Sunroof SOS

[Edward Szmolnik]

I have a 1990 Gen 1 Pajero with sunroof issues, predominantly water leaks. I decided to disassemble the sunroof in an effort to reseal with silicone as previous owner did this also and seemed to work for best part of 5 years.
I decided in my infinite wisdom to remove the sunroof in its entirety, remove and clean all the old silastic and remove the badly cracked and decaying rubber seal. First thing I noticed was the glass was somewhat loose so with some careful prodding the glass panel was removed from the frame.

The exposed frame had serious cancer and with best efforts to clean it up it was proving to be a lost cause. I removed the 8 nuts that fastened the sunroof frame to the body. Once the frame was removed it was easy to remove the rubber seal which was pretty well unrecognisable from its original design.

Another Pajero owner informed me earlier today that the Glass panel, steel sunroof frame and the rubber seal are bonded together during the manufacturing process as one assembly.I very cleverly managed to separate these components not realising it was all one assembly.

Any suggestions from other folks on this site who may have had similar experience with a Gen 1 sunroof replacement or repair options other then selling the Paj? The car is in sound mechanical and body condition and is very tidy.

Any assistance or suggestions will be appreciated

[disco stu]

You have any photos of what it all looks like?

[Edward Szmolnik]

You have any photos of what it all looks like?

Refer photos attached

[disco stu]

Can you seal the glass into that using polyurethane, and then seal that frame into the car in a similar way?

[dhula]

I'm no panel beater or body expert but I'll throw a couple of silly ideas out there without much thought.


Glue/silicon the sunroof you have together and then fit it back into the roof. Once all fitted glue/silicon that in to create a water tight seal so tehre are no leaks


Source an aftermarket (not OEM) sunroof that fits the hole in the roof and fit it up.


Make up a bit of toughened glass or similar the right size for the hole in the roof and glue it in similar to what modern windscreens are glued in.

[disco stu]

Me and dhula think similar. There has to be some way around it

[Edward Szmolnik]

SOS sunroof

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I am starting to lean towards reassembling the sunroof in its entirety and sealing with polyurethane or Sikaflex or bitumen based plumbing tape used for domestic and industrial roofing repairs or something just to get the old girl back on the road.

Thankfully I have her undercover in a garage so the recent rains here in Brisbane won't cause any more damage.

To other Gen1 Pajero owners with leaking sunroofs my only advice is "DONT REMOVE THE SUNROOF"[because chances are your sunroof frame will be corroded to some degree.

For what its worth, I managed to obtain a quotation to fabricate the replacement sunroof frame by a fabricator in Victoria,

Total cost would be $1,100 !!!!excluding shipping.

I could probably buy another Gen 1 for that amount. Anyhow, it looks like the frame can be fabricated . Just thought other readers on this topic may be interested.

[Edward Szmolnik]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I am starting to lean towards reassembling the sunroof in its entirety and sealing with polyurethane or Sikaflex or bitumen based plumbing tape used for domestic and industrial roofing repairs or something just to get the old girl back on the road.

Thankfully I have her undercover in a garage so the recent rains here in Brisbane won't cause any more damage.

To other Gen1 Pajero owners with leaking sunroofs my only advice is "DONT REMOVE THE SUNROOF"[because chances are your sunroof frame will be corroded to some degree.

For what its worth, I managed to obtain a quotation to fabricate the replacement sunroof frame by a fabricator in Victoria,

Total cost would be $1,100 !!!!excluding shipping.

I could probably buy another Gen 1 for that amount. Anyhow, it looks like the frame can be fabricated . Just thought other readers on this topic may be interested.

Hi folks,
Just a quick update to let interested parties know the status of my sunroof repair.
The news is good. I managed to rebond the sunroof glass to the sunroof frame with Sikaflex. The frame needed to be cleaned up with with all flaking rust removed and painted with 3 coats of kill rust .
The roof cavity where the sunroof sits was also cleaned up and painted with matching paint colour to protect the steel where some minor scratches were evident.

I managed to source a strip of double sided Tesa tape to fit between the frame and vehicle roofline.
There are 8 hexagonal bolts that fasten the frame to the mounts inside sunroof cavity.

Once everything was tightened up I applied some roofing tape used by plumbers.
The tape is 75 mm wide and cones in a 3 metre roll. You will need 2 rolls to cover the entire perimeter of sunroof glass where it meets the body.
The tape has a silver foil type top with the underside coated with a very sticky bitumen type material which can be easily pressed into curves and crevices forming a watertight seal.

My intention was to permanently seal the sunroof as I will not be operating the open and close position.

I left the pajero outside overnight as rain was forecast to test my repair girl waterproofing.

I checked the sunroof for leaks inside the cavity as I had not re installed the sliding fabric covered sun shade .

Everything was bone dry without one drop of water finding its way into the cabin.

I am very pleased with my achievement knowing I saved myself in excess of $1,000 in fabrication costs for new frame.

I am confident tat this repair will last a minimum of 5 years and perhaps longer.

