Water leak!!

[ben_realrides]

Hey all, rear passenger footwell has a massive puddle in it! I guess the boot seal has gone as the boot floor and wheel well is also soaked. Any idea if new seals can be purchased and if so where from? Also any other ideas where to check for water leaks?

[Tim_R]

I got mine from here. Chose the half inch round cross section version.

http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/c-38-top-seals.aspx

Other places for leaks into the boot are tail lights, gas strut mounts on the c pillars.
rear footwell can also be the doors if the plastic membranes are missing or torn.

[go-for-it1]

And the badges on the tailgate let in water, silicon the seals when fitting the badges. Get in the car with the back seat down and get someone to put a hose pipe on the car to see where it is coming in. Does it have a factory fitted sunroof as the drains block and run into the car.

[ben_realrides]

Cheers guys, no it's got no sunroof which is a relief, I will look at the gas struts, lights and replace the seals, will also check the membranes in the door

[ben_realrides]

Tim which one do you recommend out of the four on that page? The top one?

[ben_realrides]

Also how much should I get?

[Tim_R]

Yup, it was the top one. Sorry I cant remember the length, I seem to remember wrapping string around the seal and holding it in place with masking tape on the corners then measuring the length of string to save pulling the seal off and trying to straighten it out to measure.

Hope this helps.

[ben_realrides]

awesome thanks mate, ill give that a try, is it a good seal? dumb question, but where did you put your join?

[ianaudia4]

VAGCAT states that the seal should be shortened to 3807mm!

The seal that Tim has put you onto is a damn sight cheaper than the genuine VWitem, I paid £62!
Put the join at the top of the tailgate.

[ben_realrides]

Awesome thank you and yeah it seems a lot cheaper let's hope it's as good!

[ben_realrides]

Right, replaced boot seal, still leaking, bottom of the c pillar is wet and it appears this could be where it's coming in, could this just be the struts? Any idea how to seal them?

[PeteGLi]

.....

Put the join at the top of the tailgate.

I thought the join was at the bottom, Ian.

[ben_realrides]

My original that I removed was joined at the top.

[ianaudia4]

.....

Put the join at the top of the tailgate.

My Storm was on the top, never leaked! Scala was on the bottom, that did so put to the top!

I thought the join was at the bottom, Ian.

[Tim_R]

Right, replaced boot seal, still leaking, bottom of the c pillar is wet and it appears this could be where it's coming in, could this just be the struts? Any idea how to seal them?

I used some suitable sized O rings from a box with a load of different sizes bought from halfords some time ago as the original parts were NLA at the dealers. My leak was so bad that water was almost running off the upper seat belt mount, onto the shelf, drowned the speaker and filling up the spare wheel.

Prop the boot fully open (it's heavy and you don't want it landing on your head)
Unscrew the strut from the C pillar and you should find 2 sealing washers under it that fit around each threaded hole.
Replace or you could try resealing them with some sort of sealant if you can't get anything the right size.