92 vr drivers footwell leak

[maff 10]

Hi all

 

I've got a list of things to sort on my vr6 at the mo and one of these is damp drivers front and rear footwells.

 

I'm using a sheet which covers half of the car which is helping things dry out, (it's not my daily drive) but where shall i start with this problem and what are the main culprit areas?

 

The top corner of the drivers side windscreen rubber doesn't look the best as its not sitting flush with the bodywork so this is an obvious area and i was thinking about taking off the door card off and checking the membrane is sealed to the door as i had this on my 330d which solved the same problem.

 

Also what about the passenger side scuttle panel cover for the fan, i've heard this can cause problems but surely i would have water in the passenger side and not the drivers side?

And lastly i think i can se evidence of tiny droplets coming on the plastic kick panel which is down by the bonnet release handle, my drivers wing also needs attention as it has a rust bubble just where it joins then door, so i'm thinking i may have a problem with a seal around the wing also?

 

Any info to solve this will be greatfully recieved before i start completely stripping the car!

Edited January 12, 2013 by maff

[sexybourbon 0]

You will have to take the carpets out smany way really if the sound deadning is wet then you will struggle to dry it as its so thick , plus it will start to stink , its the foliage seal that needs to be checked under the scuttle tray

Iv just last week got my interior back in after a massive leak wich turned out to be my door seals that was letting water in but by the sounds of it its coming from the windscreen if your getting water near the pedals on the plastic

 

Id say the best bet is to take every thing out thats wet , throw the wet sound deadning dry the carpets and then what i did was once everything was out i set a hose pipe up so it was pointing at the car and jumped in with my torch and waited until i could see where it started to apear from

Its not the best but the interior comes out easy and it atleast gives you a chance to clean it all properly

If your not sure on what to replace your sound deadning with check my build thread iv just done mine and its perfect

[maff 10]

Cheers redborbet, the carpets are virtually touch dry now so i might start with the door membrane, then get a bit of sealant around the windscreen seal, (for now) and then see if it still leaks, it really is my pet hate of cars when they leak, drives me nuts!

I've read about the foilage seal, ill have a good route around and have a look down there too i reckon, i suppose im hoping for a quick fix but like you said i'm probably better stripping all of the carpets and attacking it full on:-D, gonna haver a word with my good friend who has a unit, be better to do it indoors in this weather

[sexybourbon 0]

Well all i can say is that if your carpet is wet on top then it will be on the soundproofing underneath aswell

What might make it easier is that until i took my carpets out i didnt realise whoever had the car last had cut them in to two seperate pieces alont the center consol so if you do that aswell it would mean only taking out the driver side interior wich would be easier

[Anton Sobriquet 0]

I've recently had similar problems but on the passenger side. Culprit seems to have been the foliage guard seal in the scuttle. That's now fixed and the car passed the hose test the other day.

 

Another likely source is the heater matrix, but you'd probably know because the car would be full of condensation and steam up a lot. The door membranes are defo worth checking, as are the door and window seals, the door drains, the sunroof drains, and evil of evils, the arch bonding to the body. It can rust and rot at the bond and seems a likely candidate in your case.

 

The outer windscreen rubber is really only cosmetic. The screen is bonded to a flange, which seals out the elements and the rubber just sits on top. What can happen, as it has on mine, is that water gets trapped behind the rubber when the screen isn't fitted properly and rusts and rots the flange. If it's really bad it can then leak wind and water. If you carefully remove the rubber so you don't stretch it you'll be able to see what I mean. If there's mastic in the flange holding the rubber seal in, it's likely a poor windscreen fit, because it shouldn't need any, and might just be leaking throught the bonding adhesive. If both front and rear carpets are wet, though, it would be a serious leak and it seems unlikely to have all come thro' the screen without you noticing, although if it runs down behind the plastic trim under the A pillar, that is a possibility.

