Moonroof Issue, Advice needed

[jm77]

I noticed the seal on my moonroof wasn’t seated correctly and had my dealer look at it when it was in for service. They ordered a replacement seal and I’m waiting to bring it back. The service advisor said they would have to pull the glass to repair. I’m wondering if I should just leave it as is since I’m not having any leaking issues currently. Just don’t want to open myself to more problems having them drop the headliner and pull the glass. Any advice from others here? Maybe @FordTechOne can advise if they actually have to pull the glass to replace that seal?

Attached photo of the problem side and of what it should look like.

 

[RaptorCDH]

I noticed the seal on my moonroof wasn’t seated correctly and had my dealer look at it when it was in for service. They ordered a replacement seal and I’m waiting to bring it back. The service advisor said they would have to pull the glass to repair. I’m wondering if I should just leave it as is since I’m not having any leaking issues currently. Just don’t want to open myself to more problems having them drop the headliner and pull the glass. Any advice from others here? Maybe @FordTechOne can advise if they actually have to pull the glass to replace that seal?

Attached photo of the problem side and of what it should look like.

I would avoid having the headliner removed. No leaks …why potentially make one.

 

[jm77]

Kind of what I was thinking. It’s more the glass removal that scares me. I can’t imagine that is the main seal for the moonroof, maybe there’s something under there. Hopefully someone that knows will chime in.

 

[jm77]

Hoping to get some more feedback on this.

 

[GCATX]

I would get some of those plastic trim tools and try and push it back in place, before taking it to the dealer. They are like 5 bucks at the parts store, or use a spoon or something. lol.

 

[Bullet Bob]

My son had this exact same issue, he made the decision the let it go and see if it leaked. He got in his truck one morning to go to work after a night of heavy rain and had a $60,000 terrarium. I would think long and hard about this. Oh, and I should mention the mold that developed afterward. It was awful.
Many imperfections are superficial. This isn't one of them. While it's not leaking at the moment, give it a few years of sun and ice expansion 9if you live in the north0 and you'll be replacing that headliner due to a leak issue anyway, and it may be out of warranty by then.
Lastly, when they replaced his moonroof and headliner, they did a very good job. While this assessment is subjective, I'm considered a very picky person when it comes to my vehicles.

 

[cjhoneyman]

My 2016 had the plastic rails in the moonroof break and I replaced them myself. It's fairly simple to remove the glass to gain access, which is what they'd likely have to do here. No need to remove headliner at all. I will say, when you re-install the glass, it's a bunch of trial and error on getting it aligned properly. I never felt I had it setup as well as they did from the factory. There are three screws holding the glass in place on each side and you have to adjust each one to get the right angle when it's closed so you don't get wind noise.

 

[jm77]

Thanks for the reply’s. To clarify, this seal is on the stationary part to the rear of the truck. Either way, sounds like I should get it fixed rather that the risk of it being ok and not leaking.

 

[Torchy]

OP it's a rubber seal that sees a lot of heat. Eventually it will fail.

Ya have to get it fixed.

 

[FordTechOne]

From the Workshop Manual procedures, it looks like the roof opening panel frame will need to be removed, which requires dropping the headliner. The headliner is held up by magnets, so as long as they don’t crease it there shouldn’t be any issues.