Hi,
My '01 S40 has a leaking sunroof around the glass frame itself (around the seals). It leaks only after the car has been sitting in the rain (car washes are ok). Water comes in around the inner metal frame and right only my balding head All drains are OK. Is there any way to get the seals redone without replacing the whole sunroof? I've tried to caulk it myself without luck.
Thanks!
Anthony

 

The seal can be replaced BUT can be tricky. The metal reinforcement can be corroded. The only way to find out is to pull the seal off. If you do this there is no way back. If the reinforcement is corroded it is very difficult to get the seal back on to seat completely! If the seal doesn't fit properly you will have problems with closing the glass panel, it will not go through the opening. In your case I would try to squeeze some sealer, like silicone, under the seal lip that lays on the glass. If you lift the lip up you can see where the glass ends.There is a small opening between the seal and the glass. To do this the best is to have the glass in close position so you don't push the seal off the glass. Clean before you apply the sealer. Go around the whole glass to make sure that you fill it all the way.
Good luck,

Dutch Connection

 

Thanks Dutch Connection - I've tried the silicone before, it worksed for a but the leak started up again (and now part of the seal seems a bit lifted). I guess I have to get it into a dealer, but am fearing a $1k bill for this... any idea how much this would end up costing?
Thanks!

 

I have no idea how much it will cost. You can try to replace the seal but to do this you have to remove it first. Then you can see if corrosion is the problem. The seal is a service item but is not so easy to install.

Where are you located?

Dutch Connection

 

I do have a feeling that the frame is corroded because I can see the edges which seem to be rough (no rust, but a whitish kind of corrosion). I live in Montreal Canada so the climate is rough It does seem however that the design of these sunroofs are flawed compared to some other car makes (my dad' '98 Maxima has no problems with its sunroof whatsoever). I guess they can salvage the glass to save some cost otherwise the whole thing would have to be changed... do you know if Volvo improved the design on newer models (a consideration for purchase of a car with a sunroof in the future)?

 

I know that they changed the design to an encapsulated design. This means that the edge of the glass is over molded with a plastic where the seal is attached to.

If you were closed to Michigan I could have helped you. I have installed new seals on several sunroofs and know what to look for. To do this it is very tricky if you have never done it before you can destroy more that that you can fix. This seal has a steel carrier inside that is difficult to cut so your butt joint is difficult to cut so there is no gap, there are two slide pads mounted to the seal in the front for the wind deflector, these are pressed in place and glued to the seal, and last is that the seal has to be fully pressed against the steel reinforcement otherwise the glass will not go through the opening.

Good luck and hopefully you can get it fixed.

 

Thanks Dutch for the help and offer to fix! Once we get past winter, I'll bring the car in to the Swedish garage and see what they say about fixing it - will keep you posted! I'll keep in mind what you said and see if they know as much about the job