 

I found the soundproofing felt was absolutely saturated when I took it out even tho' the carpet felt dryish and after draining and drying it, it looks pretty nackered. I found this while looking around for something to replace it:-

 

http://www.automobiletrim.com/sound-proofing.html

 

Hope this helps.

[maff 10]

I've recently had similar problems but on the passenger side. Culprit seems to have been the foliage guard seal in the scuttle. That's now fixed and the car passed the hose test the other day.

 

Another likely source is the heater matrix, but you'd probably know because the car would be full of condensation and steam up a lot. The door membranes are defo worth checking, as are the door and window seals, the door drains, the sunroof drains, and evil of evils, the arch bonding to the body. It can rust and rot at the bond and seems a likely candidate in your case.

 

The outer windscreen rubber is really only cosmetic. The screen is bonded to a flange, which seals out the elements and the rubber just sits on top. What can happen, as it has on mine, is that water gets trapped behind the rubber when the screen isn't fitted properly and rusts and rots the flange. If it's really bad it can then leak wind and water. If you carefully remove the rubber so you don't stretch it you'll be able to see what I mean. If there's mastic in the flange holding the rubber seal in, it's likely a poor windscreen fit, because it shouldn't need any, and might just be leaking throught the bonding adhesive. If both front and rear carpets are wet, though, it would be a serious leak and it seems unlikely to have all come thro' the screen without you noticing, although if it runs down behind the plastic trim under the A pillar, that is a possibility.

 

I found the soundproofing felt was absolutely saturated when I took it out even tho' the carpet felt dryish and after draining and drying it, it looks pretty nackered. I found this while looking around for something to replace it:-

 

http://www.automobiletrim.com/sound-proofing.html

 

Hope this helps.

 

I've had a heater matrix go on me in the past on my old vr and there was quite a funny wif if i remember, also the previous owner has replaced the matrix so don't think its that.

 

Definatly weather related but i do get a bit of condensation when its sort of coldish and raining and you need the blowers on, i get this a bit in my 330d to sometimes.

And my windscren seal isnt brilliant either, if i can i'll post up a pic of it as could well be the culprit i reckon and thanks for the link for the sound proofing, i'll check it out!

Getting the time to do it is my biggest thing at the mo though!

[Billyboy 10]

I have the same problem but someone told me it could be the rear sunroof drainage hose being blocked is this so????.... have not checked yet as a blody big sub box needs to be removed first>>>lol

[clumpy1 11]

More likely to be door seal's have a check of them any split's in them could be letting in water.

[Billyboy 10]

door seals look fine but to be fair mt weather seals sre f**ked and the door feels up with water but there are drainage holes for that?

[VW_OwneR_85 1]

headliner wet?

[sleeper16 0]

Hi all

 

I've got a list of things to sort on my vr6 at the mo and one of these is damp drivers front and rear footwells.

 

I'm using a sheet which covers half of the car which is helping things dry out, (it's not my daily drive) but where shall i start with this problem and what are the main culprit areas?

 

The top corner of the drivers side windscreen rubber doesn't look the best as its not sitting flush with the bodywork so this is an obvious area and i was thinking about taking off the door card off and checking the membrane is sealed to the door as i had this on my 330d which solved the same problem.

 

Also what about the passenger side scuttle panel cover for the fan, i've heard this can cause problems but surely i would have water in the passenger side and not the drivers side?

And lastly i think i can se evidence of tiny droplets coming on the plastic kick panel which is down by the bonnet release handle, my drivers wing also needs attention as it has a rust bubble just where it joins then door, so i'm thinking i may have a problem with a seal around the wing also?

 

Any info to solve this will be greatfully recieved before i start completely stripping the car!

 

I had/have the exact same problem except my floors were full of water. i took the drivers seat out took the sound deadening out (thats been hung up for four weeks and still isnt dry!) dried the floor pan and carpet. and started looking for leaks with a hose pipe.

