Mastodawn

denouement to the tiguan sunroof drain line leak

the cause of the leak was that the rubber lines had shrunken longitudinally over time (I estimate losing about 5-10cm of their length), which pulled them out of the exterior drain outlets.

replacing these lines is a ton of work, because it involves removing the entire front interior panels of the car to get access to the moonroof. i absolutely hate removing interior panels. this is about $500-$1000 worth of work, and absolutely not worth it on a 15 year old car

instead, i chose to extend the drain lines by a few inches. even if the tubes shrink more, they'll still have enough length to stay inside of the outlets. it took a few different tries to find the exact size, but i eventually found it: a 3/8" inner diameter to 1/4" MIP brass fitting. (a plastic or nylon fitting would work perfectly well).

the fluted end of the fitting goes into the hose. the 3/4" threaded end of the fitting slides into the exterior drain outlet. the nice thing is that since it is a few inches long, you can adjust slide the tube up/down to suit the amount of extra length you need to bridge the gap

a $3 part instead of a $1000 mechanic bill.

#carRepair #volkswagen #diyRepair #repair

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vga256 2d ago

this is for any VW Tiguan owner that has the sunroof drain line problem (e.g. leaking onto the floorpan, soaking wet carpet after rainshowers)

the rear passenger drain hose is extremely easy to get to. it's the front passenger side that's a pain in the ass. just a one minute demo of where to access the drain hose, which is half the battle.

#volkswagen #diyRepair #selfRepair #cars #carRepair

vga256 3d ago

holllee frack.

tldr: if you have a sunroof on your car and the floor is wet, check your sunroof drain lines.

for the past year my wife and i have noticed a damp, musty smell in our vehicle that happens randomly. sometimes there was condensation on the windows, so we chalked it up to the humidity. i've noticed dampness under the floor mats, so i assumed it was people's wet shoes soaking through.

this morning i woke up to an AIRBAG ERROR warning on my instrument cluster. this means that the airbag(s) has been disabled due to some electrical problem or sensor malfunction. (after my near-miss strawberry jam incident on my bicycle yesterday, i'm not taking any chances driving around with disabled airbags)

the usual advice is to check all of the electrical connections between the airbag and its associated systems (e.g. the door, the seatbelt, and the chair). they all looked fine at initial inspection

i went to the passenger side, and dug under the chair to find the electrical connections, and the floor mat was wet. VERY wet. i lifted up the floor upholstery, and between it and the floorpan was half an inch of water sloshing around. it was so deep that it soaked all of the electrical connections between the seat and the passenger airbag.

i vacuumed it out. two gallons of filthy, stinky water. how the flying fuck did i get that much water in our tiguan?

one vw forum search later i found the probable culprit: the sunroof drain lines, which are notorious for getting clogged with dirt.

it took some digging around, but i found the rear drain line at the rear, where the turn signal is. it was not clogged. it was completely disconnected from the exterior drain, and was funnelling every drop of water from the moonroof onto the floor. this has been happening for a *year*.

#carRepair #diyRepair #volkswagen

Robert George 𓇳𓃀𓁹𓏏𓇥𓆓𓀀 May 12

First, the sd card on my pihole failed (luckily I had a spare), so I had to fix that to fix my internet, but then I dropped the new sd card when I was trying replace it and it just disappeared, so I had to scavenge another. Fortunately I found one that wasn’t in use, so I got that fixed. Then the part for my dishwasher (that spontaneously broke over the weekend) was delivered, so had to install that “real quick”.. Sometimes you just have a day like Hal…

https://youtu.be/5W4NFcamRhM

#HomeImprovement #DIYrepair

Hal fixing a lightbulb (Malcolm in the Middle S03E06)

YouTube

SayECOSM May 4

The Right-to-Repair Movement Is Here: How Keeping Your Stuff Longer Cuts Waste (and Saves Money)

Right-to-repair 2026: Fix gear, cut waste, save cash. Practical urban tips + US/EU policy updates for eco-shoppers.

https://sayecosm.com/right-to-repair/

#sustainability #greenliving #zerowaste #diyrepair #lifestyle #sustainableliving #righttorepair

eske Apr 26

1/2
Vores vaskemaskine har larmet et stykke tid. Sådan virkelig larmet. Det er efter al sandsynlighed, og i øvrigt lyden af dømme, lejet der er gået. Nu har jeg altså skilt den en lille smule ad og min værste fordom er blevet bekræftet. Karret består, som på alle andre vaskemaskiner, af to dele men de er her plastiksvejset sammen hvilket betyder at lejet ikke kan udskiftes. Jeg tilgiver ikke Bosch.

#RepairabilityScore 0
#DIYrepair
#righttorepair

N-gated Hacker News Apr 8

🚜💸 Oh, John Deere, finally coughing up $99M for the "right-to-repair" settlement. Who knew that letting people fix their own tractors was such a revolutionary idea? Next thing you know, they'll be inventing the wheel again! 🙄🔧
https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement #JohnDeere #RightToRepair #TractorSettlement #DIYRepair #FarmingInnovation #HackerNews #ngated

John Deere to Pay $99 Million in Monumental Right-to-Repair Settlement

The ag manufacturing giant will also make digital diagnostic, maintenance, and repair tools available to third parties for 10 years.

The Drive

Jeff Bronks Apr 8

Two cracked panes in the greenhouse roof just repaired with Loctite Superglue Glass left over from another project. Will they hold? Watch this space.

I love the repairability of these old greenhouses (this one's a Halls Europa, circa 1970). The perishable parts are replaceable and still available. It'll be the rubber gaskets next.

#diyrepair #greenhouse #glazing #repairability