I was very sorry to hear about the wet headliner! Its beening raining like heck here. As I read this post my FJ smile slowly started to fade, I ran outside in the pouring rain and got in my FJ, dried my hands on my shirt and slowly felt all around her headliner- my smile slowly came back and it was sort of a sensual moment between my FJ and me. I think I will check for wetness every time it rains. Im pretty sure my FJ enjoyed it too.
It's been almost a week since I first noticed the wet headliner. It happened a second time two days after the first incident. Something didn't make sense though, I mean I've had this rig for 3 months now and it certainly has seen plenty of rain, so why leak this past weekend. It lives in a garage so that would explain some of it, but then I thought about the two times independently. Both times occurred after the FJ had sat motionless (parked) in a downpour for at least 1-2 hours. All prior downpours have been while the FJ was drving, so obviuosly the wind of motion keeps the roof from leaking. But when it is parked the water settles and makes its way into the front of the interior starting near the top of the windshield or A posts. The headliner doesn't show the water very readily so it takes enough to saturate through in order to notice or feel it. The slope of the roof and location of the leak inside would leave you to believe the leak is either the top of the windshield or the front roof rack mounts.
So, I had checked the rack and it was tight...mouldings looked fine, nothing out of place. Gave the soapy water with the fan on high test and didn't discover anything.
So today I went looking for the problem. I took the rack off after driving to the store in the rain (no water inside).
The first thing I noticed was the bolts were tight enough and they had loctite on them. As I removed them one of the paper washers that is on the outside, was damaged. This was on the drivers side/middle rack mount. I was surprised the washer was not rubber.
I lifted the rack off and found the internal metal brace/support that guides the rack and bolt/nut setup. The internal washers are a puddy material. Some of the puddy remained some did not. That's not unusual given the substance, and the lifting off of the rack. I lifted the metal brace and noticed there was no puddy or rubber underneath it, it was simply placed on top of the roof metal...obviously a possible water route. The plastic insert/nuts are loose fitting and water could leak around it into the interior of the headliner. You can see the gap in one of the pictures.
I placed new plumbers putty around each plastic insert/nut both under and on top of the metal brace/support. I replaced the paper washers with rubber ones and retightened everything down, including new loctite on the bolts.
Now I know I'm special and unique (my mommy told me so) but I don't think my FJ is too unique, so given what I saw, and certainly if it solves my water problem, I would suggest everyone check the bolts on the roof rack and at least replace the paper washers with actual rubber ones...if you don't have a rack you could still have a problem depending on how waterproof the holes are under the cover.
Being that most of these racks are put on at port, if not all...it would not surprise me if a step was skipped or a part forgotten by the installer. Have you talked to your dealer about this?
Being that most of these racks are put on at port, if not all...it would not surprise me if a step was skipped or a part forgotten by the installer. Have you talked to your dealer about this?
Not yet. I wanted to play with it first so I know what I'll be talking about. I have the installation procedures and all the parts were present, not sure if the bolts were torqued properly (160 ft/lbs in) but they are now. They actually use two different sets of paper washers, can't imagine those will be too durable over time. If this doesn't work, it's warranty time next.
I'm just a stones throw east of Eastern Wa (Idaho Panhandle). We had that same rain come thru here - the only thing I can compare it to were the typhoons I experienced while living in Asia. My FJ sits outside and didn't leak - yet.
First test today....major rainstorm, sat outside for a couple hours and no leakage...I'm being optomistic that my minor repairs fixed the problem.
The post of how to properly install the bolts and gaskets for the roof rack was great. Anyone having a leak problem should definitely suspect the roof rack first. I'm glad you were able to enjoy a nice rainstorm and stay dry on the inside.
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“Kansas Law Dog” for admiration of “Tombstone”, the movie, and the legend of Wyatt Earp
Well I guess I was too optomistic...left it in the driveway last night, it rained most of the night. This morning the headliner was damp above the A pillars. Not saturated like before but damp to the touch. Guess my fix didn't work...calling the dealer now. Will update when the problem is or is not identified...
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