 

I used some silicon around the bonnet cable grommet and the other grommet in the scuttle (throttle cable?) but i can see mine is running from the a pillar. so that to me is door seals/windscreen rubber/drainage pipe from sunroof. I have some new doors seals on the way from a mk4 then i will check again if that doesnt fix it, a bit of silicone around the sunroof(its getting changed soon back to the standard panel as the moonroof fits dreadful) if that doesnt fix it i will get the screen replaced.

 

I took the under dash panel out and it was running from the earth block in the dash above the fusebox. also on the rear of the door there was water on the sill. I believe the water was getting in behind the door seal and running down the B piller seal lip then building up at the bottom so much that it then ran into the car.

 

 

Hope this helps abit

[maff 10]

Cheers for that, I think I've isolated my leak to the windscreen seal so just deciding whether of not to get it repaired professionally or use some sealant on it, I could clearly see water running down the windscreen pillar and past the drivers kick plate, not good:-(

[sleeper16 0]

Cheers for that, I think I've isolated my leak to the windscreen seal so just deciding whether of not to get it repaired professionally or use some sealant on it, I could clearly see water running down the windscreen pillar and past the drivers kick plate, not good:-(

 

at least its narrowed down, dont rule out the drain tube from sunroof though they run down the a pillar and if its split could be leaking in the pillar itself, worth checking before splashing out for a new screen. you could go down the route of windscreen cover on insurance if you have it, this may be what i do as mine has a coule of chips depends if i get round to it or not before they develop into cracks.

[fla 9]

my door seals appear to be be fine, no splits or cracks but there is a leak that seems to go around the inside door frame and on to the sill. I've moved the door lock pin further inwards slightly but any other suggestions?

[seanl82 23]

Is it not just water thats collected in the door through the outer slot seal, then dripping down through the drain holes in the bottom of the door Hasan?

[fla 9]

Thanks sean, could be I'll have a look. The water collects on the inside lip and runs across the plastic sill and into the car though.

[robrado974 1]

I would check the exterior plastic triangle Hasan . Mine was leaking through there .

Rob

[fla 9]

good idea Rob, i'll have a check there. How does that come off, is is a push fit or screwed in from inside?

[robrado974 1]

Iirc , you have to remove the interior plastic triangle which is a snap on fit . Then you will see a small screw , which locates into the lug of the exterior triangle . If you look at the exterior one , is it snug into the corner ? . Mine had about a 5mm gap as the screw was not in the lug . Before I spotted this I checked the bottom seals on the door and re did the membrane , another heavy down pour later and it soaked the carpet again . Once I had secured the triangle properly it never leaked again .

[fla 9]

the triangle area seems fine, in fact the ingress route is around 20 cm further up the outer door seal and looks as though it tracks in from there and then through the inner seal, suggesting the seal is not too tight there. I've moved the door pin inwards which has firmed up the locking but this doesn't seem to have done the trick for the leak. I'll loosen the door bolts and see if there's any slack there. Failing that what other adjustments (or tricks!) have worked?

[fla 9]

Mine appears to be the outer top seal on the door - it sits slightly proud of the frame and this small gaps allows water to enter and track round the inner edge of the door to the inside. I've moved the door inwards by the hinge as much as it will go but i am loathe to put any sealing tape around the frame. Any ideas for adjusting the seal?

[seanl82 23]

I think thats just a trim Hasan. The door is sealed by the aperture seal on the frame itself. Not much you can do to the door one tbh.

[fla 9]

thanks for that Sean. I've got some neoprene foam on a reel which i'll cut to length and stick to the inside door face and see if that works..

[seanl82 23]

I've seen (on wheeler dealer!) that you can use a bit of rigid(ish) tube and thread it through the aperture seal, to sort of bulk it out. Seemed to work quite well which may be an option if your reluctant to stick stuff to the door mate.

[fla 9]

Good idea! I do watch WD quite often now especially as they usually do the types of cars I like and Edd China is pretty adept at what he does so you can pick up some good tips.