Hello folks! Its been a while! I have a 2007 Hummer H3 with the Adventure Package on it, she's been a great little beasty for me throughout the years but this last few months, since Ontario Canada has gotten an inordinate amount of rain, I've noticed something. Water intrusion into the cab of my truck!

Now, before anyone goes to their keyboard and starts creaming "Its the drain tubes! Its the drain tubes!" No, it isn't. I had that issue way back when I bought the truck 5 years ago, and fixed it accordingly, and they still work -great-. The issue that I'm having is something that I've not come across before, though it -presents- almost like a drain tube disconnect would.

First thing I noticed was that near the forward passenger side A-pillar trim where it meets the headliner, it was darker in colour and damp, and at the same time, I was noticing that there was some water in the floor mats just to the front of the passenger seat foot pan on the door side. (I have weathertech floormats, thank god for those, btw) Now, i'm thinking immediately "Ah ****, tube's come off." Well...I dropped the headliner a bit (man, that was a task just to get the front down far enough to see what needed seeing!) and saw and confirmed that the tubes are still connected, no leaks, nothing from the tray down to the firewall, and the rearward tubes are working fine as well!

So...where was the water coming from?

I had my dad start pouring water into the sunroof tray while I held the headliner down and watched with a flashlight along the tray itself. Right where the forward part of the slide-track is, where the (in my case) beige(cashmere?) seal that holds the headliner to the base of the sunroof tray, was where we thought it was leaking. Though with the headliner down and that seal partially pulled off to clean that area, nothing was leaking. And my dad and I both poured about 4 liters worth of water through that tray so...if it was going to leak, it have done so, right?

Well, this is where it gets weird, my dad said "huh, must have fixed it!" And we started to reassemble the ceiling of my truck. After that seal (the cashmere one mentioned before) was pushed back into place and seated, I had this odd gut feeling and told my dad to pour some more water into the tray. Sure enough, -right- at the forward part of the tray where the seal starts to curve 90 degrees to the left, it started to leak water down into the headliner quite significantly. As a temporary 'fix' we used some valve sealant gel to pack the inside of the seal track with to lubricate and well, seal the area, it seemed to work after another pour test with another 4L of water through the tray.

So I re-assembled the headliner, switches, and sun-shade thingy back into place (man, what a pain in the *** that little plastic thingy is that holds the sunshade up!) and thought "Alright, fixed for now!" Three days later? I've been off work sick, and then had to go to the docs to get the dreaded 'brain swab' to confirm I didn't have 'the plague' and I noticed the headliner where the A-pillar met the headliner on the passenger side...is wet again and there are a few drops of water in the floor pan. (Ones in the pic were from today, and it only was a light rain this morning, it has been much worse than this before)

So is this a common thing? Is that seal that holds the headliner up something that goes on these trucks and needs replacing? Or is it more likely something going on with the sunroof tray itself? I'm at my wits end!

Help!

Pictures to follow:

 

"Its the drain tubes! Its the drain tubes!"
Simple construction, sunroof glass has a seal wrapped around it. Seal leaks, the water goes into the frame(gutter) and drains out through tubes(downspouts) that exit to the outside of the cabin. When you tested with water, was it flowing out as fast as you poured it in? The frame does not hold much water, and if you spilled any over the outside of the frame, it drains inside the cabin. Btw, the lace (#7) is not a seal, #2 is the only seal.

 

What you are calling a seal is not, it is just interior trim. It's the sun roof drains. More seriously, you claim they "work great". Have you confirmed that? If they work, you pour water in the tray and that will immediately leak out from the back of the fender wells near the rocker panel. If the tray holds water or if you see no water draining, your drains are plugged. The drain tube fix is just to improve the clog point, it is not substitute for regular maintenance. Sorry, just verifying that you KNOW the drains function properly.

If you KNOW the drains are flowing then LOOK at the Roof Rack track mount Rivnuts. They can break and water has an entry point from any of those that are compromised.

Close the sunroof, run water on the top of the truck like rain, see what happens.

 

Yes, the water was coming out both the rear and front tubes, draining as fast as I was pouring. And that was pouring directly into the tray with the roof open. Closing the roof after finding that little 'flaw' with that trim piece and where that was leaking when my dad poured water into the tray -again- (and a good amount too, poured that is), the tubes were still draining fine. I drilled out the little cross section thingy in the grommets that go through the firewall -years- ago, and they've been perfect ever since.

I dunno man, I'm taking it in to the dealership on Monday to have their leak-guys look at it, but its just frustrating and seeing if anyone here knew anything that I didn't. That's all. Thank you Doc. I will try the closed test tomorrow when my dad and I pull the headliner down again and see what happens, see if maybe I could save a little money and repair myself, y'know?

 

I miss-called the 'lace' a seal, my bad. But we both poured slowly so that it wouldn't overflow. Admittedly, we did spill a little but that was accounted for by our own admissions; but the tubes were draining just as fast as we were pouring, so the fix still stayed in place just fine. The leak is in a really weird area from what I could see, so I'm going to give Doc Olds suggestion a try tomorrow and if that doesn't work? She's going into the dealership so their leak guys can take a peek at her, maybe -hopefully- tell me what's wrong.

Thanks!

 

Finding a leak is not rocket science, shops will do the same that you can diy! Use a spray bottle or water bottle and poke a hole in the cap, squirt the water in concentrated areas, while observing inside. Btw, in that area the sat antenna base seal could be the source of the leak too? Squirt some water around #2:

 

When I had the headliner down I saw the base of the antenna there and sprayed it with water and nadda, so seal there is still good. Still might give the underside a going over with flex-seal or something before putting it back together again this time. But yeah, I'll give it another once over tomorrow when I get the head liner down. See if maybe Doc is onto something there about the Riv-nuts that hold the track in place being the source of the leak. God I hope the track isn't cracked or something...

 

UPDATE:

So! My dad and I pulled the -entire- headliner out of the truck today. That...was 2 hours of fun figuring that out, anyways, now that, that's been and done. I followed Doc Olds advice and checked all the track riv-nuts, they were all tight and sealed, then checked the track itself again, no issues. Drain tubes front and back worked like a top, so then...we buttoned up the top and ran a rain head hose sprayer over the roof of the truck with my dad sitting in the truck.

SO! After all that was said and done...the culprit (hopefully the only one) has been revealed. The antenna seal seems to be gone. Why I wasn't seeing it before was because the water was running down the wires and dripping -off- the sunroof tray trim piece (that beige thing), so we dried it off, ran the test again, from a different angle and different stream on the hose head. Same result, sunroof? Not a thing, drain tubes? Ran like a champ, antenna? Piddled its pants faster than a scared toddler being approached by a clown.

Still going to take it in on Monday and see if the evidence can be corroborated by the leak guys, and then see about getting a seal to replace the one gone on the antenna...that or just flex seal the underside of the damn thing and call it a day, lol. Might even flex seal all the seams and such for 'future-proofing' or get a silicone sealant or something just in case. I'm trying to keep this beasty for the long haul!

 

Wow, great sleuthing!
Just pull the antenna base thingy and RTV it.

 

Permatex 80050 Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive Sealant,

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