H2 sunroof drains, roof lights

[flyday58]

I've spent a while searching the forum trying to find this one but came up empty. Every thread referred to the H3, so if I missed it my apple agies. The H2 I bought has a slight musty smell after sitting in the hot sun awhile. PO claimed no leaks, carpet is dry even after heavy rain, but still the smell. The brake pedal is very rusty, as are other unprotected metal brackets behind the dash.

I cleaned the front sunroof drains, blew air through them and ran a 20" motorcycle cable down them. Can't find the other end of the drains, but I think they exit into the engine compartment at the firewall. The rear drains i can't reach at all, and don't know where they drain unless it's behind the inner fenders.

There's plenty of info on the H3 drains and roof lights, but didn't see anything on the H2. Does anyone know if the 2 is the same or similar, or have a thread? Wanna head this off early, if it's an issue. For all I know the PO went to the beach before he sold it to me and let everyone sit in it soaking wet! Nah...

 

[flyday58]

I took a chance and put some water in all 4 drains, all drained out and were not clogged. Woot woot! Got some crud out the fronts, the rears were just water. The drains are behind the front fenders and the rear C pillar (I think); water came out behind the front tires, behind the inner fender, and in front of the rears through weep "holes" in the body. So now I'll see about getting new gaskets for the running lights. Probably get new ones off fleabay.

Anyone know if the round wiring plugs that go into the roof for the corner running lights is available? I RTVed the crap out of them as they are a loose fit and could be a source of water intrusion. But I keep forgetting, this ain't one of my 40 year-old motorcycles where parts are only available on fleabay, prolly still available from GM...

 

[Renagade132]

Yes I would definitely replace the gaskets on the top lights, and maybe at some silicone as well. I know if water gets in there it will find its way down the front side pillars and onto the front firewall. Of course check your windshield to make sure the seal is still good around it, as that could be a way in for water as well!

 

[flyday58]

Thanks Rena Gee, windshield is on the replacement list, po took a major rock hit driving back from Colorado last fall. Looks like it was driven through Compton on a Saturday night! Or East Brunswick or Rahway, for your area of the planet.

 

[Big2dabank]

Roof top marker lights have pretty crappy gaskets and are notorious leak points. I have to apply RTV silicone to mine to keep them sealed every few years to keep things sealed up. Two of my marker lights are cracked pretty bad from hitting tree limbs off road, so make sure you marker lights are in good condition also.

 

[flyday58]

Roof top marker lights have pretty crappy gaskets and are notorious leak points. I have to apply RTV silicone to mine to keep them sealed every few years to keep things sealed up. Two of my marker lights are cracked pretty bad from hitting tree limbs off road, so make sure you marker lights are in good condition also.

Thanks for that. Are the aftermarket marker lights on ebay okay, or are they cheap crap? Should I look for OEM stuff?

 

[liveinxs]

In the sunroof itself, just where are the rear drain holes, i tested the front holes and they were clear, but i can't seem to locate the rear drains, are they in the rear corners, the glass seems to block access to that area...

 

[Zach]

OEM corner lights come with the boots. Three center ones are different. Seals are only sold with the lights from GM and they are expensive. Haven't dealt with the aftermarket ones at all. Knock on wood, mine don't leak. Although, I have a spare set. Left corner light has a ton of silicone due to running all the light wiring down it. There was about a half in gap. Most people just use silicone and seems to be the best rather than replacing

 

[Fish]

Once last year I found my driver side carpet wet after a good rain, I haven't noticed it again probably because we get no rain in this parched state...I'm guessing it's my marker lights, the gaskets look like they have seen better days but so far it hasn't happened again even with a good car wash. I would definetly check the marker lights...

 

[flyday58]

My front markers look like they're sitting on about a quarter inch rtv base, so I'll start there when I get home Sunday.

liveinxs, the rear holes are hidden by the glass. I just used a funnel to direct the water to the rear and all worked well. Again, this is a 2 but I suspect the 3 is the same if that's what you have.

 

[liveinxs]

Thanks for the reply, no i have a H2, are you able to get to them, to snake some weed wacker wire down them, just in case they are clogged...

 

[flyday58]

Thanks for the reply, no i have a H2, are you able to get to them, to snake some weed wacker wire down them, just in case they are clogged...

Not that I know of, I think the drain is 90º like in the front, so you'd have to make the turn to get anything in there. You can probably take the headliner down and get at them that way. Here's a thread from the H3 boys showing their version (may have to copy and paste the link): Rear Drain Tubes: Where & How-To

 

[Mcioci]

cab lights

Thanks for that. Are the aftermarket marker lights on ebay okay, or are they cheap crap? Should I look for OEM stuff?

I have 6 of the oem cab lights im selling. I do not have the corner lights, just the 3 middle for front and rear. I have it on ebay for 275.00 and free shipping. these are used but does not have any cracks. A few still have some dried black silicone underneath the caps but you will need to silicone them again anyway to keep the water out. let me know if you are interested.

 

[flyday58]

I have 6 of the oem cab lights im selling. I do not have the corner lights, just the 3 middle for front and rear. I have it on ebay for 275.00 and free shipping. these are used but does not have any cracks. A few still have some dried black silicone underneath the caps but you will need to silicone them again anyway to keep the water out. let me know if you are interested.

Sent you a pm.

