sar1372

I'm not sure if anyone else has figured this out, but if not here goes:


Last summer i had a leaking sunroof and did what everyone recomends: Take the headliner down and blow air into the tubes. Well this worked alright and the drains weren't clogged. Water went through them but not very fast. Lately i noticed it was leaking again. It was so bad that my passenger floor was a complete puddle. I decided to pour water down by where they drain and there was no water draining at all on the passenger side, while the drivers side was just slowly dripping. I didn't want to drop the headliner again so i ended up searching for the bottom of the hoses and found them. I unclogged them put them back in and the water flows out beautifully. Heres a small how to with a 96 sl2, i assume most other saturns will be similiar:

This is passenger side, drivers side is the same way.
1. Remove the kick panel. It just snaps into place with metal clips so all you need to do is pop it out just like the a-pillars.

2. Behind the the kick panel is large rubber graumet . Peel them back far enough so you can reach your hand into the hole. When you peel them back you will be able to see the rubber hose.

3. Grab the base of the hose and it should pop right out. At the end of the hose is a rubber piece. Pull that off and thoroughly clean it out. Mine was completely clogged. You can see why it gets clogged since their are only 3 small slits for the water to drain out of.

4. Put everything back together, and test it all to make sure it works. When i was done, the water poured out from underneath the car.


Overall this was not only more effective then blowwing the hoses out, but it was much easier and only took a fraction of the time. I haven't had a chance to find the rear hoses yet. I believe you might have to take the back seat out to access them.

If anyone wants i can take pictures of what i explained above.

Steve

PurdueGuy

If you could get some pictures, and insert them into what you typed, we could put this in the how-to section.

sar1372

Heres a better how to with pictures:

This is the passenger side of a 96 sl2. Driver side is the same exact thing and other saturn models may be similiar.

The goal here is to gain access to the bottom of the two front sunroof drains to completely unclog them. This method is more effective, easier, and saves alot of time compared to removing the sunroof. And you don't need any tools at all.

1. Remove the kick panels. They just snap into place. To remove them pull them straight outwards to pop them out.
Kick panel:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0931.jpg
Metal clips that hold the kick panel on:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0932.jpg


2. Remove the rubber graumet that is behind the kick enough to get your hand into the hole. When you remove the graumet you should be able to see the rubber hose. On the drivers side their is a wiring harness connector that plugs into the graumet. You can just pull it off the graumet and move it out of you way.
The graumet:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0933.jpg
Rubber Hose:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0934.jpg

3. Grab the base of the hose and pop it out. At the bottom of the hose is another rubber piece. It slides right off of the hose. This is the piece that needs to be cleaned.
Hose and drain:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0935.jpg
Clean this piece out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5/DSCF0936.jpg

4. Thats it. Put everything back together, repeat on the otherside and your done. I took an air hose and blew out the hose from the bottom while i was at it. The problem is at the drain itself, but i figured it couldn't hurt to blow it out real quick.

PurdueGuy

Nice write-up! It'll soon be in the how-to section.