Sunroof stuck shut but still leaks

[AntleredRuin]

Alright before anyone tells me to search, I did; I just didn't find an exact answer to the issue I'm having. Very honestly, I prefer to search; it's a whole lot faster, and if I can find the answer to my problem, it means I'm not the only person to have the issue, and the fix is already pre-documented for me.

Alright, so the title is self explanatory, but I'll expand a bit. 1999 Limited. The sunroof was stuck shut when I bought it. The motor whirs and clicks once whenever I push the button for either direction, but the sunroof does not move.
I noticed over the past weekend with all this hurricane weather in south Texas that the sunroof does leak very slightly (especially for the amount of rain we got) right over the driver's seat in my lap. I was able to 'plug' the leak with a couple tissues so it's not bad, but still.

I know of the drain lines, but I cannot access them until the roof is open. I can blow compressed air or stick a weedeater cable up through the bottom of the lines, but if I can't access the top opening, I don't want anything to get more stuck than it is (if that is indeed the issue).

Is there a way to manually open the sunroof at all? I think that 2nd Gens had a little manual 'switch' near the dome lights? If I need to drop the headliner, where do I start, and do I need an special tools to drop it/put it back up?

 

[volkinator]

Dropping the headliner is easy. Start at the back and work your way forward with the trim pieces. Take off all the light shrouds for domes and map lights, and rear window trim. There are 4 little press in pieces in the middle. Good luck not breaking them, just take your time. Basically start in the middle of the rear and work your way around to the front. You'll also have to take off the sun visors and grab handles. You probably will have to take off the A-pillar trim, and I think it fits without taking out the B-pillar trim.

But this is how you can get to the drain hoses. It sounds like a lot but doesn't take long at all. more than likely the grease has turned to cement, or if you've got rusted guides it'll stop it from moving too. Same happened to mine...

There is no way to manually open the sunroof. It sucks, but there isn't a manual override

 

[AntleredRuin]

Alright, I know I'm reviving my own several month old post, but I figured people would mind this less than if I started a new one. Life got the better of me, and it did not rain for a few months, so I did not get to the sunroof then, but it friggin stormed on Monday. Probably had a gallon of water dumped in my lap when I came to a quick stop on the way to work.

As with any question I ever hope to ask on this or any other forum, I can figure the answer out for myself if necessary, but I'd rather not potentially spend hours of my weekend trying to reinvent the wheel when all I have to do is ask.

So dropping the headliner is relatively easy; I'll give you that.

However, is Volkinator correct in stating that there is no way to manually open the sunroof even after exposing everything? Would I need to actually start removing the motor/rails/etc to do this?

I want this thing FIXED, not just patched (silicon, plastidip, etc) and I like to do my own work. However if it literally is impossible, I'll patch it. A sunroof is not worth several hundred dollars to pay someone to repair, in my opinion.


*Addition; I realized this sounded a bit mean to Volkinator. I'm thankful for the advice that he gave. I'm just curious as to if anyone else has had better luck at all. It just seems odd to me that Toyota would do away with a very useful feature that they used to have (although weirder things have happened; anyone else remember the 'restart' button for TV shows on the Netflix app on the Wii?).

 

[TheOGConCon]

As far as I know, Volkinator is correct. In messing with my sunroof I haven't found a way to manually open it. Your leaking issue is most likely coming from the drain tubes that are at the front of the sunroof (visible from the top side when the sunroof is open) becoming clogged. That's what happened to mine.

If you can't open your sunroof due to the mechanism not working, then most likely you are going to have to open up the headliner and find out why exactly your sunroof isn't working.

 

[averyislost]

On my last vehicle, occasionally the sunroof motor would act like it couldn't engage and if you manually tried to push it back the motor would engage and it would open up. Maybe try that? I don't know if it would work on the 4Runner though.

Another note, I fixed my leaky sunroof with Permatex flowable windshield sealant. My channels worked fine after cleaning them multiple times but my sunroof surround had a crack in it right at the front where it would leak in the same spot you described. You may need to check that too if your channels end up not being clogged.

 

[IBallEngineer]

So dropping the headliner is relatively easy; I'll give you that.

However, is Volkinator correct in stating that there is no way to manually open the sunroof even after exposing everything? Would I need to actually start removing the motor/rails/etc to do this?

I want this thing FIXED, not just patched (silicon, plastidip, etc) and I like to do my own work. However if it literally is impossible, I'll patch it. A sunroof is not worth several hundred dollars to pay someone to repair, in my opinion.


.

OK, a couple of things. YES, it is relatively easy. Relative to what you say? Well compared to brain surgery it's really easy, compared to changing a tire, it's difficult. We don't know your skill level and experience. I have a lot of experience, but 14 year old plastic get's brittle, don't be surprised by a broken clip or two. Take your time, don't get impatient.

I don't agree that you can't open the sunroof manually, you'd have to take the motor off, which would be a Beeey Otch with the headliner in place, but not impossible. Again, I don't know your skill set. I could do it, but I'm not recommending you do it.

Now if you take the headliner out, you don't need to operate the roof to clear the drain hoses, you can just pull them off and clean them up! Of course it would be smart to trouble shoot the roof and hopefully solve both problems.

:humble:

 

[pattycakes77]

When I repaired my sunroof I found that if you pop off the black trim on the left and right of the glass you will see 4 nuts that hold it to the track. Unbolt it and you can take the glass out and clean your drain hoses and inspect for other problems. As for the motor not working, no clue.

 

[Miyota]

Do exactly what pattycakes77 said. If you need pictures let me know and I'll pull mine apart and get you pictures. As far as getting it to work is is either something in the motor is broken or the grease on the tracks is cement. I believe the motor is being the map light under the headliner. Try pulling the glass out and blowing out your drains and see where that leaves you. If you drop the headliner you could also disconnect the drains from the corners of the sun roof unit to blow it out. Basically the sun roof unit has four nipples on each corner that the drain tube slides over and a clamp holds it in place. If you take it off you can blow it out that way. Let me know if you need anything.

 

[AntleredRuin]

Thank you guys so much for the help. I did end up siliconing it shut from the top.
I dropped the headliner this weekend (and cleaned all the disgusting water spots with a fair amount of alcohol and several towels). Disconnected the drain lines from the tray in the ceiling and blew them out. Hardly anything seemed to come out. (literally 2 tiny twigs). I'm assuming by thus that the seal somewhere is not as water resistant as it should be.
I removed the motor from the ceiling, and plugged back in and tested it. The clicking IS in the motor. I know I can buy a new/junkyard one, but I'll pass for now.
Just siliconed the seal around the top and called it a day. Still glad I dropped the headliner to clean it, in any case. That was starting to get disgusting

 

[volkinator]

Best resource I've found for this type of thing as well...
Clicky

Sorry for any misleading information earlier, I just know there wasn't any form of manual override like the 2nd gen... and I've had my own complaints with it. I don't take any offense at all. Just providing what I've found out along the way. I ended up with a 'new' sunroof assembly and pulled out the old one. My goal is to fix it all up and try to sell it and such.

But either way I'm glad you got it figured out.