Car Talk: Leaky sunroof brings the Alaskan outdoors inside Explorer

Dear Car Talk: My 2000 Ford Explorer Sport’s sunroof is leaking. I took it to our local mechanic, and he tried to fix it and ended up sealing it shut. It still leaks. I get a shower every time it rains! Help! What else can I do to stop the leaking? I live in rural Alaska. There are only one or two mechanics here, and I can’t drive to another one because I live off the road system! — Abigail “Drenched in Alaska” Did they seal it with oatmeal, Abigail? Here’s a trade secret for you: All sunroofs leak. It’s pretty much impossible to cut an opening in the roof of the car and keep all water out. So, cars with sunroofs have drains built into the sunroof housing. There are small drain holes in the sunroof opening that allow any water that gets in there to flow through tubes routed through the windshield pillars and then spill out on the ground. I don’t know if they checked your drains before sealing up the roof, but that may have been the problem. Sealing the sunroof shut also works, as long