'97 Eldo sunroof leaks

[Michael Vinson]

Yea, I know that's a big surprise to some....

Anyway, this is my first Cadillac. It has its quirks, but I'm working some of the bugs out as I go along. It has warning lights that I can't seem to resolve, but I'll get to those eventually. My current issue is that the sunroof leaks. The only exploded view I seem to be able to find is for an STS, which are different, from what I can see. As mine will not only drop down and back, but also pop up the trailing edge, it appears the only thing that seals the glass is the gasket around it. The fact it opens in two separate directions creates its own unique problems, as it's almost impossible to find that one sweet spot. You have to run the switch both ways and watch as you're doing it, so you can get it flush with the roof. Yea, good luck with that. In my opinion it's a bad design, as there doesn't appear to be a limiting switch anywhere that tells it when to stop so it will seal.
I talked to the dealership here in Escondido, CA, and they said that gasket is not available from GM, I would have to buy the whole piece of glass, if they could even get one, which is unlikely. Does anyone have any ideas where to get this gasket, or other ideas if I'm wrong about why it leaks?

[Bruce Nunnally]

http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/images/parts/gm/fullsize/0007136M10-012.JPG

Read more: http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=378278&ukey_make=1023&ukey_model=14467&modelYear=1997&searchString=Sunroof

http://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1023&ukey_model=14467&modelYear=1997&ukey_category=0&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_trimlevel=0&ukey_modelRange=0&isOnSale=0&searchTerm=Sunroof

[rockfangd]

I have a similar problem with my 97 Seville.

same thing as yours.

There is a limit switch somewhere but mine stopped working. It is supposed to stop on its own but it ticks me off because it does not.

Mine does not leak but what I had to do was shut the key off when it was at the (sweet spot.)

I have yet to fix the problem . I just stopped using the moonroof.

My unit is a webasto. If it was original equipment it would be called the astroroof.

Please humor me and post a pic of your roof console with the moonroof switch.

Also welcome to caddyinfo

[Cadillac Jim]

It does have a limiting switch. You can try the GM online parts houses to see if one of them still carries it. Get the part number from one of them and if they don't have one, do a web search on the part number.

Dealers installed an aftermarket sunroof in new cars on customer request. It is made by the same people as the OEM sunroof but there are small differences. If you still have the sunglass holder in the small console above the rearview mirror, you have an aftermarket sunroof, probably dealer-installed on the car when new before delivery.

The OEM for 1997 sunroofs was Webasto, I believe. You can probably get a switch from them, and possibly a gasket.

I did a web search on "sunroof" and found lots of solutions, too many to list here. You should be able to get a new switch and gasket and put them in yourself.

[rockfangd]

The one in my 97 is a dealer install webasto. It had the sunglass holder botched and a different switch. I have since made it completely oem for the option

[JohnnyG]

Switch adjustments aside, I don't think any sunroof seals up completely water tight. Note the FOUR drain lines in the above diagram, they are there for a reason. If yours are plugged, the roof is going to leak eventually. DON'T blow them out with compressed air, that might blow them off the fittings. You can try vacuum or weedwacker string but it's best to work from the bottom if you can find the tubes.

[rockfangd]

I agree with that. It is important to make sure they are cleaned out

[OldCadTech]

This is why mine wasn't draining, both rear ones were like this...

Both rear drains exit behind the wheel tubs.

[BodybyFisher]

A little off topic but my daughters sunroof was leaking on her Jeep Liberty. The passenger floor was soaked. Upon inspection I noticed that the right drain was clogged. Yestersay I used a small shop vac and mini attachments to vacuum out the drain and it began draining immediately. It way packed with dried mud and a piece of cellophane. I shop vac'd the floor to remove the excess water off the floor.

[rockfangd]

This is why mine wasn't draining, both rear ones were like this...

Both rear drains exit behind the wheel tubs.

looks like job security lol

[OldCadTech]

Yea, no kidding, and mine was factory installed

Must have been a Friday car

[OldCadTech]

Geez Mike!

