Hi everybody,
After many months of reading this very useful forum before buying a p38, let me introduce myself.
I write from Italy and this is my first Range Rover. I know I started with one of the models with the worst fame but I've always liked it and after bringing her home I can say I'm definitely in love.
It is a 2.5 DSE from 1998 with typical Italian equipment (full leather, headlight wipers, sunroof, manual gearbox, heated seats, etc). Oddly enough at the moment everything works (hevac, EAS, sunroof), just had a good service at an independent specialist and am now working on restoring all the little things that need to be fixed after 25 years of life.
Also bought immediately a Nanocom to stay on the safe side... ;-)
As you can see I updated the lights to the 2000 model because I prefer them (but of course I kept the original ones in storage), still waiting for the clear side repeaters delivery.
Let's get to the question: I'm desperately looking for a new sunroof seal which seems impossible to find. Do you have any suggestions?

STC171 I believe is the part number

Yes STC171 or EEQ100400 but at the moment no one seems to have it available in Europe.

Why do you think you need it? If you have a leak the seal isn't meant to stop the water getting in, it is there mostly to stop wind noise when it is closed. If water is getting in, it will be the drain tubes being blocked or disconnected. Water gets in and runs along a channel before running out of the drain tubes. If it can't drain through those it drips into the car.

I'm about to take the headlining off to redo it so I'll check the drains and eventually fix them (I currently have major leaks inside) but the seal is in real bad shape, and as the car will be repainted I wouldn't want to put back an old half broken seal..
So this is the main reason I need one (possibly not used)

Velvet wrote:

Yes STC171 or EEQ100400 but at the moment no one seems to have it available in Europe.
could you not get it shipped to you from someone

There's a post of mine on here somewhere explaining how the foam seal between the cassette and roof can let in lots of water. Can be seen better when the roof liner is out and replacement means removing the cassette.
If you open the sunroof and look from outside at the front left and right hand corners you can just see this foam seal. Poke it gently with a pencil or something similar and you'll probably find it's not attached and weathered and worn.

Look at the thread below this ' headliner sunroof panel '

Thanks for the suggestions, for sure I will also check the seal between the cassette and the roof when I have removed the headlining.
@Karlos seems that at the moment nobody has the seal available around Europe, JLR included. I've done a lot of research but everyone has it out of stock.
Maybe there is something in the US but shipping and taxes will be extremely high.
I don't know if there are seals from other cars that can be adapted to the P38 sunroof (after all, it's a rather simple item).

https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/sunroof-seal-genuine-stc171-eeq100400-p-7502.html

try theses they based in the UK

I think it's Out of stock also on Island 4x4

If the seal is available in the USA, and you want the seal to be new, then you may be advised to buy it from the USA.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I quite often buy parts from USA based suppliers. I just pay the duties. The way I see it, if the parts aren't available in Europe then it doesn't matter if they are free, if you can't get them then there is no point in saying that the parts are much cheaper than importing them from the USA. That means US prices are not expensive as you can't buy them from someone else in Europe.

Pierre3.

Island list it as a non-stock item and to allow 1-2 days extra. That usually means they have a source but don't consider there to be enough demand to keep it in stock. You could try ordering from them and they will tell you if they can't get it.

Pierre3 wrote:

If the seal is available in the USA, and you want the seal to be new, then you may be advised to buy it from the USA.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I quite often buy parts from USA based suppliers. I just pay the duties. The way I see it, if the parts aren't available in Europe then it doesn't matter if they are free, if you can't get them then there is no point in saying that the parts are much cheaper than importing them from the USA. That means US prices are not expensive as you can't buy them from someone else in Europe.

Pierre3.

It is strict logic. I was simply asking if there was a source that I, being new to the P38 world, was unaware of. Thanks anyway.

@Gilbertd thanks, I will contact them and ask if they can get it.

Velvet, I was explaining that if parts are not available anywhere in Europe, and a lot of parts are "No longer available" then you have to look elsewhere to buy parts. My point is that, if you can't buy something locally, or in the country in which you live [in your case Italy], then it doesn't matter how much it costs, if no-one has that part then the price means nothing - because you can't buy it anyway.

Therefore, if an item is listed as €25 in Europe but is not available, but it is listed as $150 in the US then it is neither cheap nor expensive because if this is the only place that you can buy it then that is the price. The only issue then is whether you need the part and do you want to pay the price for it.

It is the same for everything. I buy replica and old handguns, and if I want to buy an1858 Remington revolver and i can't buy it in Europe then I have to pay the US prices, however much they are. It is my choice then, to either pay or reject. No point in saying "I can buy it in Europe for $xxx" if there are none for sale.

I'm not criticising anyone, I am just pointing out that sometimes you have to look farther from home, or buy second hand parts.

Pierre3.

Following up on this issue, if the only way to get a sunroof seal is to buy one from a scrapped vehicle and risk buying something worse than ones original seal is there any alternative to sourcing a seal material that would replace the original one ?

I have received 10 emails from around the world, all with the same story - discontinued and no longer available. I emailed JLR and they have no alternative suggestions.

If it is not possible to buy a very good, second-hand sunroof, complete with a seal, what are the alternative choices ? The only two that I can see, at the moment, is to either permanently seal the sunroof with mastic, rendering the sunroof inoperable, or welding in a piece of steel and repainting the car, and then fitting a non-sunroof inner roof lining. This would also mean, probably, re-upholstering said lining, provided you can get one and it is in good condition.

I have a feeling that the lack of supply of the sunroof seal will be the straw that breaks the camels back as without an effective seal the car will be evermore wet inside.

Pierre3.

Pierre3 wrote:

I have a feeling that the lack of supply of the sunroof seal will be the straw that breaks the camels back as without an effective seal the car will be evermore wet inside.

No it won't, the seal is there to stop wind noise, not water. As long as the seal between the cassette and underside of the roof is good and the drain tubes are connected and clear, there won't be any water getting into the car.

A further option would be to look at other cars with a similar sunroof (BMW would be a good place to start at they owned Land Rover at the time the P38 was built and there are a lot of small items that are BMW parts) and see if a seal is available for them. It is only a rubber channel with a felt covering that is glued to the edge of the glass after all.

Richard, thanks for your advice. Looking at the BMW 5 and 7 series may well be a good starting point.

But it does seem that quite a few people have rainwater getting into the car despite the drains being free. I suppose it is a matter of everything in the sunroof cassette being in perfect condition. When I took out the cassette in my car I found that the metal around the glass was a bit corroded. I wired brushed it, and then sanded it with course wet and dry, before putting it back in the car.

One thing that I can't remember - does the seal push down on an edge on the metal of the roof ? Around the sunroof opening ? I can't remember exactly how I refitted the sunroof cassette. Or is it, as you seem to say, glued to the edge of the cassette ?

Pierre3.

There's a seal around the cassette that bears against the underside of the roof and that one will let water in if it isn't a good seal but the seal that everyone is talking about is the one around the edge of the actual glass. That just fills the gap between the glass and the edges of the hole in the roof. There's no lip or anything like that as the glass has to be able to slide downwards when it is being slid open and upwards when it tilts.

After a long and time-consuming search I can say it seems that the seal EEQ100400 (also mounted on the RR classic 1990-95, so before BMW ownership) is impossible to find all over the world. Even the US suppliers I've contacted don't have a single piece.
So I resign myself to search for a used one in better shape than mine.
I'm also comparing seal profiles from other cars sunroof but for now it seems the one in question (P38/Classic LWB) is quite unique.