Scuttle tray removal

[robhearne 1]

I must be the oldest newbie in town having joined in 2004.  But I guess if you only post 50 odd times in 20 years then you're still classed as a newbie!  🙂

Anyway, I'm trying to get my VR6 watertight so that I can use it more.  I have water ingress into the passenger footwell and also the boot, but it's the former that I'm trying to tackle currently...

I've been doing research online and it seems that the most likely culprit is the drainage around the fresh air intake.  I'm assuming that I need to take the plastic cover off in order to remove the airbox and replace the seal.  It seems that I need to take the section of scuttle cover off because the rear of the plastic airbox cover is secured under it, but I'm vary waring of breaking the cover and the clips as I know how hard it will be to replace them.  I've been able to pry the front of scuttle cover up from under the metal clips and I've removed the screw in the corner, but it's still held in place by something underneath, which I assume are plastic clips?  Are there any tricks to removing the cover without breaking anything?  Any exploded diagrams would be very useful also so that I can see what I'm dealing with.

Thanks in advance!

[_Matt_ 32]

They are also stuck on with a gasket, however have you checked the membrane behind the door card? This is often the source of water in the pass footwell and the membranes get battered over the years.

Rear boot leak - have the grommets behind the badges been off and not replaced?  

[fendervg 33]

Also the sunroof drain as well as the door membranes. The water will pool at the lowest point, so it can be hard to work out where exactly it's getting in - but doing the seal on the fresh air intake is a good call. The issue is you will need to remove at least the right one of the three piece lower window edge trim, and this is most likely stuck on with sealant, which will have to be very carefully cut off so as not to damage the glass. Originally from the factory each panel is held won by a couple of two-piece plastic clips, but as these are old and brittle they are likely to break during removal - but replacements are easily got online.

[robhearne 1]

On 5/15/2024 at 12:44 PM, _Matt_ said:

They are also stuck on with a gasket, however have you checked the membrane behind the door card? This is often the source of water in the pass footwell and the membranes get battered over the years.

Rear boot leak - have the grommets behind the badges been off and not replaced?  

The door cards are off at the moment and they look perfect.  I'm going to pour some warer down the window just to be sure.

The Corrado badge definately needs attention as it's come away from the body at one side.  Is anywhere selling the clipes and grommets?  I'd be suprised if it was just this though as quote a lot of water is finding its way into the boot.  I plan on getting into the boot myself while it's close and have someone pour water around it.

[robhearne 1]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:08 PM, fendervg said:

Also the sunroof drain as well as the door membranes. The water will pool at the lowest point, so it can be hard to work out where exactly it's getting in - but doing the seal on the fresh air intake is a good call. The issue is you will need to remove at least the right one of the three piece lower window edge trim, and this is most likely stuck on with sealant, which will have to be very carefully cut off so as not to damage the glass. Originally from the factory each panel is held won by a couple of two-piece plastic clips, but as these are old and brittle they are likely to break during removal - but replacements are easily got online.

Do you happen to have any photos showing the location of the sunroof drain?

[fendervg 33]

It runs from each corner of the sunroof cassette. There is a small plastic host attached to it which runs down the inside of the A pillar, into the scuttle area and out of the drain channel near the wing.

[_Matt_ 32]

2 hours ago, robhearne said:

The door cards are off at the moment and they look perfect.  I'm going to pour some warer down the window just to be sure.

The Corrado badge definately needs attention as it's come away from the body at one side.  Is anywhere selling the clipes and grommets?  I'd be suprised if it was just this though as quote a lot of water is finding its way into the boot.  I plan on getting into the boot myself while it's close and have someone pour water around it.

Here are the clips

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221255683151?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oVHWpHOgT3q&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fE0d-bB2R7m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Mine were missing on my last corrado after a respray and it is surprising how much collects in the boot without these!

Are you door plastic sheeting membranes good and well sealed with butyl type adhesive? Water gets through otherwise at a surprising rate.

[robhearne 1]

On 5/17/2024 at 10:28 AM, _Matt_ said:

Here are the clips

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221255683151?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oVHWpHOgT3q&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=fE0d-bB2R7m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Mine were missing on my last corrado after a respray and it is surprising how much collects in the boot without these!

Are you door plastic sheeting membranes good and well sealed with butyl type adhesive? Water gets through otherwise at a surprising rate.

Thank for the link.  I now have some on order.

I ran lot of water down the door glass with a hose and I did find one area on the drivers side which was letting in water, so I've re-sealed that.  Most of the water is coming in on the passengers side though.

[robhearne 1]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:13 AM, fendervg said:

It runs from each corner of the sunroof cassette. There is a small plastic host attached to it which runs down the inside of the A pillar, into the scuttle area and out of the drain channel near the wing.

Ok, so I've now found a new problem - the sunroom no longer works.  I'm pretty sure that it used to tilt but not slide (common problem I know) but now it doesn't do anything.  I've taken the motor out and it will run most of the time when using the front-back action on the switch, and some of the time when using the tilt open\close action.  I'm not sure if this is normal or not, I'm guessing that maybe it has logic which only allows it to run depending on what postion it thinks the roof is in?  I've refitted the motor and I can hear the microswitches click in every direction of the switch but it does not try to run. 

I can open it in tilt mode using the manual override, but this doesn't give me access to the drainage holes.  Is there any way to manually slide the sunroof open?

[_Matt_ 32]

8 hours ago, robhearne said:

Thank for the link.  I now have some on order.

I ran lot of water down the door glass with a hose and I did find one area on the drivers side which was letting in water, so I've re-sealed that.  Most of the water is coming in on the passengers side though.

Water has a tendency to travel in the most unusual ways. 

Another area to look if not the door membranes or sunroof drains is the windscreen itself. Rot can fester between seal and screen and allow water to flow.

I'd be tempted to get the seats, sound deadening and carpet out and try to find leaks that way also.

[fendervg 33]

Have you tried operating the sunroof with the allen key? It should slide back ok - if not, it's a sign of a broken mech or cables, or one about to break - most common symtom being tilt but no slide, and the lhs side one seems to go more often. Also sounds like your motor could be on it's last legs, probably overworked trying to shift a seized mechanism.

[robhearne 1]

On 5/19/2024 at 12:48 AM, fendervg said:

Have you tried operating the sunroof with the allen key? It should slide back ok - if not, it's a sign of a broken mech or cables, or one about to break - most common symtom being tilt but no slide, and the lhs side one seems to go more often. Also sounds like your motor could be on it's last legs, probably overworked trying to shift a seized mechanism.

It will tilt with the allen key, but if I turn it the other way the back of the roof starts to lower and then there's considerable resistance so I suspect that something in the mechanism has broken.  The functionality of the motor is very eratic.  I've seen varying information on the compatiblity of the motors with other VW models.  Is there a definative guide somewhere?

[fendervg 33]

Sounds like the mech is broken - most likely the lhs cable guide has snapped. There are at least early and late versions of the motor - some Mk3 ones fit. Best bet is to get the part# off your existing one and try and cross reference online.