You let your daughter drive a Jeep ????

[Cadillac Jim]

My old 1997 ETC has the dealer-installed Webasto and the only problem it ever gave was after someone changed the ignition switch wiring trying to fix a bad connection on a terminal on the EBTCM connector (didn't work, the problem was not under the dash). He re-used the splice connectors. He "fixed" that by soldering the connections.

Never had a problem with the drains or the gasket, or the switch. Parked outside in L.A. mostly (inside while at work for a couple of years) and garaged the car at night after late 2000. Sold the car in mid 2013.

The aftermarket Webasto has two features that you don't see in the factory sunroof: retention of the stock roof console, and auto-close after you turn off the key. That last can be really great if it rains while you are shopping, and it completes the operation of locking the car when you leave it.

And, there's this:

[rockfangd]

My webasto never shut when the key was shut off. Also does not work with the RAP. Wish it did.

[BodybyFisher]

Geez Mike!

You let your daughter drive a Jeep ????

I hear you. If it was up to me, there would be NO WAY that any child of mine would drive a car that has a rollover warning on the driver's sun visor. But in my house, my opinion means nothing, my wife makes all decisions and calls my opinion about the potention dangers of rollover, EXTREME AND UNFOUNDED. This is a person that has done a 360 degree high speed out of control donut in an 86 corvette because she over reacted because a large piece of debris was in her lane and she saw it at the last moment. I would like to see her survive that situation in a jeep liberty. But I am an idiot. Got to love the "We Can Do It", mentality.

I myself was driving my girl friends 71 Ford Maverick on the New Jersey turnpike lost control of it when some one changed lanes in front of me right off my left front bumper. That car was a hunk of junk, just the act of attempting to steer away from him, forced the front end to nose dive and put it into an out of control 360 degree skid. I was used it driving 64, 65, 66 and 68 cadillacs and they would never react that way. Ford always had a better idea....

Drivers put themselves at extreme risk in my humble opinion driving these rollover time bombs not from everyday driving but from those occasional circumstances that most of us have experienced where you lose total control of the car. Now add young, inexperienced, distracted drivers to the equation.

My daughter had to take the expressway saturday with her girlfriends to get to the outlets and I told her, 55 max speed and pointed to the sun visor, and told her NO sudden steering wheel movements. She has a learners permit and is learning in that Jeep, lord help me

I am surrounded by people that dont understand that I want a car that can do 150 mph safely, not because I want to drive fast, but because if its safe at 150 mph with its beefy suspension and performance tires, 60 mph is a cake walk for the car, and I have total control over the vehicle.

I never let my tires to go beyond 40,000 miles as the wet weather control and breaking is diminished by that point and my risk of loss of control, especially on wet roads, increases. All one needs to do is watch nascar, indy and F1 racing to observe the negative impact of tire wear and wet roads on handling.

I pray my fear of these vehicles is never proven true.

Click, rant off

[BodybyFisher]

Yes Jim I like that feature a lot, the thing I dislike about sunroofs is having to close them. Its a very refined sunroof operation.

Please elaborate, what wires or connectors were soldered?

[JohnnyG]

My daughter had to take the expressway saturday with her girlfriends to get to the outlets and I told her, 55 max speed and pointed to the sun visor, and told her NO sudden steering wheel movements. She has a learners permit and is learning in that Jeep, lord help me

I am surrounded by people that dont understand that I want a car that can do 150 mph safely, not because I want to drive fast, but because if its safe at 150 mph with its beefy suspension and performance tires, 60 mph is a cake walk for the car, and I have total control over the vehicle.

For a very safe car, your daughter should be driving this 2013 C300, 22000 miles $26,000. Designed to run 150+ on the autobahn, AND AWD. And the coolness factor is over the top. 29 mpg highway.

http://www.mbofmassapequa.com/searchused.aspx?DriveTrainType=AWD&Cpo=1&Year=2013

[BodybyFisher]

Thanks Johnny, I was thinking about you the other day. That MB is right in my back yard also, thx. My daughter wanted a Jeep, mommy got her the Jeep. My opinion doesnt count. Hope you are well.

