Sunroof Drain Tubes

[Redjam007 1]

Hi all, after some advice on the sunroof drain tubes for the slide type sunroof.

Are they available and if not will any tube be ok to use as long as the diameter is the same?

Mine have got trapped and broke up in places.

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

The drain tubes always look ok from the outside but if you drop your roof lining and pull off the 4 black plastic pipes they are usually badly corroded . If they are still solid you can wire brush the rust off and then repaint but if they are rusted away they can be replaced with stainless steel tube .I bought a length of 12mm tube ( iirc ) from Ebay and then tapped it into the existing pipe with some Tigerseal to make it watertight .The existing plastic pipe can be cut back and then refitted to the new tube .

I have done 2 of my cars and needed to replace 3 or 4 of the 8 pipes , I cut the remains back flush and then ground out some weld inside the existing tube with a Dremel . The new stainless tube was a tight fit and doesn't show from the outside .

While the roof lining is down you can check the roof itself for rust , there is very little paint on the inside and some are starting to rust through .

[Redjam007 1]

Morning and thanks for the reply, I need to look deeper going from what you say, I thought there were only 2 to the front and 2 to the rear? The steel part on mine appears ok , it's the plastic tube that runs down the pillars and back quarters that I have the problem with, I have it fully stripped out and the tube is blocked:trapped and broken up in areas. Just looking at a replacement option? Cheers Scott.

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

I had no problems with the plastic tube being blocked or broken but Willsy on the 309 owners forum did have blockages on his and he used a very long wire bottle brush to clean his out . Often the tubes look OK till you pull off the plastic pipe and then the full extent of the rust is revealed .Yes a 205 or 309 has 4 tubes , on the 2 cars I have done I found that 3 or 4 of the 8 ( in total ) tubes needed to be replaced , I may of been unlucky !

If your plastic pipes are in bits you might be able to find some replacements from someone breaking a 205 .

[Redjam007 1]

Thank you for the reply, think iam going to try and locate some new tube from somewhere and replace the lot, whilst doing the restore.

The o/s/r quarter has rusted at the bottom from where the pipe had split and leaked internally, instead of leaking on the outside where the pipe exits.