I've recently purchased a 2000 4.4i and am delighted with the car. However over the last few weeks I've discovered that (and it was mainly during a recent torrential downpour) that my car is suffering from a problem with the sunroof drain - this manifested itself by water pouring from both A-pillars onto the vents and controls on the dash and into the footwell which by the end of downpour was completed soaked (and I am slowly drying out).

I've followed the excellent advice on this website but I still have the problem. To give you an idea of where I've got to....

I've removed the A-pillar cover and checked the tubing which didnt appear to be crimped and I have tried cleaning the tubes. However there are couple things that lead me to think that it's not simply a crimped or blocked hose.

1. After cleaning the tube when I tested the drain by pouring water into the hole in the sunroof the water appeared to pour straight out through drain in to the car (where the A-pillar would have joined the headliner) none came out of the drain tube.

2. When i fed the wire through to clean the tube it did not appear out of the end of the tube that runs down the A-pillar (although I fed plenty of wire down). So the wire must have been going somewhere else??

This leads me to conclude that the tube must fit on to the drain somewhere in the roof of the car (which I dont think i can see without removing the headlining) and that possibly this has come loose. If so how do i refit it? Do I need to take the headlining off?

And I was wondering whether there is possibly a drain tube that runs to the back of the vehicle and somehow the front and the rear tubes have become disconnected (although there's no evidence of any leaks in the back).

I would appreciate anyones help with this since it doesnt seem as straightforward to fix as simply cleaning the tube - or maybe I am doing something wrong.

I dont want to risk any water coming into the car again and screwing the electrics. And we're planning on using the car for a two week family holiday so I am tempted to tape shut the sunroof while we're away to avoid a repeat of the situation last time.

Any help or guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks