Sunroof Leak Solved! (Sorta)

[datnut]

Several factors in my decision to fix myself.
1. Under the current stay at home circumstances it would be a pain to drop off truck.
2. I know they would have the truck for weeks if not months. The last sunroof repair I had to book 5 months in advance and then they kept the truck for 2 months.
3. May or may not provide a loaner.
4. Probably charge me a deductible on my extended warranty.
5. I would have to fight to make them cover it without the deductible.
6. 50/50 chance I'll have something new messed up on truck. I swear the leather seat covers are stretched out from people standing on them or something.
7. Best case repair would likely be that they replace the frame assembly and who knows how long that foam gasket will last.
8. I think I can make a repair that will most likely be better than the foam gasket and cost less than the $100 deductible.

For reference my truck has spent over 280 days at the dealer since my purchase. Once for cam phasers and a couple weeks to get the tailgate aligned where it was rubbing on a bolt head and wore through the edge of the sheet metal. Although the dealer has a great restaurant, I am completely sick of leaving my truck there and at best driving a compact car they loan me in the mean time. I've been pretty firm in my belief that I paid a lot of money for the truck and purchased an extended warranty, so they should be fixing these issues, but I give up on this one.

 

[Rocsteady]

I do admire your persistence but after having similar issues a few vehicles back, I've avoided sun/moon roof vehicles like the plague. Never did much for me anyway luckily and with previous sports cars, it was better to keep that structure intact with the higher horsepower trying to twist the car. I just think it's a bad idea to cut a hole in a perfectly good roof, whether it's in your house or your car/truck. Although, full disclosure, I did just buy a house with skylights over a sun room, against my better judgement and, of course, they were leaking and got replaced when I did the new roof.

 

[datnut]

I found some pics of a frame assembly for sale on Flea Bay. In these pics you can better see the foam gasket and how it used on the sides as well. It's supposed to storm here tomorrow, so I decided to go ahead and apply some black caulking adhesive in lieu of some sort of custom gasket arrangement. It is pretty hard to reach the area you want to caulk with a standard caulking tube and gun. I wish I had some oh these hook shaped nozzle extensions as it would have made the job much quicker and cleaner. For the first time in a very long time, I'm looking forward to the rain storm, so I can see how things go.

 

[datnut]

So it rained a fair amount yesterday and overnight. I went to check and no water in truck (knock on wood). I opened the roof and poured water along the edge of the opening as I did previously and no water. I have been mentally battling the decision to get rid of the Raptor or not for a very long time and If there had been something else i was interested in, I would have. The weight I have been carrying this whole time must have been worse than I thought, because I am feeling pretty darn ecstatic at the prospect of having this problem solved. I plan to take the hose to it and go to town and then see what the rain forecasted for later this week brings, but feeling very optimistic.

 

[TheDentonMare]