[Cadillac Jim]

Yes Jim I like that feature a lot, the thing I dislike about sunroofs is having to close them. Its a very refined sunroof operation.

Please elaborate, what wires or connectors were soldered?

To the sunroof, other than ground, there is a RED wire that is always hot and a PNK wire that is hot in RUN. In the dealer installation, they come down one of the A pillars to the under-the-dash area and are spliced into like-colored wires from the electrical part of the ignition switch low on the steering column between the switch and the wiring harness connector. These splices have been replaced by soldered connections with electrical tape.

There is no problem there. I would very strongly recommend leaving the connections alone. Replacing the ignition switch wiring is a big job because of access issues, as you might imagine with security-related wiring. Replacing soldered connections with crimp-style splices is no upgrade. That fix was overkill but neither of us wanted to go there again.

The dumb thing was re-using wiring splices. As you know, that is a *huge* no-no. This guy was excellent at many things, but not much of a wires guy. A lot of good people are like that.

[OldCadTech]

AMEN brother !!!!!!!

While reading that I forgot for a moment ----- I was thinking about the fire hazard, didn't think about the roll over phenom ---- Slip this article ( http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/jeep-rollover-proves-hard-understand ) under your wife's pillow and your daughters pillow too. It was at an extreme high speed of 40 MPH ...

Give her this one too - ( http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/jeep-grand-cherokee-and-liberty-recalled-for-fire-risk-209346 ) ....

Okay - OFF Soapbox

[BodybyFisher]

The dumb thing was re-using wiring splices. As you know, that is a *huge* no-no. This guy was excellent at many things, but not much of a wires guy. A lot of good people are like that.

Thanks

[BodybyFisher]

AMEN brother !!!!!!!

While reading that I forgot for a moment ----- I was thinking about the fire hazard, didn't think about the roll over phenom ---- Slip this article ( http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/jeep-rollover-proves-hard-understand ) under your wife's pillow and your daughters pillow too. It was at an extreme high speed of 40 MPH ...

Give her this one too - ( http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/jeep-grand-cherokee-and-liberty-recalled-for-fire-risk-209346 ) ....

Okay - OFF Soapbox

Exactly, thanks. Ford denied Explorer had a problem also.

My fears are not imaginary or extreme!

"It makes us nervous to see such SUVs driven as they typically are, like normal compact cars. As Pete Albrecht appreciates, drivers ignore the repeated warnings at their own peril."

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/jeep-rollover-proves-hard-understand#ixzz48Fot8RaA

[Cadillac Jim]

The Ford Explorer, as I recall, got into a Catch-22 when it first came out. If the tires were at a Firestone-recommended minimum cold inflation pressure of 30 psi (32 psi preferred), people complained about the ride. When Ford recommended 28 psi, Firestone complained that the additional heat generated in the tires limited rated speed to about 55 mph or some such, and the ability of the tires to absorb weight transfer on cornering or maneuvering, or road surface faults, was diminished similarly. Ford recommended the 28 psi anyway, and the resulting rash of tire failures and crashes including a higher-than-usual percentage of rollovers was blamed by Ford on Firestone, who... well, I stopped following all that right there.

To address the topic of this thread, a rollover in an Eldorado will likely cause the sunroof to leak. This is ameliorated to a great extent by the fact that it is very difficult to roll over an Eldorado.

[BodybyFisher]

Yes Ford blamed Firestone, but Firestone had a point that 28 was too soft. The Explorer was way too unstable however.

The ETC on the other hand sticks to the road

[JohnnyG]

That MB is right in my back yard also, thx.

That wasn't by accident! Did you know that one of the new Jeep models, possibly the Renegade, is the same car as the Fiat 500 POP? The mb probably comes with autonomous braking too, lots of safety features.

I tried to find a good certified CTS around here but they were not available anywhere. XTS's were everywhere though.

Waiting to see if Michael made any progress on the leaking sunroof. Did you get a chance to work on it yet?