HELP! Pernanently sealed sunroof failed/leaking - now letting water in

[Nürburgring]

So I bought my '91 318is and it has a "permanently sealed" metal sunroof. I guess it stopped working years ago and some A-hole sealed it up permanently with some kind of black caulk/sealant. The "sealant" as I'll call it, is pretty hard to the touch and not sure if it's been like that forever or if it has hardened up over time. The car lived in Florida most it's life so it saw plenty of HOT sun and plenty of rain.

Well clearly the "sealant" has failed as there are small areas where little rust bubbles have formed on the edges around the sunroof. Anyone ever had any experience with this? I'd like to take the sealant out by any means necessary but would prefer not to ruin the paintjob although its' not the end of the world. it's got a cheap-ass re-spray anyway. You'll notice that the re-spray was done AFTER the sealant was put down and the painter did a horrible taping job. I plan to own the car long-term so I want to do what's best as a permanent solution. Anyone have any ideas?

[McGyver]

I would tape around it to keep from nicking the paint. Then try to use a knife or something the cut where the sealant was painted. Finally, use a screw driver or putty knife or something to start getting the sealant out. Perhaps a plastic tool if the stuff isn't too hard.

Once it's out, buy a new weather strip for the sunroof and get it operational.

[Nürburgring]

McGyver - that's my plan...glad to hear that I'm a reasonable man...I just hope I don't find piles of rusty metal under the top! If so, it may take a bit more effort than it's worth but I have to remove the sealant anyway so I might as well peek inside and see what I'm working with, right?

[TobyB]

So here's the deal- the 'seal' is really just a hope that a hurricane doesn't all go down
your sunroof all at one time.
The thing is really designed to drain water out through the tubes that come out of each corner.
So maybe the tubes were cut (new headliner?) or just terminally plugged up.
Or worst, rusted out. Sunroof rust sucks, I gotta say.

Gotta say, if it was mine, I'd probably just put down another heavy layer of sealant
over top, and pretend it wasn't there. Something tough, that I bought from the body shop...

Your way is better.

t