dokko

My dash is in bits at the mo - recently had same problem with the face/feet flap. Thought it was the bowden cable at first. Took a fair bit of effort to shift the flap (btw - I had detatched the bowden cable from the heater control unit arm or I would have mashed the internal gears up with the force that would be required to). After a bit of lateral thinking, I decided to prise off the middle cog underneath the housing where the flap is. I then set the cog that the bowden cable and flap cogs to where they should be for demister setting and refitted the middle cog. I now have silky smooth flap action. Cogs were out of sync with cable/flap.

TBH i don't know what part dokko is talking about... all i got from that was seals, covers and door sills... what is he talking about? the rubber strip around the door? cos he mentioned that it was oily... that sounds farmilliar! Kris - seems like we have exactly the same problem and I only recently got it sorted after months and months of a soggy passenger side, rear footwell. Ignore what's written above - it had nothing to do with my door seals! I eventually traced it to a leak from the boot which I've still to trace the exact location of, but probably from the rear spoiler strut openings or the number plate. What was happening was that water was leaking into the boot and standing underneath the boot carpet. It was then condensing on the inside of the rear wheel arch and then running down from the arch into the rear footwell. Since I removed the boot carpet and the carpet covering the rear wheel arch, the footwell has been bone dry (and there's been some major downpours since I done this!). The water still leaking in through the boot, but now it just drips into the spare wheel well and drains away. Will get it properly sorted soon. Maybe... Hope this helps!

Aaaaargh!!!!! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2: Thought I had it sorted! Had felt that the rear passenger carpet was still getting damp over the past few weeks but only today could I build up enough motivation to have a closer inspection. To date I've; 1. replaced and resealed passenger door membrane 2. sorted foliage cover seal 3. freed the lip of the passenger door seal (one that's attached to body) that was trapped underneath the interior plastic sill trim/scuff plate I've been suspecting that it's the door seal (one that's attached to body) that's causing the problem. So, today I slipped some newspaper between the interior plastic sill cover and carpet along it's entire length. Closed door and proceeded to heavily soak the doors with the hose. Is it just me, or is the design of the door seal utter cr@p?! It's not a single piece construction right?! The two ends of the seal meet in the middle of the sill creating a slight gap. The newspaper absorbed just enough water here so that I spotted the leak. Turns out that most of the water runs through this gap, under the plastic sill cover and under the carpet, running down the metal of the sill where it collects in the rear corner of passenger footwell. As for the front passenger footwell, the seal lip that covers the plastic sill cover ends with at least a 2" gap just back from the door hinge where more water floods in! It's exactly the same on the driver's side, but strangely I've not had the same problems that side. I've patched up the middle gap in the seal with a bike puncture repair kit to see if that makes any difference but any suggestions as to a more permanent solution would be most welcome! Are replacement seals an improvement over the original design or are they just as cr@p?

I've had exactly the same problem since buying my 'rado last September. I'd check all the obvious sources of the leak - foliage cover, door membrane, etc but it was only last weekend when I had the passenger seat out to investigate further that I found the culprit... viewtopic.php?f=19&t=64822&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15#p802854 Have had a couple of downpours since then and left rear carpet is still dry :clap: The carpet also had that 'oily' feel when damp but I'm sure it's not from a gubbed heater matrix due to the carpet remaining dry. Never really had any issues with condensation either. Finally, I bought a basic dehumidifier thing from b&q and have been leaving it in the car overnight to sook up any remaining moisture left in the car.

Door membrane was the initial suspect. Had to apply a lot of duck tape too, but the carpet was still getting wet. Sorted the foliage cover seal, but nope, carpet was still getting wet. Wasn't until yesterday that I noticed that the door seal lip was stuck under the interior plastic sill cover. Having aimed the hosepipe at the door for a while, all seems well now and problem sorted. Fingers crossed - will know for sure come the next major downpour!

