HELP WATER COMING IN

[DAM1T]

Bought my GT11 just a couple of months ago and its got to stay on the drive for now. Not run it for a week or so and its seems like its never stopped raining. Went out to give her a run today and there's water in the drivers footwell, drivers door and also where the rear seats used to be. Question is where is all the water likely to be coming from. I understand that the door seals may be knackered it is 22 years old after all, but the water in the drivers footwell, where's that likely to be coming from. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated

[whiteshark]

Peplace door seals and make sure your door is aligned correctly. If there is water in the door check your window seals. If the car has been lying in the driveway for a while over winter there will be water internally from condensation alone. Good luck. Get her out for a drive and get some hot air circulated in the interior.

[MacColl]

How are the door membranes?

It's my understanding certainly with other 80's vw's that the doors are designed to allow water to pass through them and a plastic membrane stops the water getting into the interior. Any hint of a leak with these membranes can cause the most subtle leak that is often hard to detect.

IMO I think although worth checking the door seals it is more likely a membrane. You must also check that the drainage holes on the doors are allowing water to drain away.

I would also maybe examine round the scuttle area for stuff blocking drainage in there and even cracks on the cover.

It hasn't stopped raining here for weeks. I'm only taking short journeys and my car constantly feels damp. I would consider buying one of these moisture trap things that Frost sell or equivalent if you're leaving your car for long periods.

[seanr68]

MacColl hit the nail; on the head...nearly always door membranes.
Also possible that sunroof drainage channels blocked. Get an airline and blow them out if door membranes ok.

[fonzooorooo]

Membranes 1st...
Then check rear windows for leaks (mine had a leak from the O/S rear window that ran behind the rear "door card"...
Windscreen seal.
Tailgate glass seal, spoiler (yes, really!) and boot lock seal. Check the plenum drains are clear (weird stuff can happen - I had a polo with 3" of sand in the bottoms of the wings!) and no water's being run from there through bulkhead grommets.

I ended up with a tube of tigerseal, and sealing glass-to-seal and seal-to-body on every window, making new door membranes, new boot lock seal, removing spoiler and tigersealing back on. (water can get in through the spoiler mounting holes, runs inside the spoiler, then out through the drains which are INSIDE the boot seal, so then ultimately runs down into the boot floor, then can divert round the strengthening ribs and end up in the rear footwells.... sounds unlikely, but it's true - especially if you park on a slope!) After all that, it was water tight!

[DAM1T]

Thanks everyone. I'll wait until we get a bit less rain and then tackle that lot. In the meantime I've bought a car cover which seems to be keeping any more water out and I've mopped the water up and will be running it regularly

[Tim_R]

Went out to give her a run today and there's water in the drivers footwell, drivers door and also where the rear seats used to be.

Do you still have carpets? If so then you might well want to consider pulling them out to get to the soundproofing under it and drying it out or replacing it, else the car will smell bad and steam up a lot. I ran my car for 6 months without them trying to track down my leaks.
I found one from the windscreen, it got in through the drivers side lower corner , ran down the A pillar behind the carpet and into the footwell. The other from the boot seal ran down the C pillar under the vinyl, across the speaker shelf, onto the boot floor and then ran forward under the back seat to the rear footwells.

Good luck!

[isaidthephil]

I recently had a new windscreen fitted on my GTII and I had the same problem. Left it in the car park at work, it rained then came to it to find all the passenger side floor well puddled with water. I personally just put some silicone around the seal and it was fine.

I also have the issue at the rear too. I may try some of what people have been saying as my boot is very damp at the mo :s

[mikeki]

Hi

I have had a similar problem with my GT11 in the last few weeks, it looks like it might have been caused by a cracked plastic scuttle cover allowing water to accumulate near the heater blower/matrix. So I am going to seal the surround for the matrix and then start checking the screen area as well. Hope this helps.

Regards

Mikeki

[ghost123uk]

The other from the boot seal ran down the C pillar under the vinyl, across the speaker shelf, onto the boot floor and then ran forward under the back seat to the rear footwells.

We had that one too, took ages to figure out where it was coming from !
A bit of silicone sealer at the lower left hand corner fixed it :)

[mark1gls]

I would not get silicone anywhere near my car, it will eat your paint, peel off in no time leaving a right mess, use the right stuff once and forget about it!

This is the stuff you need...

http://www.refinishsystems.com/product/ ... reenSealer

[ghost123uk]

Having fixed the leak (from the boot seal) on our GTII we now have a leak on the GTS !!

I thought it was going to be the same issue because the passenger side front and rear foot wells are puddled, but a hose pipe test (over the rear of the car) did not reveal any leaks :(

The windscreen corners look OK.

Will try the hose test again after reading on here that door membranes can be the culprit.

Also possible that sunroof drainage channels blocked. Get an airline and blow them out if door membranes ok.

Can someone tell me where to look for the sunroof drainage channels ? (pref without having to remove the (complicated) sunroof !)

[Old Mac Rocco]

They are at the four corners of the roof opening, at least they were on my old B plate.
This was the start of my problems as I had a hole beside one of the drain holes, that meant that the water was running inside the pillars and into the car rather than run down the plastic drainpipes and out of the car.
I'll see if I can find more details for you.
If you have a Haynes manual have a look at page 216 as it shows the set up there.
Good luck.

[ghost123uk]

If you have a Haynes manual have a look at page 216 as it shows the set up there.

Oops, I wonder why I never thought to look in there

[scrumpyone]

My boot is leaking (again) :( I replaced the lock seal last year & thought I had sorted but...

I reckon it might be coming in behind the 'volkswagen' badge on the offside of the tailgate (it's not sitting flush on one end).

What's best to stick it down with guys?