So, I thought I would share the results of my sunroof leak investigation. I have searched the internet high and low and have not found anyone describing this as an issue, so I am sharing. I purchased my 2017 Raptor new and have had water intrusion issues since day one. Literally rained and leaked while I was in the office signing papers. It’s been in the dealership for repairs countless times. They told me the seal was bad on the glass and replaced the glass. They said the tracks were bad and replaced those, they said the second glass was warped and replaced that. Got my truck back from the most recent fix (#8 I think) and had some of the worst water intrusion yet. Usually leaks down the A pillars with water standing on the rubber mats. This time water was standing nearly an inch deep in the storage bin under the climate controls and in the center console between the shifter and cup holders. After 5 weeks of no messages being returned from the service advisor this round, I decided I was going to go through everything myself (again). First checked to see if drains were connected (check). Next check to see if drains appeared kinked anywhere (check). Next ran trimmer cord down drains to clear blockage (check). I could find nothing amiss and no matter how much water I poured in the sunroof gutters, none leaked out. Right before I gave up for the day, I tried pouring water not directly into the gutters, but on the roof at the sunroof opening. I wanted to make sure some weirdness wasn’t happening with the deflector in the down position. Low and behold I have water pouring on the headliner and running in the truck. Mind you I am doing this with the headliner loose and partially down, so I could monitor the drain tubes. Water wasn’t coming from the drain tubes, but elsewhere. I suspected the roof mount antenna, as some of the water ran over it, so I sealed of the antenna with Gorilla tape temporarily to see if leak stopped. Tried several more times and water continued to leak. I came to believe that some of the water was clinging to the underside of the roof sheet metal and running along it until it encountered the black foam that lays in front of the sunroof track assembly. To verify my theory, I again relied on Gorilla tape to make a bridge between the roof sheet metal and the sunroof tray. Now any water was forced to run into the gutter. Hallelujah, no water in the cab! Hard to get pics of what I’m describing, but if anyone is interested, I’ll do my best. Or if anyone has pics of assembly completely removed, I may be able to illustrate on that. I haven’t decided on a remedy; My first thought is to caulk the gap at the top leading edge of the tray and the roof. Second is to possibly use a rubber gasket that could be applied to the underside of the roof sheet metal and hang low enough to force any water to drop into the gutter. This is a long write up, but three years in the making. Anyone who can visualize what I’m talking about and wants to offer a fix, please share ideas.

Curious how this all turned out for you sir? Keep the truck? I'd love images of what you were describing if at all possible

I got out of my VW alltrack with pano roof for this exact reason. What is it with glass roof that manufacturers seem to struggle with?!

 

[datnut]

Repair has worked great. It's so nice to get in the truck after heavy rains and not have water in it. When it stops raining I'll take some pics of the finished product.

 

[RubyDaCherry]

About to tackle this issue myself since the dealership is 3-5wks backed up.

Mine does the same thing after a heavy rain, never did before the previous 8mo I've owned it which leads me to believe that the drain plugs are full/clogged.

After a rain, the passenger side grab handle leaks water, which then puddles up on the passenger floor mat.
That and the passenger side threshold/door sill fills up with water underneath the plastic 'Ford Performance' sill plate.

Any tips or additional advice would be much appreciated!

 

[datnut]

Check to make sure your drain hoses are fully attached, as some owners have reported their hoses coming loose. I have used weed eater cord with good results for fishing out the drain hoses. Of course the issue I found with my truck was not with the drain system, but rather the "seal" from sunroof frame to under side of cab roof. Good luck.

 

[RubyDaCherry]

Check to make sure your drain hoses are fully attached, as some owners have reported their hoses coming loose. I have used weed eater cord with good results for fishing out the drain hoses. Of course the issue I found with my truck was not with the drain system, but rather the "seal" from sunroof frame to under side of cab roof. Good luck.

Thanks! So bought it in November and just now in July it started leaking. That leads me to believe that the drain hoses/plugs are full and can no longer disperse water. I'm guessing that over time during the spring and early summer when it was storm/rain season they filled/clogged over time. At least I hope so!

 

[ruey220]

So it rained a fair amount yesterday and overnight. I went to check and no water in truck (knock on wood). I opened the roof and poured water along the edge of the opening as I did previously and no water. I have been mentally battling the decision to get rid of the Raptor or not for a very long time and If there had been something else i was interested in, I would have. The weight I have been carrying this whole time must have been worse than I thought, because I am feeling pretty darn ecstatic at the prospect of having this problem solved. I plan to take the hose to it and go to town and then see what the rain forecasted for later this week brings, but feeling very optimistic.

Do you have pics of how your repair looks? I believe I have the same issue and will do some permanent repairs but first need to know why they opted to use foam here to begin with and is it dripping through the gap on the foam that is not glued or is it going above the foam where the sheet metal of the roof meets?

Knowing exactly how it gets through there helps me understand how to properly seal it and if I can just seal that whole area above the plastic rails without worrying of cracking or being too stiff to flex.