Not looked any further into my wet rear passenger side carpet recently - probably due to the run of sunny, dry weather up here for a change. Anyway, there was still a small patch of wet carpet appearing after the car had a wash, so this afternoon I removed the front passenger seat for a closer look. Emptied a few buckets of water over the roof then had a cup of tea. I *think* I've found where the water is coming from. Noticed that the plastic sill cover was sitting over the door seal which allowed water to trickle over the seal and onto the carpet. Over time I think this water has been building up and moving towards the rear footwell. Checked the driver's side door sill and the lip of the door seal sits over the plastic sill cover. Water's not getting through now, but time will tell once it starts raining again...

Situation getting worse now, with it becoming more difficult to engage gears. It's booked in for next Wednesday. Mechanic I know diagnosed it as release bearing and advised it'd make more sense fitting new clutch :shrug: Wallet now 300 notes lighter. Looks like I'll need to postpone the Eibach replacement for the snapped ARB a little longer... Oh, and I smashed my driver's wing mirror. They do say these things come in threes :gag:

Cheers guys for the quick reply. Gives me something to search for. The rattle is there as soon as the clutch pedal is released when idling or driving in every gear. It's not loud and the pitch is constant - speed doesn't have any effect. As soon as the clutch pedal is depressed slightly, it's gone. Will get it checked asap and report back. Cheers!

Thought the timing chains on the VR6 were starting to go last night after hearing a faint rattling noise:( Turns out that this rattle (sounds like a ticking sound) disappears when the clutch pedal is slightly depressed, by about 3/4" Theres still plenty of play left in the clutch pedal at this point,so I'm hoping that it's just something requiring some adjustment. No issues with gear selection or engaging the clutch. Any ideas what I should be looking for? Cheers.

Exactly where on the tunnel is the water tracking in? This is what I found a few weeks ago... Not had any rain for a few weeks until today and guess what? Yup, rear passenger carpet is damp. However, the newspaper I placed underneath the handbrake cable tubes is dry, so I think the water has been evaporating previously from the carpet onto them when they were covered with the rubber insulating material/carpet. The passenger seat is coming out tomorrow and will lift the carpet for closer inspection.

Pops out easily. Just use a thin, flat screwdriver blade to gently prise the switch away from the dash. Same thing happened to myself recently, caused by some sort of dodgy connection with the dimmer switch. Can't remember exactly how I fixed it, but remember it was really simple - less than a minute! Use the search box. I was able to find a tread on here that explained the fix in more detail.

Megs APC is fantastic stuff. Highly recommended!

It's a different material to the sound deadening. Not actually sure why it's there at all. Pulling back the carpets at the rear, the sound deadening in the footwells is soaked. Think I'm going to take all the carpets out seeing as I've got most of the trim off anyway and give everything a good clean while I'm at it. Don't fancy the interior smelling like a wet dog if that sound deadening starts rotting!

No idea what that could be. Fingers crossed that it stops the leak. Keep us updated. Thought about doing the foliage cover job this weekend, but too much rain and far too cold. So I decide to stay inside the car and concentrate on other things that might be the cause my rear carpets constantly getting damp. Followed this up again as it seems like the most obvious source: "So this morning I'm taking out the old newspaper and silica gel sachets which I'm using to soak up the water with when I notice drips of water around the rear ashtray. The ashtray and centre console are removed at the moment for repairs, so the drips are inside the recess for the astray with water also on top of the centre console where the ashtray sits, leading me to believe that the water is coming from above." Decided to remove the entire centre console for a better look. Can see the two handbrake cable silvery/gold metal tubes that sit underneath the rear ashtray. Beneath them is a sort of triangular brownish material that feels like rubber. Removed this and it's absolutely saturated with water. Underneath this on the metal central tunnel, water is lightly beading down the sides into the rear passenger carpets. It seems like water is condensing on the handbrake cable tubes. Really strange... Have put some newspaper underneath the tubes and will see how wet it gets during the week.

