Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!)

justinbarrow · 10-05-2008, 12:56

Well after 2 weeks of trying to find a leak in my roof it appearrs that the water was getting in through the roof rail gutters at the brackets are situated to hold a roof rack.

Has anyone heard of this before as it looks like the previous keeper has has a heavy roof rack on the car at some point and this has put strain on the holding bracket on the roof of the car.

byrnsie · 12-07-2008, 20:48

Just found the same thing. Took about 2 litres of water from the back passenger footwell from this leak. It flowed down through the door seal and onto the floor soaking all around it. This happened after i fitted new thuile roof bars. Any idea how to get the roof rail off. Dont want to break it. Its prob very simple but would like to know if someone has a tip on how to do it properly.

trundlenut · 12-07-2008, 22:41

I had a similar problem sorted under warrenty, the dealer never exactly identified the source of the leak but thought it was the roof rail, they first thought it was the aerial but quickly ruled that out. Their answer was to slap sealant on anything that may possibly be causing it. I saw the car without the roof lining etc in and they had slapped this black sealant everywhere!

Watch out for the clips holding down the caps on the end of the roof rails, they are easy to break and tend to flap around in the wind and make a rather annoying noise. I think you need to remove the headlining to take the roof rails off but I may be wrong.

byrnsie · 15-07-2008, 07:19

Thanks for that, I removed it carefully by removing the blank at the back of the rail then easing the rail up one clip at a time. No need to take the ceiling lining off. The leak is just at one of the rail attachments. Sealent to be plastered all over it this morning. Hope it doesnt rain again till it seals!!!

VtinyRmikeS · 15-07-2008, 20:54

hi, mine also was leaking from the roof rail attachments via a rusty hole, sealed that and found 2 more, 1 was coming through the panel where the hinge for the tailgate is. it ended up in the cd changer area and i still have one by the nearside rear light a small puddle appears everytime it rains but not when i try with a hose, think ive sorted them but im not puttin my car back together until im really sure

10-05-2008, 12:56	#1
justinbarrow Briskodian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Barrow In Furness Posts: 128 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!) Well after 2 weeks of trying to find a leak in my roof it appearrs that the water was getting in through the roof rail gutters at the brackets are situated to hold a roof rack. Has anyone heard of this before as it looks like the previous keeper has has a heavy roof rack on the car at some point and this has put strain on the holding bracket on the roof of the car.

12-07-2008, 20:48	#2
byrnsie Briskodian Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!) Just found the same thing. Took about 2 litres of water from the back passenger footwell from this leak. It flowed down through the door seal and onto the floor soaking all around it. This happened after i fitted new thuile roof bars. Any idea how to get the roof rail off. Dont want to break it. Its prob very simple but would like to know if someone has a tip on how to do it properly.

12-07-2008, 22:41	#3
trundlenut Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Nottingham Posts: 138 Thanks: 6 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!) I had a similar problem sorted under warrenty, the dealer never exactly identified the source of the leak but thought it was the roof rail, they first thought it was the aerial but quickly ruled that out. Their answer was to slap sealant on anything that may possibly be causing it. I saw the car without the roof lining etc in and they had slapped this black sealant everywhere! Watch out for the clips holding down the caps on the end of the roof rails, they are easy to break and tend to flap around in the wind and make a rather annoying noise. I think you need to remove the headlining to take the roof rails off but I may be wrong.

15-07-2008, 07:19	#4
byrnsie Briskodian Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!) Thanks for that, I removed it carefully by removing the blank at the back of the rail then easing the rail up one clip at a time. No need to take the ceiling lining off. The leak is just at one of the rail attachments. Sealent to be plastered all over it this morning. Hope it doesnt rain again till it seals!!!

15-07-2008, 20:54	#5
VtinyRmikeS Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: WIRRAL Posts: 84 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Found my roof leak (in the roof rail gutter!) hi, mine also was leaking from the roof rail attachments via a rusty hole, sealed that and found 2 more, 1 was coming through the panel where the hinge for the tailgate is. it ended up in the cd changer area and i still have one by the nearside rear light a small puddle appears everytime it rains but not when i try with a hose, think ive sorted them but im not puttin my car back together until im really sure

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