2011 SHO Damp Seat Belt

[DouglasB_SHO]

Anyone have experience with a damp seat belt on the Gen4? After each heavy rain, the driver's side seatbelt is cold and damp when I pull it out. (The passenger one is dry.) I first noticed it after the interior windows started fogging from the back toward the front when the outside temperatures went cool in the fall. I already checked and or fixed the usual culprits to water/humidity in the passenger compartment, including: replaced the cowl and seal that was leaking and soaking the cabin air filter; checked and cleaned the front door bottom drains; checked under all front and rear floor mats; and checked the trunk for leaks.

 

[krewat]

One thing missing from that list: Sunroof drains - if you have one

 

[TanK203]

I highly suspect sunroof drains as well if you have a sunroof. I found the best way to clean them was to shove a straw down them and blow.

You should see 4 little holes in the opening in the rooftop, one in each corner.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[luigisho]

You have no moisture anywhere else? Under the seat? Along the interior floor between door and seat? I agree with sunroof. The only other thing in that specific location and height is the door.

 

[Majestic]

Two ways to clean the roof drains that have worked for me:

First and easiest is to blow compressed air through the drain line. If/when you can see water draining under the front wheel, it worked.

If that doesn't, get some thick line-trimmer cord and snake it down until it comes out of the drain line.

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

Good catch, all. I forgot to mention the sunroof drains, which I checked in late end of 2018 and didn't find any clogs. I'll check again at the first opportunity.

 

[luigisho]

I would use liquid, air, and something very flexible to fish through there. Lastly there could possibly be a leak in the sunroof seal itself.

What you might really need is a torrential man made downpour while you sit inside it.

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

I would use liquid, air, and something very flexible to fish through there. Lastly there could possibly be a leak in the sunroof seal itself.

What you might really need is a torrential man made downpour while you sit inside it.

I'm inclined to suspect the sunroof seal, given the cowl seal to the windshield was intact but still leaked so much it flooded the cabin air filter routinely. The top front of the car catches the sun year-round, so it would make sense the seals lose their flexibility. Challenge to the man-made downpour is that we can't see inside the sunroof edges or down the B pillar area.

 

[luigisho]

Well I would readdress the drains and do the downpour as that is easy and cheap. Downpour test and go from there. Process of elimination.

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

Nature provided the downpour recommended by luigisho and I found water dripping from the headliner on the driver's side early this past week. My first move was to turn the car around in the driveway so it was nose up rather than nose down (only a couple of degrees, but it made an immediate difference.) Fortunately, the liner and floor mat dried out pretty well after a couple cold, dry days. Now I just need the weather to warm enough for me tackle the driver's side A pillar drain.

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

Success -- the weather cooperated enough for me to to tackle the sunroof drains using lawn trimmer line. Driver's side had multiple blockages. Passenger side was still draining but enough junk came out for me to know it was worth the effort. I noted the seal on the sunroof glass is rubber (not fabric as some argued) but there was a ridge of accumulated dirt/pollen/whatever that it wasn't sealing, which is how the water was getting in. Not sure it will seal any better given the seal is nearly 10 years old and constantly exposed to the weather. Next effort will be to see if the sunroof needs adjusting to seal better. I welcome any hints!

 

[luigisho]

As far back as I can remember, those seals were never 100% completely waterproof. That is why the drains are in the design so, every blue moon, a good clean out would be a good prev maintenance idea. Glad you found it and hopefully this will help.

That being said, there are still failures in what is a normal operating factory seal so keep updating on how this progresses. I never had to replace one in the older cars (although I have had to chase other leaks in several cars) but I do recall several owners replacing their moonroof seals on the older cars over the years.

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

As far back as I can remember, those seals were never 100% completely waterproof. That is why the drains are in the design so, every blue moon, a good clean out would be a good prev maintenance idea. Glad you found it and hopefully this will help.

That being said, there are still failures in what is a normal operating factory seal so keep updating on how this progresses. I never had to replace one in the older cars (although I have had to chase other leaks in several cars) but I do recall several owners replacing their moonroof seals on the older cars over the years.

Thanks, LuigiSHO. I checked the Ford sites and the seal is not listed anywhere as a separate item. Only the roof itself is shown. Not sure I want to go that far on a nearly 10-year old car (which was the first of the new -- and last -- Taurus models, so maybe it's worth keeping up?)

 

[luigisho]

https://www.fordforums.com/threads/leaking-moonroof-gasket-2015-taurus.304944/

Not sure if this design is similar to the Taurus but

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

https://www.fordforums.com/threads/leaking-moonroof-gasket-2015-taurus.304944/

Not sure if this design is similar to the Taurus but

LuigiSHO, thanks for posting! From the video, it looks like the same sunroof design as in the 2011 SHO. I'll check for the track seam the next time I'm out at the car.

A couple of notes for other SHO owners: once I parked the car nose up (our driveway has about a 2-3 degree slope), the leak stopped and the car dried out over the next two days. After clearing the drain lines yesterday, I poured a pretty fair amount of water in the sunroof channels and it all ran down the drain tubes without backing up.

The proof will come in the next rain storm since the park is parked nose down again. If it didn't work, I'll update this thread for the benefit of others. (I hope not because I really don't want to pull the headliner!)

 

[DouglasB_SHO]

Update: 3-1/2 years later and after heavy rains the past few days, water once again showed up, this time in the carpet under the driver's feet. I pulled the cowl and found the driver's side drain was partially clogged and the water couldn't flow to the passenger side (where the drain was clear) because of a mass of old leaves and oak pollen strings stuck under the ECU module. Cleared that out and replaced the driver's side cowl drain vent (original equipment, so it was pretty caked with crud) and water flowed out fine. Also checked the sunroof front drains and found the driver's side was clogged. Cleared that clog using lawn trimmer string and a couple blasts of air and water was running out at the back of the front wheel wells just as it should. No water in the trunk or spare tire well this time. For the coming storm, I'll park the SHO nose-up on the slope, just to minimize the risk.

 

[luigisho]

I love time lapsed updates. Helps put things in better perspective.