24 replies to this topic

[BlankReg]

The question: Why does the drivers side floorboard fill up with an inch of water when it rains, AND the front of the car is parked on and downward slope?

After several hours with the hose, i believe that water is leaking somehow from the sunroof into the headliner, and then working is way to the floorboard. much to my dismay, this only happens when the sunroof is in place. as in, if the roof is out, and you fill the "gutter" with water, it seems to drain through the holes on each corner. with the sunroof in place, thing go terribly wrong. for example, water is dripping from the screws that hold on the drivers side SUN VISOR... sheesh.

So my question is, now what? do i replace the seal around the sunroof glass? do i remove the headliner? if i remove the headliner will i be able to make sure the drains are still connected? right now i'm seriously considering going after the sunroof with the caulk gun and some silicone... won't that look sexy?

Edited by BlankReg, 19 September 2004 - 09:46 AM.

[oldschoolsi]

my crx did that.........never figured out why. I just put a crap load of silicone up under the headliner where the sunroof attached to the car and it stopped.

[sspcivic31]

my 87 civic si did the same thing. i thought it was a bad seal from the windshield being replaced, but it ended up being the drain tube for the sunroof. take an air blower and blowdown the tube to try and dislodge the clog. you might also try the inner fender in the front wheel well were the drain exits. leaves and road debris will end up in there as well which can clog the drains.

[DEIVIONCRX]

ive herd this about every honda that has a sun roof

[Jordan]

this is what has happened on both sides of my civics drain pipes.

heres what i did:
1)take out seats(whichever side is leaking)
2)pull up carpet
3)take out that little plastic thing that is under the dash, next to the door
4) find where the drain pipe running down the headliner meets to the tube that runs to the fender
5)make sure that the hose is on all the way.

there should be a clamp or something along those lines holding it in. its the most common problem with the civic's/crx's.

-jordan

[BlankReg]

4) find where the drain pipe running down the headliner meets to the tube that runs to the fender
5)make sure that the hose is on all the way.

the thing is, when i fill the "gutter" for the sunroof, and open the car door, i can see where the water is draining on the drivers side. the problem doesn't happen unless the sunroof is in place, and closed. i'm beginning to think that one of the drains has become detached up by the roof, rather than down by the wheel. further, my guess is that it is the back right gutter, and that water is then draining directly into the headliner, and then running down towards the front of the car, and eventually down the beam by the windshield, and on down to the floorboard. just a guess. i know for a fact that water is getting into the headliner somehow, since it is dripping out of the sun visor.

just out of curiosity, what is on the otherside of the headliner? is it just the frame of the car, and the outer metal skin? is there another layer of metal between the headliner and the outside? if i remove the headliner, will i be able to check the drains for the sun roof? and last but not least, how the heck to i take the damn thing out? everying seems to overlap the edge of the liner...

also, can anyone recommend a good cheap air compressor? i figure it can hurt to try and blow out the drains...

man, my car smells like mold now. oh joy.

[oldschoolsi]

if you pull down the headliner all that is there is the frame for the sunroof and the frame of the roof. You will be able to see the drain tubes if you take out the headliner.

[Jordan]

man, my car smells like mold now.  oh joy.

Take out your efin carpet man.

[ChrisF-dude]

After hurricane Ivan passed over Friday night I checked out the rex. The pass side floor mat is wet. I am thinking my windshield seal is bad, but I see water dripping from the A/C tank where the tube goes to the firewall, to release condensated water. The A/C hasn't been used for 2 weeks and was fine then. I wonder if the water from the driving rain was being forced down into the A/C vents from the intake air vents below the exterior windshield?

[BlankReg]

ok, after 3 more hours of fooling around, here is what i learned...

1. $30 dollar craftsman 12 volt compresors rated at 250 psi don't push hardly any air at all. big waste of time.

2. the problem is in fact the front 2 drains for the sun roof, not the back 2. looks like they move water properly for the first few minutes, and then what ever crap thats in them "swells up" or something and then clogs them up. what happens THEN is that water is seeping under the rubber gasket, over the metal lip, and then dripping into the headliner.

3. although it may seem like a good idea to run 2 mm "line trimmer" plastic line down the sun roof drains to unclog them, it doesn't help. and the neighbors look at you funny.

4. after pulling up the carpet by the passenger door and removing the plastic pannel by the door frame and dash, i still cant find where the drain ends...

total time now spent, 5 hours... and the problem isn't fixed. i'm still open to suggestions. also, are the $100 air compressors with the 2 gallon tank much better than the small ones?

[BlankReg]

opps, double post...

Edited by BlankReg, 19 September 2004 - 05:52 PM.

[vervepipes]

my leaks come from a hole in the bottom of the windshield post and a rotten blower intake

[Vandemar]

1.  $30 dollar craftsman 12 volt compresors rated at 250 psi don't push hardly any air at all.  big waste of time. 

That's because they are designed for pressure, not flow (cfm). They'll pressurize a small volume of air up to 250psi, but they won't move the amount of air you're looking for.

I use a 5gal air tank for tires at track days/autoxing- it has a Schrader valve so you can fill it at home off a compressor, and then has a hose so you can hook it to a tire to fill it from the tank. That may work for you- it'll take a few minutes to get the tank up to the 120ish psi it's rated to, and then you can empty the tank in order to blow out whatever's in the line. They're around $25, which should be cheaper (and quite a bit less useful) than a conventional compressor with a built-in tank.

[BlankReg]

They're around $25, which should be cheaper (and quite a bit less useful) than a conventional compressor with a built-in tank.

thats a good suggestion. do you think a 5 gallon airtank (25 bucks) would be more usefull than a aircompressor with a 2 gallon tank (100 bucks). i hate to buy things for one-off projects. i figure that a small compressor might come in handy if i ever get crazy and buy an impact wrench or something. will a small compressor even push an impact wrench?

thanks for your help folks!

[Rampage]

Not a small one, again, you need flow, and a small compressor just won't be able to sustain flow. You might be able to get four lugs off before it needs to cycle again, maybe.

Just get the tank, its portable and convenient, and get a compressor down the road when you do decide to go crazy.

Cheers,
Mark