The drain holes are blocked which would cause the water to back up and come into the car through the sunroof, normally you can push a length of net curtain wire down them to clear or pour some boiling water down.

2) The pipe connected to the drain holes has come loose, you can gently remove the sunroof trim inside the car, carefully pull down the roof lining and see if this has happened, in which case you can push pack on.

Lastly, the above obviously only applies to the tilt and slide sunroofs and not the old tilt only sunroofs.

Hope this helps.

saintjanet

Bokken wrote:

Remmber Terry Paine?
He was a Saint!

Terry was a southampton saint,i am a St.Helens saint,different game rugby league!!:D

helen_dui

Thank you for all of your responses - I will check to see if I can sort it cost free with your advice - otherwise it is a trip to Halfords to try and get this sorted once and for all!

Cheers!

ttoli

scatz wrote:

Just a thought, if the water is leaking in through the sunroof it may well just be the drain holes. These can normally be located below the roof line in the corner/s of the sunroof. If you look you will see a 'hole'. What these are for is to drain away any water which seeps in through the seal on the sunroof, which will happen on all cars regardless of age. The water is then channelled down one of the pillars on both sides of the car and emitted from below the car.

Anyhow, there could be two very easy and cost free ways of solving your problem, if it is indeed the drain holes;

1) The drain holes are blocked which would cause the water to back up and come into the car through the sunroof, normally you can push a length of net curtain wire down them to clear or pour some boiling water down.

2) The pipe connected to the drain holes has come loose, you can gently remove the sunroof trim inside the car, carefully pull down the roof lining and see if this has happened, in which case you can push pack on.

Lastly, the above obviously only applies to the tilt and slide sunroofs and not the old tilt only sunroofs.

Hope this helps.

or a blast with compressed air

helen_dui

It is now clear that the water is definitely getting in through an area of the paintwork on the roof right where the rain guttering part meets the windscreen. You can actually see the little hole where the seal has come away and the paint has cracked. So this must be a matter of sealing this bit and hopefully the problem will finally end. I have looked about for Dum Dum but not found anywhwere that sells it - can anyone recommend a place I can easily buy some or a similar product that is more easily available so I can get this fixed!?

scatz

helen_dui wrote:

It is now clear that the water is definitely getting in through an area of the paintwork on the roof right where the rain guttering part meets the windscreen. You can actually see the little hole where the seal has come away and the paint has cracked. So this must be a matter of sealing this bit and hopefully the problem will finally end. I have looked about for Dum Dum but not found anywhwere that sells it - can anyone recommend a place I can easily buy some or a similar product that is more easily available so I can get this fixed!?

Only place I could find was online through the following link;

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8317

helen_dui

Great, thank you