Vellfire1 Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 Hi, piece of information if your front sunroof ( the one that only lifts up 3/4".) Leaks slightly... Had this happen this morning, it was closed during a heavy down pour overnight and the roof lining was slightly damp towards the front part of the sunroof aperture. It took a couple of hours to find the best way to remove the glass sunroof and check the seals and ensure the drain holes were clear. I discovered that these vellfires/Alphard designers are literally at the top of their game. It would be easy to remove most of the front edge of the roof lining to find a way to remove the glass roof, remove the sunscreens, remove the interior lights and grab rails, it's not necessary ! The front edge of the roof lining that meets with the front edge of the sunroof has a velcro attachment ! Pull it gently and it will come away and reveal the 2 X 10mm nuts that holds the front edge of the glass sunroof in place. Remove these and you can lift the glass front edge up to reveal the 2 front drain holes. Mine had mister spider hiding in the left one, causing it to block and fill up, clear him out with a length of wire and put it all back. Job done, took me 3 hrs, but with the above, its a 30 minute job..... 3 1
Rojie Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for giving us all this tip. What year is your Vellfire ?
Vellfire1 Posted October 20, 2021 Author Posted October 20, 2021 3 minutes ago, Rojie said: Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for giving us all this tip. What year is your Vellfire ? 2009, will post a picture soon, have also added a remote heater if any ones interested.. 2
Rojie Posted October 20, 2021 Posted October 20, 2021 45 minutes ago, Vellfire1 said: 2009, will post a picture soon, have also added a remote heater if any ones interested.. A remote heater, sounds very interesting.
Chris.ac Posted December 11, 2021 Posted December 11, 2021 a single photo showing where to pull the lining down, would be great, I have 2010.
Rojie Posted December 11, 2021 Posted December 11, 2021 8 hours ago, Chris.ac said: a single photo showing where to pull the lining down, would be great, I have 2010. Hi Chris, Did you forget to attach the photo ?
Chris.ac Posted December 11, 2021 Posted December 11, 2021 13 hours ago, Rojie said: Hi Chris, Did you forget to attach the photo ? no, i was asking for one, heh 1
Chris.ac Posted June 21, 2022 Posted June 21, 2022 finally unblocked my sunroof drain, had to remove the drivers visor, the grab handles on roof, A pillar and B pillar, the A pillar trim, the B pillar trim, and was then able to disconnect the hose via the spring clip. Nice sun heated water poured out, no amount of feeding in a cable could unblock it. In the end, I attached a car tyre inflater, and carefully applied several bursts of pressure until Voila, a pool of water started to appear under the car and the drain holes in the sill were cleared. What a pain in the arse. 1
Teekay Posted June 22, 2022 Posted June 22, 2022 On 10/20/2021 at 7:13 PM, Rojie said: A remote heater, sounds very interesting. +1 @Vellfire1please share the heater details and picture for sunroof drain unblock. Appreciate your post 👍🎌
Teekay Posted October 27, 2022 Posted October 27, 2022 On 10/20/2021 at 6:27 PM, Vellfire1 said: 2009, will post a picture soon, have also added a remote heater if any ones interested.. Can you please share the details of remote heater? Thanks
Peter Remington Posted April 3, 2023 Posted April 3, 2023 Thanks for the tip. Having pulled the headlining back and before I undid the nuts I used a nylon filament to check the drain that connects front and rear sunroofs and found the blockage was there. I will still put filament down front drains to be sure.
Zathras Posted July 5, 2023 Posted July 5, 2023 (edited) As @Chris.ac mentioned, a photo would have been handy when I had a go at getting access to my blocked drains. So, here you go and my story... It was hell trying to get the left nut undone on my 2008 Alphard, it had locking glue on the thread and I suspect never removed before. I had already got the nut off here before I thought to take some photos. However, the right nut was much easier - just a single turn was required.. and POP! So, instead of this... The right hand side is now like this.. And discovered it was unhelpfully not an easy replacement... Frustrated, I retreated inside with the sunroof to investigate fixes to my screw-up... As everybody knows, a story like this is always improved by adding the phrase "and then it rained..." So it did exactly that. /sigh Well, at least the drains are now unblocked. EDIT: Any tips you may have on where to buy a replacement part would be greatly appreciated! Edited July 5, 2023 by Zathras 1
Chris.ac Posted July 6, 2023 Posted July 6, 2023 23 hours ago, Zathras said: As @Chris.ac I took longer route, removed a and b pillar trim, removed roof grab handles, removed visors. Then dropped roof lining enough to disconnect the hose clips, I did mine in the baking sun, so as I tipped the hose, nice warm water poured out, I could see my wire I used to try and clear blockage via the exposed clear tube, all the way to the floor, but no amount of prodding cleared it, until I blew it through with a pump, then a nice instant puddle formed under car.
Cavegod Posted August 5, 2023 Posted August 5, 2023 On 7/5/2023 at 10:19 PM, Zathras said: As @Chris.ac mentioned, a photo would have been handy when I had a go at getting access to my blocked drains. So, here you go and my story... It was hell trying to get the left nut undone on my 2008 Alphard, it had locking glue on the thread and I suspect never removed before. I had already got the nut off here before I thought to take some photos. However, the right nut was much easier - just a single turn was required.. and POP! So, instead of this... The right hand side is now like this.. And discovered it was unhelpfully not an easy replacement... Frustrated, I retreated inside with the sunroof to investigate fixes to my screw-up... As everybody knows, a story like this is always improved by adding the phrase "and then it rained..." So it did exactly that. /sigh Well, at least the drains are now unblocked. EDIT: Any tips you may have on where to buy a replacement part would be greatly appreciated! Drill it out, tap and counter sink, then screw a countersink cap head in.
dave murrell Posted February 21 Posted February 21 Ihave discovered the same problem on the wifes vellfire (it started raining last night) and my first thought was could I fit my vacuum pump to end of the pipes behind the wheel arch covers (I assume thats where they are). Will take a peek at the weekend when she not using it, unless someone knows different...
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