If you have a leaking 3rd gen:

1) A common source of leakage is a clogged drain tube which allows water to exit a "gutter" system that rounds the sunroof assembly (similar to a gutter system that rounds the roof of a house). Believe it or not, sunroofs are designed to leak a little bit and the seal that the glass makes with the surface of the vehicle does leak normally. A system to counteract this is devised as a the "gutter" system that was mentioned before. The gutter captures the water that leaks through the seals and then channels the water to exit/drain tubes which take the water outside of the sunroof assembly so that the water doesn't stain your headliner and ruin the mechanics, etc.

Upon testing my 97 4runner, the drain tubes channel the water to an exit location located at the wheel wells. There are 4 exit tubes, 2 of them exit at each side by the front tires and the last 2 exit towards the rear of the vehicle by the rear tires.

A clogged exit/drain tube does not allow water to escape the sunroof gutter system and the water may overflow the gutter system, causing stains and other unwanted consequences.

To check and see if you have a clogged exit/drain tube, removed the sunroof glass and you will see the gutter system. pour water slowly in to the gutter system and see if the water exits the gutter system. The water should reappear to be dripping from under the vehicle somewhere.

If you have a clogged exit/drain tube, the few shops ive called quoted me at approximately 50 bucks per tube and they blow air in it or something to clean it out.




2) Another cause for possible leakage/staining of the headliner is that you are missing a drip tray, or your drip tray has become detached. This was the case for me (my truck didn't come with one when I bought it). The drip tray is a rear drip tray that can be found towards the rear of the sunroof assembly. It is a long plastic piece that is not bolted to the assembly. Rather, there is a spot for it to sit and it is held to the assembly by the sunroof glass.

This drip tray catches the water that drips in from the rear seal of the sunroof glass and channels it to the appropriate gutters, preventing the water from soaking the headliner.

to check and see if you have a drip tray, you can pop up your sunroof (while it is still completely assembled) using the tilt style open. When your sunroof is completely opened (in the tilt fashion, as opposed to the slide fashion), the gap that allows air to come in should be limited by the sunroof on top and a plastic piece that raises with the sunroof glass. If there is no plastic piece that raises with the sunroof glass, you are missing your drip tray, or it is not where it is supposed to be.


Remove the sunroof glass and check to see if the drip tray became detached and got pushed towards the rear of the vehicle and is hanging out in between the headliner and roof of the car. If it is, you need to get it out of there and then reposition it. There is a plastic little stud that sticks up at the rear of the sunroof assembly that holds it in place and it should fit right in.

If you find that you don't have a drip tray, you can order one from http://www.1sttoyotaparts.com