So we bought the Disco about 8 months ago and have been fixing and fiddling with the little issues and have finally made it to the interior and its problems. Pulled the headliner to reupholster it and found a mess. Looks like the PO had it out before and hacked things a bit. More than half the screws were missing which made it real easy to pull out. Anyway there's a bunch of little leaks I can now spot with the headliner out and I was curious how to go about fixing each one.

First one is the rear roof seam that everyone gripes about. What do I use to reseal it and do I have to remove the old stuff or just apply over top?

Second one is one of the alpine windows. Seal looks perfect, no cracks or anything, but its slightly damp around the bottom edge now with the rain coming down. What should I do?

Third leak is from one of the rear sunroof drains. PO broke the drain off at the sunroof assembly. I'm gonna grab parts from the scrap yard and fix that one but didn't know what to use to seal it back up.

Both sunroofs have the typical seepage so I'm going to try to fix the seals and snug up everything in hopes of fixing them. Last resort will be new assemblies.

Lastly I have a leak that runs down the drivers a pillar every now and then. Can't tell where its coming from, any ideas?

Any other trouble spots I should check out while the headliner is out? Anything I should reseal or replace that I didn't mention? Thanks

 

Welcome to the world of leaking rovers. I am dealing with issues currently.
I can say, from experience that its probably your windshield thats leaking down the A piller. I would take a hose, and with you in the truck have someone start at the bottom of the windshield and slowly go up to the sun roof. If you get water before you get to the sun roof, the windshield is leaking. If you get to the sun roof and then it starts leaking, then most likely that clear plastic tube that drains the sun roof is plugged. Also, you will find that there are many holes in the floor of your land rover. Some have plugs in them, others are just covered in....... duct tape..... I would use 100% silicone thats mold resistant. They sell it at Home Depto! Good luck.

 

You fix the sunroofs with marine grade sealant, just seal them shut and be done with it.
Your window frames are rusted, the roof is steel, it rusts, you need to pull the glass and repair the rust, you can pull the seals back, beat the hell out of them and make a nice coat, or you can use the sealant and just goop them up real good and pray.

 

Is this a RESTORATION or a fix and drive? The best way we have found to fix any leaked in the British cars we is NEW seals where you have a leak and if you have a rust issue take the time to FIX the rust area. Naval Jelly and a couple of other nasty chemicals turns rust BLACK and stops it then you sand a fill the area, prime paint and then install seals.
We will be putting a new headliner in the 98 and doing the clean-out of the drains, all new seals and such which is more on the Restoration side then fix and drive.
What I have found is the British car+rain+neglect=BOAT Bring Over Another Thousand but that is the fun? of this madness.

 

Its just a driver but I'd like to not have to replace the headliner every 6 months due to water damage. How would I go about cleaning the sun roof drains? Aside from adjusting the rear door I have all of the leaks pinpointed and will begin the repair process shortly. Mostly what I've found is just leaky seals or loose hardware so nothing major, just very annoying when it rains. As tempting as it is to seal the sun roofs shut, I like them working so I'll keep fiddling with them until they stop. The only leak in the rear one is from the drain being snapped off, the front one however has what looks like a worn out seal. Gonna try to put a layer of silicone under the seal and treat it with gummi pfledge and go from there.

 

All drains can be cleaned with a piece of wire down them OR compressed air can blow them out. I use both depending on the blockage of the drain.
Do not FORCE the wire it will either KINK or damage the tubing.

 

you have to do the water test with the hose.

like spike said use the marine sealant. although i don't know what he meant by beat the hell out of your seals. i use 3M5200 black and swear by it. it needs time to cure tho. i'm also thinking about using Right Stuff Gasket Maker in addition to my sunroof seals. i heard of a rubber restorer for seals but i have to research it. obviously new seals all around would be the best but i'm not going there.

I 5200'd my roof rails too making a perfect seal to the roof and a continuous and smooth channel all the way around. I'm going to paint on top of it when i do the roof and that will create a bulletproof finish.

i dont want to take my headliner out again but I'm painting it anyway.

i'm in the middle of this now.

 

Been hard at work and got most of it fixed. Here's what I found:

Both front and rear sunroofs leaks around the seals. Both assemblies had very loose hardware, basically ever bolt was loose. Snugged up everything on front and rear sunroofs, did an high pressure water test and the leaks are gone. Also cleared out all of the drains and resealed them to the housing.

Rear door poured in around the top all the way across. Adjusted the latch and hit the seal with gum I pledge a few times and that leak also went away.

The roof rails were also hand tight and letting in a bit of water during hard rain. A few turns of the ratchet solved that.

All I'm left with is a windshield that leaks in the upper right corner if you blast it with water. Rain isn't enough to make it leak nor is a garden hose but the car wash or pressure washer will make it leak pretty good. Can I just run a bead of marine silicone around the inside and call it a day or do I need a new windshield?

 

see Amazon.com: Permatex 81730 Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer - 1.5 oz.: Automotive - available widely.

 

nice. ill check those things first. i hope its like yours with the bolts an such. im siliconing my windshield (on the D2...not sure about the leaks on the D1 yet) i took off the front pillars to get at it from the outside so water doesnt get trapped inside, my rain is like a pressure washer every couple days.

when your feeling like you dont want to do anymore remember me and my 2 discos needing the same exact work.