 

[flyday58]

Got the new smoke-colored roof marker lights and installed them yesterday. I guess the PO did a good job with the RTV because none of them showed signs of water intrusion, at least the 6 middle ones front and back. The corner ones were probably leaking a little; the roof plugs were loose and had heavy doses of RTV on them.

The right rear was a known leaker by the PO, and when I pulled it the plug wasn't fully seated in the hole but had tons of RTV on it. Looked like he couldn't get sealant on the front of the plug, and it was cocked to that side so it was gonna leak again if it wasn't already. Had to take out several roof rack bolts to get enough clearance in there to get the sealant all the way around and make sure the plug was fully seated in the hole.

I put Autozone LEDs in the front corners, but I'm gonna order ambers and reds from Super Bright LEDs for them, along with colored LEDs for the dash lighting, once I decide on the colors I want.

Incidentally, had the windshield replaced Wednesday. Couldn't see any signs of water intrusion on the part of the headliner that was visible with the glass removed. Another good sign.

 

[cowboy701]

flyday, how do you remove the roof marker lights ? can't find any screws if there are any !!

 

[flyday58]

CB, you have to insert a common screwdriver or similar into the slot on the side and CAREFULLY pry it up so as not to damage the paint. The markers are held in place by small spring clips that fit into the holes in the roof on one side, and a plastic tab on the opposite side from the slot. If RTV has been used in the past that will give some resistance, but the clip holds it in place.

 

[DetroixH2]

water sitting on passenger floor carpet

Never noticed water before this past winter, as my H2 sat the whole time outside ...and now the passenger side floor carpet is soaked, even days after a rain. My windshield has been replaced twice in last 14 years due to poor seal so I thought it might be that. Windshield is being replaced as we speak (as the poor seal caused it to crack), so hopefully that fixes that issue. If NOT, how should I check to find where the water is coming from. I have sunroof and roof top lights. Also my truck has always sounded like it has poor seals EVERYWHERE - doors, windshield, etc etc.
Is this something I can fix on my own (as I am the least handy person when it comes to vehicles)

 

[Fireman780]

I had the same issue the repair is to remove the lights on top of the roof and pull out the seals for the light wires and ad silicone under and around them and the leak will stop.

 

[The_Mountain]

Looks like I'm joining the leak club. My center lights are already heavily RTV'ed, and the water was only at the very right corner of the headliner, a few drops on the dash and a slightly damp passenger-side floor mat. I'm going to guess it's probably the right front corner lamp, but I'll pick up some heavy-gauge weed-wacker line anyway, and run it down the sunroof drains just in case.

 

[The_Mountain]

Looks like I'm joining the leak club. My center lights are already heavily RTV'ed, and the water was only at the very right corner of the headliner, a few drops on the dash and a slightly damp passenger-side floor mat. I'm going to guess it's probably the right front corner lamp, but I'll pick up some heavy-gauge weed-wacker line anyway, and run it down the sunroof drains just in case.

I saw water coming in at what looked like the top of the windshield (just had the windshield replaced 3-4 weeks ago) a couple of weeks ago after the last heavy rain we had. I thought it was just a bad seal on that, and had them check. I also poured water down the sunroof drains, down the front roof channel drain, and over the windshield header, but got nothing. The sunroof drains seem to be draining fine. The roof channel produces some water on the outside of the A pillar, but there are three separate weather strips there that should be keeping water away from the interior, and it's too far down to be getting up in the headliner area anyway. However, over the weekend it rained again, and this time there was water dripping out of the seams on the A pillar grab handle, so it's definitely not the windshield. Looks like I get to pull apart some interior panels to see if the sunroof drain tube is maybe cracked or partially disconnected, and I will have to pull the right front roof corner lamp as well.

Bah.

 

[alrock]

Good luck, sounds like you'll be playing with some RTV

 

[Big2dabank]

I had to replace the rubber seal around my sunroof a few weeks ago to fix my leaks, I could watch the water pour in around the seal, so it was easy to figure out. $100 part online and very easy to replace.

 

[The_Mountain]

To update on my leak, in case it helps: I had water coming in from what looked like the top-right corner of the windshield, right after replacing it. After much testing and experimentation, it turns out it was the little cup gasket where the wires for the corner roof marker light come up through the body. It was dry, and had obviously shrunk enough that under the right conditions, water would seep in around it. A small circle of silicone around the edge of the hole, with the gasket allowed to glue itself to the silicone after it had started to harden, fixed that.

 

[Krackerzack]

The 3 things I have found to fix my leaks. I have leaks at both front and rear corners and middle cab dome light. The roof side marker lights in both front and rear leak. Silicone on the rubber plugs stopped those. On the sunroof drains, the rear drains are bad about collecting trash in the trough and clogging the drains. You can pop out the rear panel allowing you stick your arm between the headliner and roof at the backdoors. From there, you can use your fingers to clean the troughs out. I can't really remember where they are located, but I do know that I was able to see the outlet ports for the rear drains. I used speaker wire to snake through the drains on both the front and rear. The last issue are the weather seals at the top of each door. They are held in place by a metal U seam. Over time, the metal U seam starts to spread open due to the doors constantly being opened and closed. The rain water is then able to pass from the outside portion of the seam to the inside. From there, in runs down the front pillar to the floor. From time to time, you need to remove the seals and smash the U back together.

Hope that helps.