sunroof drain hose interior diameter

[Taylor Marshall]

Anyone know the interior diameter of the sunroof hose drains ? Parts 7 & 8 in the diagram.
My rear ones are clogged again and instead of spending a hit & miss hour or two twisting coaxial cable up them to get the gunk out I'm looking for an easy to do (and do again when necessary) solution.
I can get at the hoses by pulling off the top of the rear window seals and untucking the headliner but what then ? The hose clamps to the sunroof tray drain tubes are those wretched impossible to remove permanent type so I can either take a Dremel cutting wheel to the clamps and try and cut them off without slitting the hose end or cut the hose and fit a double barb held in place with normal removeable hose clamps . So I'm wondering what size barb to go looking for if I opt for Curtain 2.

[86GT635]

If you haven't taken a look yet to see what type of clamps are holding it on, it could very well maybe pay off in your favor.

I went through that once, and the hoses were pretty much just in place. There was a zip-tie, although it was loose. I can't imagine how someone would take the time to put a zip on it, trim the excess off, but not tighten it. I know it didn't magically grow.

But, I believe that the hose that goes down behind the shields/guards in the rear wheels is the same hose. I would guess it is about a 1/2"-3/4".

On the next 6 I pick up, I am going to try and re-route the front drain hoses through the rockers or even the fenders. I can't stop thinking about water draining into the rockers.

[86GT635]

Also, on the pdf, it looks like that hose clamp is a 15-19mm size.

[Taylor Marshall]

It's one of those pissy clamps that can only be loosened by getting a pair of pliers on the round compression spring on its top and squeezing it. Given the orientation of the stock clamp (see pic) and the cramped working space it would be damn difficult to keep a squeeze on the ring and simultaneously pull the hose off the metal sunroof tray drain tube.
So I opted for option 1 and took the Dremel to the stock hose clamp and cut it off. I didn't measure them but the hoses are thin walled and I'd say the interior diameter is about 15 mm .
Once you have access to the top of the hose it is extremely easy to pass a coaxial cable down it and push the composted sludge (see pic of one of the lumps) out . I passed the cable right through the bottom and see-sawed it back and forth (see pic) then flushed the hose with a garden hose nozzle set to jet to get the final detritus out.
My passenger side one was really clogged up and even had a wierd old jagged piece of a busted molded plastic thingamajig (see pic with the sawn pissy clip beside it) stuck in it. It's a wonder any water at all could get through it and I have no idea how that got in there.
Finally I re-attached the hoses with garden variety screw clamps (see pic) and tucked my grotty old headliner back in place under the window seals and called it done. We're getting a thunderstorm tonight so my work will be tested but I'm feeling confident.
It will be ever so much easier to do the next time as all I'll have to do is unscrew the hose clamps and pull the hoses off to get at their top ends.
Hope this helps someone else.

[SUABBYM6]

That looks like a true joy. Thanks for the pics and narrative. Gives me something to look foreward to.

[e24uard]

I just did something like this. I was looking for the other sunroof thread to see how to get the pursed plastic end out, but I guess I'll just ram coaxial cable through the rubber hose end to force the plastic open (like Taylor did).

Here's more pictures. (Can't hurt, right?)
http://imgur.com/a/I2rcd

Externally hosted because I don't feel like resizing them

PS- New Signature!

Wasn't able to fully clear the drain by just ramming things in there. I borrowed an air compressor and a sprayer nozzle and shot out all the gunk. Pictures soon.

[Alex E24 E30]

Good write-up, Taylor. Some days, as I ponder having to do exactly the same thing to mine, I wonder just how much more difficult it would be to find or make (read: have made) a water-tight gasket for the sunroof itself to avoid these issues going forward.


Alex

[kashmirshark]

Guys.... you just saved me hours and hours of wasted time.

[Mason Jones]

Yes, thanks, just saved me a bunch of time too. I was getting water on the driver's side rear seat and floor. Tried pushing wire through the rear sunroof drain but couldn't tell if it was getting through.

I measured the ID of the plastic drain hose and the clamped end which was stretched from being on the metal drain was about 15mm. The other end was about 13mm which is probably what the hose should be new. I ended up replacing it with 1/2" heater hose just because that's what I had in the garage and I doubt O'ReillyZone would have 13mm hose. The heater hose was a pretty tight fit but it worked.

I pulled out the rubber extension with the stupid fluted "valve" end and discarded it. It was completely stopped up. I simply ran the 1/2" hose as far as it would go down the C-pillar to the drain holes behind the rear window. I'm sure there's a reason for that fluted end but I'd rather not be reminded by a wet floor when it needs cleaning out again. Next weekend I'll do the other side.

[wogden700]

Hi Taylor and Rob!
Resurrecting an old thread here, but I'm pretty sure I got a busted hose on the right rear of the sunroof. How hard was it to get that window trim our and get access up there and was the headliner attached and how did it go back?
When I wash the car in the touchless wash I get a pretty good stream of water coming in from the top rear corner of the right rear passenger window. I'm changing out the sunroof gasket as it's wasted, but I tho=ink my problem is bigger than that.
Warner

[EuroGeorge]

Warner, I did this repair, maybe 10 years ago? IIRC, I gently pulled the headliner material away from the inner window trim with a plastic spudger. Be careful becuase that material will tear easiy. If you eyeball the rear drain area in the sunroof and pulll just enough material out (6-8") below that drain, you can get access to the hose. Gently tuck the healiner material back under the trim.

[DesktopDave]

I tried this last year too. It's a really great solution, but it takes some patience. No need to remove any window trim, just the upper seal.

Lower the rear window as far as possible, then pull the rubber window seal away from the upper curve of the window opening. You can leave the seal hanging there. The fabric is actually glued to the bodywork pinch weld underneath the window seal. Given how old the fabric is, there's a moderate risk of tearing it. It is pulled pretty tightly and there isn't a lot of extra fabric. I'm with EuroGeorge, a plastic spudger trim tool is the ideal implement here.

Once you pull about 5-6 inches of fabric, you'll be able to see the rear drain. Mine also had those steel band clamps installed, I think they're called oetiker or 'ear' clamps. While they are a good idea for tight spaces, they aren't really fun to play with. Once you're done, I just stretched the fabric back up & pushed the window seal back up. It's held up just fine, no new contact cement required.

Looks like the car in those pics had another problem like mine...the original fabric once had a foam lining. It's all long shriveled up. I would strongly recommend resisting the urge to use an airgun...despite using really low pressure it made a toxic cloud of blinding foam dust both inside and outside of the car. It's almost like sand, really nasty to breathe that stuff!