Been following this post (and all the others on the subject of soaking carpets) to try and sort out a leak that's got me totally baffled. Both outside rear corners of both rear carpets are soaking. It's just these corners of the carpet, which are slightly lower than the rest of the floor that are wet. rest of the carpet is dry. Followed advice and had a look at door membranes. Both were in ok condition and I sealed and patched everything up. Rear carpets are still getting wet. Checked sunroof drains and the drains under the windscreen. Nothing blocked. Checked rubber grommets on the bulkhead with everything looking in good condition. Checked tail light seals and door seals which I vaselined - no wear or tear or flat spots evident. Only thing I've not checked is the foliage cover/blower motor, but front passenger carpet is dry. So this morning I'm taking out the old newspaper and silica gel sachets which I'm using to soak up the water with when I notice drips of water around the rear ashtray. The ashtray and centre console are removed at the moment for repairs, so the drips are inside the recess for the astray with water also on top of the centre console where the ashtray sits, leading me to believe that the water is coming from above. Thought it might be the sunroof leaking, but my front seats are bone dry, with no evidence of dampness on the headlining. Soaked the roof with lots of water but could see no evidence of water tracking in. Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

Ok, I've come to my senses. Junkie - It's a no brainer really. Have to fit your Recaros What model of seat are they? Seen them fitted to various Golfs, fast Fords, etc. That's what I enjoy about forums like this - crazy idea followed by informed chat makes for sensible decisions. Cheers!

Thanks for all the feedback. I REALLY need to consider changing the stock seats. Over journeys of about an hour or so, they're fine. Any longer however and I start getting lower back pain on my right side. The Recaro I had in my old S3 was superb, with it's lumbar support and extendable cushion (great when you're 6' 5". Really miss that). So, any suggestions that would fit my requirements for comfort and (appropriate) style. The optional Corrado Recaros? What features did this have? Some say they're good, some say they're worse than stock. So confusing...

Personally think that they compliment the rear headrest design which is also triangular in shape. Definitely a marmite topic, so I'll stir it some more... Maybe a bit too extreme. More Recaros (based on the Pole Position design I think) as fitted to M3 CSL. Also fitted in the Beetle RSI. Think these would work well. Can't get any more timeless than a simple, classic bucket design. But could I live with them on a daily basis? Dunno.

Would they suit the Corrado? Thinking about fitting some next year but not totally convinced that a modern seat design will mix well with the 'rado's shape. What do others think?

Cheers! Removed the trim and had a look behind gearstick/handbrake and found a small control type unit for a "Proximity Sensor III". Googled this and found that this is compatible with earlier Clifford alarms (G5 range?) Will have a closer look tomorrow. Here's a pic of the fob.

Coming up to renew my insurance and need to know what model of Clifford alarm is fitted. Thing is, I have no idea! Checked with the previous owner and he's equally as clueless, so could anyone give me any pointers as to how I find out? Cheers!

Got exactly the same problem. Difficult to say exactly where the rattle is coming from. I'll need to pay more attention tomorrow (it'll probably cure itself now!) I've found a temporary cure - I drop the window slightly when it starts rattling and then fully raise the window again and keep the switch activated for a second or two. Seems to work but not ideal. Think the door card's coming off at the weekend.

Was having similar problem with the air direction permanently of face. Using the info here and in the Knowledge base, I knew that the bowden cables were fine and not the cause of the problem. Air direction control dial turned fine with no grinding or heavy resistance. After taking the panel off inside the drivers footwell for a closer inspection behind the centre console, I noticed a black plastic cog (which was about the diameter of a 2 pound coin) lying just behind the panel. Didn't take long for me to work out where it had come from - there are 3 cogs situated just behind the ashtray mounting point and to the left of the drivers footwell vent housing. This cog was the middle one and had teeth around it's entire diameter. The other 2 cogs which were still in place were semi toothed. Have no idea how it fell off in the first place as it snapped back in firmly. Result - my windscreen vents now work, but... Now can't get the direction control dial to move past the feet setting. Will try and remove the cog and refit it. PS - new to the forum having been lurking about for the past few months. Just bought a gleaming Alpine White VR6 a couple of weeks ago and look forward to getting more involved here.