Leaking Sunroof - seal

[Jeepwalker]

Just wanted to report that I finally bit the bullet and bought a new $120 sunroof gasket (or Weatherstrip). There's quite a bit of difference in 'springiness' and firmness between the old and new. Where it wasn't sealing well at the corners before, now it is. If you have an original sunroof gasket, you might consider replacing it just to keep water out. Of course I know there are drain tubes (my ends are clean), but if the vehicle were on a slight angle, it would leak during a big downpour ...the water wasn't able to drain out if the tubes fast enough. I try to park level, but now it doesn't come in ..in the first place.

An interesting note: I was surprised there was quite a bit of dirt and debris which had worked its way between the grooves around the glass which retain the gasket in place. That could possibly be another leak point (past the dirt). I used a toothbrush and soapy water to clean it off before installing the new gasket.

Took about 5 days with my carpet in the sun (upside down) to dry that darn foam backing. That foam is a wonderful water-holding sponge. I want to make sure there aren't any more leaks before putting the carpeting back in. The moisture had caused a small rust hole I needed to fix.

 

[Acer4LO]

Thanks for the report! Was thinking about buying one, but the price is pretty high. After I did the did the front drain tube fix, I haven't had water leaking in my H3 which is a relief. For my carpet, I just cut it up into 4 different sections so I can pull it out easy when going offroad with the doors off. Works extremely well and you don't notice it has been cut.

 

[Jeepwalker]

We had a hard-driving rain this morning and all looks all dry ..which I was glad to see.

 

[alrock]

Nice fix, glad it worked well. Now, if my sunroof would just slide back I could check it out for myself

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Jeepwalker]

Ha ha... A little gorilla tape can fix any leak!

Is the gear stripped (common)? Cheap fix but takes a bit of work to drop the headliner.

 

[alrock]

Ha ha... A little gorilla tape can fix any leak!

Is the gear stripped (common)? Cheap fix but takes a bit of work to drop the headliner.

Not sure what's broken but don't feel like dropping the headliner to figure it out.

 

[Jeepwalker]

What's it sound like? Could be a stripped gear (fairly common). If so, easy/cheap fix. I bought a gear just in case ..while they're available cheap. Should be able to do on the vehicle. It uses a cogged nylon tape to drive the sunroof. You only need to drop the front of the headliner. All that plastic trim on the inside amazingly pulls off pretty easy with yer bare fingers, and metal clips tend to come off w/o breaking. Theoretically the trim could be removed and reinstalled an infinite number of times. Praise to GM for using good quality plastic and sensible metal clips instead of those stupid xmas-tree fasteners. Now that I've had the interior out, I bet I could drop the headliner in 30 min. You can change the gasket w/o dropping the headliner. Just the 4-screws that you can see in the vehicle.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sliding-Su...384525&hash=item46934746f6:g:ml4AAOSwTkFcqFn7

 

[MilamJR]

Haven’t been able to locate a new sunroof gasket for my 04 H2. If anyone that can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated. Also the sunroof will retract but will not close unless you push forward on the front passenger side. It starts to twist so you have to backup and take the pressure off then start again to get it closed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[08H3]

. Now that I've had the interior out, I bet I could drop the headliner in 30 min.

No disrespect, but until I see an unedited video of it being done in realtime, I'm not buying 30 minutes. That job is a total pain.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Ha ha .... don't worry, I wouldn't mislead a fellow H3-er!

There's probably a video out there. Ok ....maybe first time will take ya 45 min ..but it's a lot easier than headliners in the old days. There's hardly any screws ...most of the retaining trim just pulls off with bare hands! Headliner can stay in place to replace the sunroof gasket (just unbolt/remove the glass), and I suspect one can probably just lower the front edge of the headliner to get at the motor assembly (for a gear replacement).

Always take care to support the headliner in the center and edges when lowering it ...not to flex the headliner too much. There is a long rigid foam block glued along each edge of the headliner which helps deflect the roof airbags down. That glue gets old and somewhat aged from heat and time. I flexed mine a little too much and had to re-glue in a couple places. No biggie though.

 

[f5moab]

Headliner on the H3 is easy to remove; try it on a crew cab or vehicle where it has to come out via the backdoor and keep it from bending.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Haven’t been able to locate a new sunroof gasket for my 04 H2. If anyone that can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

Is it a removable seal/gasket? According to the drawing on GMPartsDirect it doesn't list as a separate part # from the glass ...but it does show a separate piece that looks like the gasket. Some things came up on a quick Google search I did, not sure if any would work. Keep checking with other forum members. Others must have a solution figured out if one isn't available. I would explore Tahoe/Suburban/Escalade sunroof gaskets of the same era. Very good chance they may work. Even if you had to buy two and try to heat-weld them together. I see some universal GM sunroof weatherstrip on ebay. Sunroof gaskets are very unique and have about 3x interlocking edges, so you'll need to find one that has the right profile to 'snap into place'. Try the H2 Forums. Sorry, I can't advise more.