Water Leaks Inside Car

[Maineguy]

I recently bought a one owner, 1999 Saab 9-5 and it has 2 interior water leaks due to rain. I have been told that they originate from the sunroof. The first rain/water leak comes down the cloth covered post between the drivers door and the windshield. The second leak soaks BOTH rear seat rugs/foot wells. One person said that there is a clogged drain hole in the sunroof. If this is true, I have no idea as where the drain hole(s) are located and how to unclog them. I really want to solve these leaks ASAP because the water in the back seat floor wells will soon begin to freeze up here in Maine. Hope someone can help me out. I would LOVE to find a TUTORIAL if possible on how to fix these leaks.

[Mike Brennan]

The leak fix will be easy and someone who has repaired that will tell you how. What I wanted to warn you of is that if these leaks have been long standing you absolutly need to pull the carpet and mats out of the car and inspect the floors. Likely you have soaked padding and rust, serious rust will not be far behind. If you pads are damp, I believe, you will have to pull the all the carpet and pads out. You wond be able to dry them otherwise. Good luck.

[Maineguy]

Mike,
The pads are soaked and I will need to pull up the carpet. Too bad I did not discover the back seat problem a month ago when the temps were much warmer! Big question: You say the leak problem is an easy fix? I would appreciate any help you could give as to how I solve the leaks. Thanks for your help.

[photousa]

I talked to an automotive interior place here in Chicago not long ago and they were well aware of those sunroof drains getting clogged up. Their solution was to take compressed air and blow out the drain lines. My impression was that it took a compressor and an air gun and couldn't be done with something like canned air. A combination of dirt, broken leaves and who knows what else can get into the drain tubes. You will see the drain tubes in each of the 4 corners of your sunroof, if I'm not mistaken.

[Maineguy]

Thanks for the information about the compressed air solution. I can see the two front holes and they are very easy to locate. Getting at the two back ones is going to be a real challenge. I'm going to call a few Saab dealer service managers to see what they recommend doing. I'm wondering if there is a way of finding the right size of flexible rubber tubing that will fit snugly into the drain holes and then take compressed air and do my best to force air into the rubber extensions. I still would like to know HOW the rain from the rear sunroof holes ends up on the floor wells in the back seat? The sides of the rocker panels are completely dry? I guess only a dealer or experienced Saab mechanic can answer that question. I looked under the back seats and its not going to be easy getting the rugs up to replace that mats under the rugs. Who know if there is rust starting on the floor boards also? First time in 45 years of driving I have ever had a car end up with water on the floor of the back seats!! Really weird.

[aeronaut]

I recently bought a one owner, 1999 Saab 9-5 and it has 2 interior water leaks due to rain. I have been told that they originate from the sunroof. The first rain/water leak comes down the cloth covered post between the drivers door and the windshield. The second leak soaks BOTH rear seat rugs/foot wells. One person said that there is a clogged drain hole in the sunroof. If this is true, I have no idea as where the drain hole(s) are located and how to unclog them. I really want to solve these leaks ASAP because the water in the back seat floor wells will soon begin to freeze up here in Maine. Hope someone can help me out. I would LOVE to find a TUTORIAL if possible on how to fix these leaks.

I had the first leak. The cause was the drain tube (clear plastic about 1/2 " dia) had come off of the sunroof drain hole on the side of the sunroof pan. The solution was to carefully drop the roof liner to find the drain tube and then and push it back on. I added a tie wrap to keep it from coming off again.

[Maineguy]

Is it difficult dropping the head liner AND getting back in place so that it looks like it did BEFORE I dropped the head liner?

[photousa]

I dropped 1/2 of my head liner about a month ago. It's not really difficult, the only challenge is putting the trim ring around the sunroof opening back on. I was amazed that I didn't even break one clip.
You do need to be careful when pulling off pillar trim caps, be sure to pull them straight away from the pillar, don't pull them up or down. The "B" pillar trim caps are held on with snaps that look like buttons and if you pull the pillar trim cap up or down,
or sideways, those "buttons" can come loose and get lost in the cracks and crevices and those, "buttons" can't be purchased separately, you have to buy the entire piece of trim to a get a simple "button" or snap. Also you'll want to look out for wires attached to the back side of the headline with felt tape. My wagon had wires running from front to back that were taped to the back side of the headliner. Saab has incorporated a very robust, smart design about things, the components aren't cheap like with American cars. Every time I would try to work on my Saturn, I would end up breaking something in my attempt to fix something, not so with my Saab, the components are just built to a higher standard.

[Mike Brennan]

No 100 thinkness (or thicker 120 if you can find it) weed wacker sting will normally be thick enough to free up the silt in the pipes and flexable enough to get all the way down. Also, to do it right it's best to pull the seats. Be careful with airbag stuff. Saab Central has lots of posts on both these issues if no one answers here.

[aeronaut]

Is it difficult dropping the head liner AND getting back in place so that it looks like it did BEFORE I dropped the head liner?

I just removed the trim/rubber from around the door and the pillar trims and gently pulled the liner down a bit from the side until I could see what was gong on under there (with a flashlight). it was just a matter of reaching in with one hand to do the job. The headliner will crease or fold so be careful not to pull down to much in any particular place.