How to fix a skylight drain tube leaking into back seat? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

riverrogue · 10-21-2011, 11:11 PM

Dear experts,

Every time it rains, the floor on the right rear passenger's side of our car (2002) fills with water. There is a light water stain on the headliner near the rear pillar, and water clearly runs down inside the pillar. We are certain this water is coming from the drain tube that is supposed to drain water from the right skylight gutter through the rear pillar and down to the ground via the trunk...

I have read elsewhere about this problem, but have yet to find a step-by-step discussion of a solution...

Can anyone tell me how to gain access to this tube to see if it has pulled off or if the hole is clogged with dirt and causing the gutter to overflow??? Please help us if you can.

beantickler · 10-22-2011, 12:48 AM

If you look in the four corners of the sun roof you will see the drain holes... If you have access to a compressor you can blow some air down them. At Toyota we had a SST (special service tool) that is basically a very skinny drain snake. We used to use the tool first and then blow air in the holes. Maybe you can figure something to use to snake the holes out. We tested with cups of water after the repair. In the rear quarter panels under the car is where the hoses drain out so you can tell if the drains are running free... Getting to the connection of the tube might be difficult and will most likely require you to at least pull the rear pillar and the B pillar on the side that is disconnected (if that is the case)...

riverrogue · 10-22-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beantickler

If you look in the four corners of the sun roof you will see the drain holes... If you have access to a compressor you can blow some air down them. At Toyota we had a SST (special service tool) that is basically a very skinny drain snake. We used to use the tool first and then blow air in the holes. Maybe you can figure something to use to snake the holes out. We tested with cups of water after the repair. In the rear quarter panels under the car is where the hoses drain out so you can tell if the drains are running free... Getting to the connection of the tube might be difficult and will most likely require you to at least pull the rear pillar and the B pillar on the side that is disconnected (if that is the case)...

I really appreciate your help beantickler. For the sake of all who read this, if you have to reconnect the tube, how would you pull the pillars and would you have to pop a clip on the head-liner? If so, how would you do that and get it back? Thank you again for helping. RR

beantickler · 10-22-2011, 02:48 PM

Yes clips will need to be popped off... A clip remover tool is a must. The rubber around the tops of both side doors will need to be taken down slightly also cause it holds the headliner in a bit. On the B pillar you may need to mess with the seatbelt to get the pillar off but I can't recall...

riverrogue · 10-22-2011, 03:19 PM

Thanks again!

Okay, for all who have found water in the back seat, this is what I found... Step 1) I gently and slowly wrapped my fingers behind the edges of the rear pillar plastic near the top and got all of the 6 plastic studs to pull out of the frame without damage by working my way slowly down one clip at a time. I put the trim aside. Step 2) I gently spread the plastic trim (covers) on the ends of the overhead hand strap and popped them off to expose the screws underneath. Step 3), I used a phillips screwdriver to unscrew the screws until they were loose, but not completely out. Then, I gently wiggled the strap on each end and got the plastic pins to pop out of the frame. I put this aside. Step 4), I gently poped the plastic cover off of the seatbelt attachment on the center (B) pillar. This exposed a hex-head bolt that I unscrewed using a socket wrench (metric approx 15 mm). Once the seatbelt was loose, I gently lowered the belt so is didn't bind in the retraction slot. Step 5), I gently wedged my fingers under the pillar trim at the top and it popped loose and tilted outward. A proper tool would help here, but slow and gentle pressure did the trick. I didn't remove this trim but left it leaning out by only popping the top clip loose. It is in the middle near the top and is a slot type instead of a round replaceable type. Damage this, and you will need new trim. Step 6), I removed the front overhead hand strap using the same steps as the back one described above. Step 7), I gently pulled the trim loose from around the headliner around the skylight opening. Step 8) I removed the screws holding on the sun visor and set it on the dash. With all this trim removed, I was able to pull the headliner gently down about 1 inch starting from the back corner forward. NO DAMAGE YET! Yahoo!. I was then able to put a small LED flashlight shining from the skylight opening over the top of the headliner and spotted the drain tube that was only about 2 inches from the edge of the headliner and near the back of the rear passenger door opening up top. The tube had pulled off of the drain nipple, so water from the sunlight gutter was draining into the car there and soaking the headliner before running down the pillar trim and along side the seat only to end up in a pool at the feet of the rear right-side passenger (this could happen on the other side just as easily).

So, I was able to reach in through the open rear door and up over the edge of the headliner and put the tube and clip back on nice and tight.

Reverse all the steps above to put it back together, and follow mfg's recommendations on torque and perhaps threadlock to make sure the seatbelt doesn't rattle loose while driving.

I sincerely hope this will help some of you and thanks again to Beantickler. RR