Headliner removal - Sunroof leak

[hamza]

Hi all,

well the X5 is being particularly troublesome these days! Getting tempted to get rid of it and replace it with a W204 AMG C63 Wagon instead.

...aaanyway... looks like i have a leak from the sunroof on the passenger (UK car so driver side for US readers) side at the front. The exit was clogged up so I freed that which helped a little bit but it seems the real cause is actually from where the rubber pipe connects to the drain hole on the sunroof.

I pulled the A trim cover and I see water dripping down from the headliner... so I guess the next step is to try and pull the headliner and reconnect that pipe properly.

Anyone done this before? I can't seem to find much by way of instructions on removing the headliner unfortunately.

[getty150]

Currently in the process of reinstalling the sunroof cassette and all.
The connection between drain pipes and hose is pretty tight. But for peace of mind I would use small dab of silicone.
Headliner (I've ) found to be only held in place with grab bar handle, sun visor and pillar coverings...it's light weight and made of cardboard like material most likely will have electrical cords glued in.
An ideal time to address falling sagging headliner fabric. I decided not to reglue but use truck bed liner spray. Totally satisfied!

[Effduration]

This can happen when people use compressed air to try an blow out drain lines from the sunroof opening.

I have not done it, but I have removed an E53 headliner. I think you can loosen the front headliner enough by removing related trim, center console, A-pillar, etc. to drop it a little and give you access...

[hamza]

great, thanks for the input both.

Luckily I don't have any sagging in the headliner (yet!) so I'll just pull it back enough to repair the sunroof drain I think and then put it back together again.

I might try and fit the microphone for the GROM bluetooth unit while I'm there though. Guess that probably makes sense so long as routing the rest of the wire back to the boot isn't too difficult.

[getty150]

I've got pictures around here somewhere for this very purpose.

Sent from my TMAF035G using Tapatalk

[X5chemist]

The pillar hoses on mine were bad.
One had bad kink in it. The other was way off it's holders. I used tie wraps to secure the hose. Second, I used small hose clamps to keep the bad areas from kinking again.

[hamza]

All sorted now.

If only it was a bit warmer to dry the car out a bit quicker though!

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by hamza

All sorted now.

If only it was a bit warmer to dry the car out a bit quicker though!

When my sunroof leaked and filled the driver's side floor (LHD) with water, I used a small fan and a 600-1500 watt heater to dry it out over a period of days (after sponging out as much as I could, first).

I'd use high heat and fan speed during the daytime, when I could check the X5 periodically (I'm retired, so that was no problem), but would turn both to low settings at night. Worked great!

P.S. not wanting the problem to ever happen again, I sealed the sunroof shut, using clear "paint protection film". I've always hated and distrusted sunroofs, T-tops, & convertibles, too), so I sealed mine (after making sure it was working, with cleared drains) and pulled fuse 58, to make sure the wife never tried to open it.

See https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ide-floor.html for details.

[aureliusmax]

This is a timely thread topic, with all the December rain and all. I just did a massive rebuild on the sunroof cartridge, this is where the water comes from explained.
After the rebuild and drying a day, I gave a water hose test and nothing leaks. Because if water comes in faster than the drains can dump, almost like 3/8" above the lowest point the water spills over passed the rail. they didn't use enough sealant from factory. There was a production line update to this part in 2005.
See my album.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6GjyMJNsnPJHD4eg7

[hamza]

Yea i found the same when testing my fix.

I decided i was ok with that though as there's no way water is getting past the seals at a rate enough to overwhelm the drain capacity.