sunroof drain tubes

[spud]

Hi all,

I've just done a search of the forum but I didn't come across the answer to this- where are the sunroof drain tubes meant to exit? I have no visible pipe ends under the car...
Also- how many drains are there? Two at the front yes but are there any to the rear? If so where are they?

Thanks!
Andrew.

[rossocorsa]

the two at the front exit into the front of the sill perhaps you noticed the corresponding large rust hole! Brilliant piece of design!! It is best to pull them through the hole in the end of the sill and pass the end between the arch liner and arch so they drain to the floor instead. I must admit it has never occured to me as to where the rear drains are

[millieman]

Hi, rears come out below back of rear wheelarches.

[spud]

the two at the front exit into the front of the sill perhaps you noticed the corresponding large rust hole! Brilliant piece of design!!

Actually there's no rust anywhere on my car... the previous owner spent 6 months wages on it to make sure...

So, do I understand this correctly...? They exit inside the sill...

Andrew.

[rossocorsa]

the two at the front exit into the front of the sill perhaps you noticed the corresponding large rust hole! Brilliant piece of design!!

Actually there's no rust anywhere on my car... the previous owner spent 6 months wages on it to make sure...

So, do I understand this correctly...? They exit inside the sill...

Andrew.

yes(!!)

[spud]

Hmmm... Have you heard the one about the Englishman, Scotsman and the Italian...?

Andrew.

[spud]

Right, I've located the tubes and discovered that the driver's side is blocked. I've been poking it with a long piece of mains electrical earth wire which is strong yet flexible and the ideal thickness to go down the tube from the hole in the sunroof aperture but it felt as though it was coming up against a brick wall... I then decided to remove the tube to investigate further. Sun visor removed, headlining peeled back to reveal the drain tube, a good tug from the bottom of the tube and it came off. Immersed in very hot water and repeated flexing/poking and it's now flowing freely.

Next job is to refit the tube and extend it at the bottom so that it exits the sill underneath, where it always should have done...
This may involve drilling a hole directly under the present location of the end of the tube- common sense dictates the more direct the route the easier it will be to keep clear from blockages. I'm amazed my car has no rust here and no repairs to the sills anywhere...

Andrew.

[rossocorsa]

take the liner out and I think you should be able to see the hole at the end of the sill which is covered by the front wing, you shouild be able to route the tube through this and down to the ground behind the liner

[spud]

Aha! I'll check that out, thank you. By the way, we have the same welder...

Andrew.

[rossocorsa]

I hope that you can reach it without taking the wing off as I'm not sure. Hooking the tube through the hole is awkward but it will save putting extra holes in the sill.

[MattNoVAT]

Can you not see or access the bottom of the tube via the hole for the speakers in the footwell?

It's been a while, I'll admit.... but I'm sure I've seen the drain tube when fitting/removing speakers.  Is there anywhere it can be routed from there?

I have to do this with my passenger side drain tube as recently that became blocked, I'm thinking of replacing the whole tube with a longer version and route it appropriately as on my red coupe only the drivers side has been routed so that it does not drain into the sill.

[spud]

Can you not see or access the bottom of the tube via the hole for the speakers in the footwell?

Yes, you can.

I'm thinking of replacing the whole tube with a longer version and route it appropriately as on my red coupe only the drivers side has been routed so that it does not drain into the sill.

That's the plan exactly.

Rossocorsa, I've found the hole you described just by removing the plastic arch liner as you suggested. It should indeed be possible to fit a longer hose and route it through there and out behind the liner. I will make it long enough so that it points rearwards under the car to prevent it getting easily blocked. I'll post pics when I've done it.

Andrew.

 

[brewar]

Can you not see or access the bottom of the tube via the hole for the speakers in the footwell?

Yes, you can.

I'm thinking of replacing the whole tube with a longer version and route it appropriately as on my red coupe only the drivers side has been routed so that it does not drain into the sill.

That's the plan exactly.

Rossocorsa, I've found the hole you described just by removing the plastic arch liner as you suggested. It should indeed be possible to fit a longer hose and route it through there and out behind the liner. I will make it long enough so that it points rearwards under the car to prevent it getting easily blocked. I'll post pics when I've done it.

Andrew.

 

Long shot, since this thread was not written yesterday, but Andrew did you manage to fit a longer hose and route it through the hole in front of the sill? And do you have pictures of it?

I am working to unclogg the hoses in my HPE now, and want to make sure the water find the best way completely out of the car and not ends up in the sills..

Ciao from Norway,

Brede H. W.

[squiglyzigly]

Hi Brede,
If you check my HPE VX restoration in the members cars, you will see that I ran new hose (a bit longer) and made a new hole in the bottom of the car for the water to exit underneath and not into the gap between the wing and the front of the sill. I went to this extra trouble as the bottom of the wings and the sill have a hard enough time resisting corrosion without extra water draining from the sunroof.

It’s a bit of a fiddle but it can be done and worth the effort in my opinion.

Cheers
Ian

[brewar]

Hi Brede,
If you check my HPE VX restoration in the members cars, you will see that I ran new hose (a bit longer) and made a new hole in the bottom of the car for the water to exit underneath and not into the gap between the wing and the front of the sill. I went to this extra trouble as the bottom of the wings and the sill have a hard enough time resisting corrosion without extra water draining from the sunroof.

It’s a bit of a fiddle but it can be done and worth the effort in my opinion.

Cheers
Ian

Hi Ian,

Thank you, so much! This was helpful. I will se if I can use this as a manual.

Nice HPE VX you have, and impressive resto-project! Looking forward to see the end result😊

Cheers,
Brede