KenTX
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- Location
- Houston, TX
This started with a bad chemical/piss smell after a hard rain, and I realized my passenger floor was soaked and holding water. The sunroof drain hose failed, and water leaked down the hose, and into the back seat and floor area. The headliner was completely dry inside and out.
It took me a few tries to figure out what the actual problem was. My first assumption was my dry rotted satellite antenna gasket. Nope, still leaking. I removed the headliner, and could see water was leaking from the sunroof drain hose. I tried silicone and then a hose clamp, neither of which worked. I finally realized the leak was coming from the hose coupler. You can see it in picture #3 - the glue failed. The design is surprisingly weak, especially given VW's history of sunroof leaks.
The fix is simple. The drain connection and hose were slightly different diameters, so I used a small length of 1/2" clear hose, a hose clamp, and 1/2" to 3/8" coupler.
The front drains have a slightly better design, but it's similarly sketchy. I've seen pictures of water leaking down the A pillar and into the fuse box, so I might do a similar fix before re-installing the headliner.
Here's an interior shot, to illustrate the layout of the sunroof and rear drains:
Here's how the hose connects to the rear sunroof drain. Strange ball type connection that's very loose:
Here's the problem - gaps in the drain hose on the top and bottom:
Here's my fix...$5 worth of parts from the hardware store to prevent a ruined interior:
Close up action shot:
It took me a few tries to figure out what the actual problem was. My first assumption was my dry rotted satellite antenna gasket. Nope, still leaking. I removed the headliner, and could see water was leaking from the sunroof drain hose. I tried silicone and then a hose clamp, neither of which worked. I finally realized the leak was coming from the hose coupler. You can see it in picture #3 - the glue failed. The design is surprisingly weak, especially given VW's history of sunroof leaks.
The fix is simple. The drain connection and hose were slightly different diameters, so I used a small length of 1/2" clear hose, a hose clamp, and 1/2" to 3/8" coupler.
The front drains have a slightly better design, but it's similarly sketchy. I've seen pictures of water leaking down the A pillar and into the fuse box, so I might do a similar fix before re-installing the headliner.
Here's an interior shot, to illustrate the layout of the sunroof and rear drains:
Here's how the hose connects to the rear sunroof drain. Strange ball type connection that's very loose:
Here's the problem - gaps in the drain hose on the top and bottom:
Here's my fix...$5 worth of parts from the hardware store to prevent a ruined interior:
Close up action shot:
