 |
|
|
1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
I recently had my 95 900 SE have the drivers seat soaked after some rain. I read all the posts her about sunroof blocked drainage tubes etc, but it didn't seem to apply. Here's why; The paint on the glass of the sunroof on the INSIDE was peeling and the water droplets seemed to originate on the underneath surface of the glass itself. Given that the sunroof was ABOVE the drainage holes in the roof, this seemed to rule out blocked drains, as the glass was above the holes. So I took my sunroof out of the car, and I completely disassembled it (took 2 1/2 hours with a linoleum knife to cut through the sealant). Unfortunately I damaged the rubber seal in disassembling it, but I found where the leaks originated from (especially in the corners).
Disassembling the sunroof showed really bad corrosion in the aluminum frame that sandwiches the glass. The corrosion was on the frame that is visible on the sunroof from the top of the car where the frame and glass contact each other. There was NO sealant whatsoever between the aluminum frame and glass so that rain/salty snow would accumulate over the years between the frame and glass. The corrosion eventually caused the sealant to fail on the UNDERSIDE of the sunroof assembly as the water sat and made it's way to the underside (sealant on the underside of the frame was abundant).
To better imagine this, imagine making a sandwich. The two slices of bread are the upper and lower parts of the mounting frame for the glass, and the meat is the glass. Put the bottom slice of bread down first, and apply a generous amount of mayo (sealant). Then put on the meat (glass), and then put on the top slice of bread, but no mayo. That's how your sunroof is constructed - no sealant between the glass and upper frame. Great place for water to accumulate and corrode.
I did take pics; if anyone would like to post them here, I'll email them to you. I did try to find a replacement seal, but to no avail, so I special-ordered a replacement sunroof from eEuroparts at $600 savings over the stealership ($1400 cdn).
My advice to anyone with a sunroof is to run a bead of sealant along the INSIDE ridge of the glass when looking at the sunroof from above the car so that water cannot sit under the frame and cause corrosion. (Outside edge would be where the rubber seal is on the frame is).
Now to replace the leather seats damaged by the rain. sigh. saabstuff looks like a good replacement.
Hope this helps someone and saves some bucks.
Pete
posted by 68.144.1...
, Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:15:27, Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:00:19
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
