g8tor20

Hey guys,

I posted this in a thread someone else started but I think it was at the tail end of that thread's life. So I am starting this one.

So it's been raining like crazy in South Florida. About two weeks ago, my passenger floor got wet. At that time, I checked the HVAC as I had that problem in the past and it was dry. I then cleaned out all the cowl drains in the wheel well. Took a bunch of leaves out and hoped that was the issue.

Well it rained heavily again and the floor is wet again. I've seen people reference the sunroof drain but have yet to find any real detail on how to check if that is my issue.

I've looked at the DIYs and they tend to focus on the wheel well cowls drains and the HVAC line. If anyone can help me on the sunroof drain (or any other drain that I may be missing), that would be great.

TIA!

awaschka

My stereo started acting up and the foam around the amplifier was wet. I looked into clearing the drains and, at least for my 2015 with the panorama roof, it involves pulling interior trim panels and disconnecting hoses in the roof. $150 at the dealer. Done.

Al

coffeeisgood

there is a good DIY somewhere here
but what I do, jack up my front tires, take it off (I clean the inside of each rim a this time as well), (note you do NOT need to remove the wheel but its way easier)
remove the screws on the cover of the wheel wells (you dont need to do them all, just the ones near the drivers side / passenger compartment)
pull back the cover & you can find the cowl drains
clean them out with your finger (do NOT use a pressure washer)
I pull the cowl drain plug out & clean it all
then i pop the cowl drain plug back in & put it all back together
keep in mind the wheel well cover has two different sets of screws (keep them straight)

projectd18

i would not pop the cowl drain plug back in, worst design ever, its the reason the drain get clogged up. I've removed mine for over a year without any issues

CAVU

There are 4 sunroof drains. One in each corner of the sunroof drain pan. Front two are easy to spot, rear two will take a bit of eyeballing with a flashlight. Where the undrained water ends up is a matter of the incline the car is sitting at.

I have found that pouring a few ounces of water at each corner into the drain helped me id the problem drain. You also get a good reference point for where the water drains out ..normally.

I have had luck snaking the lines with bike cable.

coffeeisgood

my neighbors have a decent amount of avocado & macadamia nut trees
the unfortunate result of that is a decent vermin population (i.e. rats)
it is my understanding that drain plug is to stop little vermin from making a home in there

g8tor20

Thanks guys. Just bought some bike cables on amazon and will try to snake the line tomorrow. Seems to be easier than trying to disassemble the A pillar

CAVU

For my 2011 CS, the front drain line drains through a nipple in the cowling at the firewall interface, one on each side. From there, the water runs out the cowl drains.

On my driver's side that firewall nipple was bent closed at the factory during cable and plumbing installs. I figured it out, showed the dealer the photo and the tech resolved it in a few minutes as a courtesy. Experienced tech who said that he had never seen that before.

Seems earlier Cayenne version had a their drain line go all the way down to the underside of the car.

coffeeisgood

this is a crazy good youtube of what to do during an oil change, including the cowl drain clean outs

fast forward to about 13:32 for the front drains (top & bottom)

user 7972979723

Reviving this post from a few month ago... recently moved from a 2008 CGTS to a 2011 CS, and have a list of DIY items that I'm planning to attack. I've been researching all the DIYs and posts as best as possible, but doesn't seem like the '958 sunroof drains' are covered as much as the cowls in the engine bay and the AC evaporated drain on the passenger side.

First on the list is clearing the sunroof drains... Planning to pick up either the .08 or .095 size line from Lowe's tomorrow for the project - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shakespeare...r-Line/3644780

I tried putting a few oz of water down the drains this evening, but I'm not seeing where it's supposed to come out. Front cowl areas by the firewall appeared dry after pouring the water, so that has me slightly concerned. (Not to mention the driver side has tons of leaves that I still don't know how I'm going to adequately clear out even after removing the rubber grommet).

Anything else I should keep in mind for the sunroof drain clearing, other than slowly fishing the weedwacker line down each of the drain holes and twisting it? Is there an end point that I should be monitoring? Avoiding the bike cable suggestion as noted by others in earlier posts. @ CAVU - do you have a pic of the cowls by the firewall to check?

Thanks in advance all!

CAVU

lots of pics: https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...clean-out.html

user 7972979723

Thanks for the super quick reply. I have that post with pics already bookmarked for when doing the cowl drains in the engine bay (and might need your input on how to get to the leaves buried right by the bottom arrow of your last pic). Might just need to tackle both the sunroof and engine bay drains together.

So, the 'nipples' you referenced above do indeed empty out into the cowling area, before the water would work it's way to the likely nasty cowl drains that are often removed for good? It was bone dry in that area after my test this evening, which has me a bit concerned about blockage unless I'm going about the sunroof drains incorrectly. :/

twodollardoug

I would be real careful with the weed whacker string. The reason I chose not to do it is, one, if it gets stuck in there well, that's a problem. And two, I think there is a joint in there and if that joint comes apart, then there would be an open drain in the headliner which would for sure stain with water marks and possibly need to be be replaced if it warps or delaminates. Just something to consider.

twodollardoug

If you do decide to go the weed whacker string route, will you keep us posted? I'm concerned about my roof drains also. I just didn't have the nerve to do it this way. I did gently blow down them with compressed air, but that's as far as I went.

user 7972979723

True, good point. I appreciate you chiming in as well.

Maybe this is a case where it's better to leave things as is. The former owner (a close friend) barely used the sunroof here in So Cal to the point that I need to buy and apply that VW/Honda silicone grease to the tracks. I can see where some water likely seeped through the seals over the last 9+ years, but beyond that don't have a specific reason to think they would be clogged beyond the test this evening. Maybe I can test again once the fender lining is open and cowl are cleared out.

I had also read that compressed air was not recommended either for this, but the mechanic in the P-tech video used it to at least clear the sides and corner of the windshield which is unrelated I believe.

So... unless you guys that have been down this same path see a reason for me to attack the sunroof drains or have a better DIY suggestion, maybe I should just proceed to the clearing cowls and leaves in the engine bay area using CAVA's great DIY, followed by checking/clearing AC cowl drain using Don's DIY.... ?

P.S. Definitely a bit more cautious based on what you have noted, so might not immediately proceed. Anyone that has had a dealer do this figured out how they attacked it?