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This copper pipe goes in between 2 roof tiles (cement/hard tiles). Water constantly leaks through when it rains. The water clings to the pipe and then drips onto the ceiling.

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As you can see from the images, multiple people have tried to plug this leak, including me. I used a product called Sikaflex 11FC sealant.

In this image, you'll notice that I've scraped away the sealant close to the pipe. When I did this, I noticed that it was all gummy, which makes me think that it never hardened properly.

The gap that you see is the gap between the 2 tiles. It's bigger than other gaps on the roof because of the pipe. I've also tried to plug this gap all the way and the sealant was much harder further away from the pipe, which makes me conclude that the weak point is close to the pipe itself.

Is this just a very bad installation that can't be saved, or is there something I can do to waterproof it properly?

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I would take a piece of flexible rubber sheeting approximately 12"X12", cut a hole in the rubber about the size of the tubing (make it a tight fit), near the center, and slit the rubber from the edge to the cut hole. Fit the rubber sheet around the tubing and use silicone caulking to seal the underside of the rubber, the slit area and between the tubing and rubber sheet. Use a lot of a good silicone caulk (not the cheap stuff or spray foam), 2-3 Tubes of caulking should suffice. Lastly, coat the whole top of the rubber sheet with a thick film of caulking and spread with a cheap paint brush to coat the whole rubber sheet out past the edges.

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That's not a very big area. I would use some Hydraulic Water-Stop Cement for this type of issue. This is designed primarily to prevent water from entering through basement or retaining walls. However, I have used it to stop leaks as well and it works great. It's easy to mix and sets up in about 5 minutes. Fill the cracks and then spread a generous amount around the pipe. There are many types on the market.

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Most roofers will make a copper (or lead) tile with a tube soldered to it that sticks up and the other tiles go around and aboveenter image description here that to hide it.

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How did you apply the Sikaflex? We use that a lot for water storage tanks and it hasn't given us any issues. Applying it in layers might allow it to cure and solve your problem.

But like what was said above, covering it and sealing around the new cover is probably your best bet.

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