Sun roof seal

It is too late for you, but for others, sun roofs, and leather seats are nothing but money sinks in old cars. They contribute little and take a fair amount of care. If they have been kept up in the past it is costly. Personally I won't buy a car that has either. I did once and learned. The sun roof and leather seats actually detracted from the car's value.

That's on my list of things to do, as well. But if the problem is that water is leaking in through the sunroof when it is closed, then it is likely that the internal sunroof gutters or drain tubes are blocked. I've never needed to address this, so can't give you the details - hopefully it doesn't require the headlining to be removed. I don't think the strip was ever a water seal.

For a new strip I would suggest looking in the Yellow Pages for a car trimmer, or vehicle refitter. In fact I think my local independent auto parts shop might have something to do the job.

This is usually caused by fine dust settling in the "pile" of the seal. I found that very careful scraping with a blunt instrument similar to a thumb nail will restore the pile to virtually as new and remove the hardened dust, making the seal once more effective.

If it has gone brittle then try carefully removing it then using a toothbrush with a little detergent to bring back it's condition.

If it is the rubber backing that has gone brittle then replacement is the bet answer.

Cheers, Peter.

Ron/Champ 6

1963 8E5 Champ (Champ 6) 1962 Lark Daytona Convertible (Boomerang) 1995 VW Passat (Vanilla..yuk) 1994 Volvo 850 (Tilley)

I love having a sunroof and have had relatively few problems with mine. Leather seats though I would agree with, they're comfy when new but so is good cloth and they're virtually always dried and cracked when old.

Many thanks Peter I'll give it a go. When Is said 'brittle', I was just assuming it had gone like that with age and not dirt. Worth another look now I suppose. Regards. Mike.

waterless Hand cleaner. It has a bit of lanolin in it.

Ron/Champ 6

1963 8E5 Champ (Champ 6) 1962 Lark Daytona Convertible (Boomerang) 1995 VW Passat (Vanilla..yuk) 1994 Volvo 850 (Tilley)

: >Anyone know a good way to soften this seal as it's gone a little brittle, or : >is the only cure a new one, and at what cost in the UK ? : : That's on my list of things to do, as well. But if the problem is that : water is leaking in through the sunroof when it is closed, then it is : likely that the internal sunroof gutters or drain tubes are blocked. : I've never needed to address this, so can't give you the details - : hopefully it doesn't require the headlining to be removed. I don't : think the strip was ever a water seal. : : For a new strip I would suggest looking in the Yellow Pages for a car : trimmer, or vehicle refitter. In fact I think my local independent : auto parts shop might have something to do the job. : -- : : Stewart Hargrave : ............................................ Thanks for that Stewart, it looks like a good poke around the drain tubes might be a good Idea first although I have priced up a new seal from a large Volvo agent and I was surprised at the cost, it was only £28 +vat, (not bad I thought for a Volvo). Regards. Mike.

If the sun roof is the same as the 940, ie glass and the seal pushes horizontally on, its likely the seal is leaky.

My 940 leaked occassionally and after heavy rain, soaking the 4 corners of the roof under the sunroof mechanism, most annoying round the front sunvisor that would drip on my leg occassionally. After checking the rain gutters and drains I eventually realised that the water was dripping into slide channel and not the gutter. This was caused by the join between the the seal and the glass roof being leaky bunged with dirt etc. A wipe with silicon sealant sorted it.

-- Tony Stanley