Note-IRS rubber moulding supplies in Brisbane have an extensive range of rubber products including extrusions for window and door seals for cars, trucks and caravans.

I hope this helps other Pajero owners with leaky sunroofs.

[Edward Szmolnik]

Butyl self adhesive aluminium tape

[QUOTE=Edward Szmolnik;639316]Hi folks,
Just a quick update to let interested parties know the status of my sunroof repair.
The news is good. I managed to rebond the sunroof glass to the sunroof frame with Sikaflex. The frame needed to be cleaned up with with all flaking rust removed and painted with 3 coats of kill rust .
The roof cavity where the sunroof sits was also cleaned up and painted with matching paint colour to protect the steel where some minor scratches were evident.

Whilst sunroof frame is removed clean out the two drain hole on either side located near front of sunroof to ensure no debris remains and water will drain efficiently during heavy rainfall.
I managed to source
a strip of double sided Tesa tape to fit between the frame and vehicle roofline.
There are 8 hexagonal bolts that fasten the frame to the mounts inside sunroof cavity.

Once everything was tightened up I applied some roofing tape used by plumbers.
The tape is 75 mm wide and cones in a 3 metre roll. You will need 2 rolls to cover the entire perimeter of sunroof glass where it meets the body.
The tape has a silver foil type top with the underside coated with a very sticky bitumen type material which can be easily pressed into curves and crevices forming a watertight seal.

My intention was to permanently seal the sunroof as I will not be operating the open and close position.

I left the pajero outside overnight as rain was forecast to test my repair girl waterproofing.

I checked the sunroof for leaks inside the cavity as I had not re installed the sliding fabric covered sun shade .

Everything was bone dry without one drop of water finding its way into the cabin.

I am very pleased with my achievement knowing I saved myself in excess of $1,000 in fabrication costs for new frame.

I am confident tat this repair will last a minimum of 5 years and perhaps longer.

Note-IRS rubber moulding supplies in Brisbane have an extensive range of rubber products including extrusions for window and door seals for cars, trucks and caravans.

I hope this helps other Pajero owners with leaky sunroofs

[disco stu]

Glad to hear you got it sorted out.

The backing on that tape would be that butyl stuff I take it?

[Edward Szmolnik]

Thats correct

[Edward Szmolnik]

Hi disco Stu...I must confess I had several "hate sessions" with my Pajeroduring the repair process. Its not perfect ,but the sunroof is definitely watertight. The sunroof never opened and closed so the notion of permanently sealing the sunroof was not a criteria i was concerned about.

The best thing is that I am back on the road and enjoying the versatility of this well engineered old 4WD The next task i have is to sort out the air-conditiong as summer is fast approaching in Brisbane.

Hopefully its just a matter of regas and reconnect the vee belt to the compressor to re commission the air-conditioning system.

Is there a recommended gas that blows icy cold air through the cabin rather than the R132 A that most folks are using?

If I was living in Melbourne, i wouldn't worry about the aircon, but up here in Queensland it can get stinking hot and humid in summer and borders on unbearable on some days. I guess thats the day to go for a spin on North Stradbroke Island or Rainbow beach and park somewhere in the sand and enjoy the sea breezes and have a swim or a fish with the kids

You can't do that in a normal passenger vehicle. Long live the 4WD's!!!

[Sang15512]

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[tonero]

I have a 1990 Gen 1 Pajero with sunroof issues, predominantly water leaks. I decided to disassemble the sunroof in an effort to reseal with silicone as previous owner did this also and seemed to work for best part of 5 years.
I decided in my infinite wisdom to remove the sunroof in its entirety, remove and clean all the old silastic and remove the badly cracked and decaying rubber seal. First thing I noticed was the glass was somewhat loose so with some careful prodding the glass panel was removed from the frame.

The exposed frame had serious cancer and with best efforts to clean it up it was proving to be a lost cause. I removed the 8 nuts that fastened the sunroof frame to the body. Once the frame was removed it was easy to remove the rubber seal which was pretty well unrecognisable from its original design.

Another Pajero owner informed me earlier today that the Glass panel, steel sunroof frame and the rubber seal are bonded together during the manufacturing process as one assembly.I very cleverly managed to separate these components not realising it was all one assembly.

Any suggestions from other folks on this site who may have had similar experience with a Gen 1 sunroof replacement or repair options other then selling the Paj? The car is in sound mechanical and body condition and is very tidy.

Any assistance or suggestions will be appreciated

i do not have any experience with this but have you tried google maybe some websites would have done a similar thing that can address your issues. Also if you need any hailcar covers for the meantime you should check out this linkhttps://car-parts-home.com/hail-car-...ducts-of-2020/

[disco stu]

There is the option of using hydrocarbon refrigerant in your air con, and you are allowed to use that yourself at home. Hychill is one brand. You aren't legally allowed to purchase r134a without air con ticket, but funnily enough it is available through electronic shops and designed to be sprayed into the air