help ive got a leak.......water that is!

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 6th December 2004 - 12:03pm

I have a leak...well more of a trickle..

i kept getting a pool of water under the mats on the passenger side, after removing mats, i followed the trickle (used dad pouring kettle of water on outside) Its coming from behind the dash, ie if you put your finger up and back on the bottom edge lip of the dash metal you can feel its wet. Now i have already had the wing off and resealed all the wing bolt holes (silicone sealer etc) and the rubber grommets for the ariel....so i cant think of any other holes to seal.

This leads me to think its the windscreen rubber. Now its not split or cracked anywhere but it has started to degrade (ie if you rub it black tiny bits come off)...now i intend to replace it but would rubbers in that state seriously let that amount of water through??? or is there another hole i need to check?? Any ideas.

So... who sells new windscreen rubbers...reasonably priced of course!

any help greatly appreciated!!!

type3 · Post by **type3** » 6th December 2004 - 5:50pm

Yep, windscreen rubbers can let in loads of water in on a Type 3. Fairly common in fact. When you remove the windscreen be sure to check the lower corners as these can corode and compound the problem and also won't reseal even with a new window rubber.

Might be worth checking out ISP West as they are pretty good quality. West Coast Metric used to have a lifetime garauntee but I don't think they do that anymore so the quality might not be as good as it used to be.

Also... what year is you Type 3? Just that the later bulkheads ('71 ->) are known to rot out if the airbox drains get blocked which may be another cause of leaks.

cheers,
type3

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 7th December 2004 - 8:23am

thanks for the tip......im starting to worry now about the state of my windscreen surround...probably got a hole knowing my luck! i will source a rubber and get the screen out asap...

Just that the later bulkheads ('71 ->) are known to rot out if the airbox drains get blocked which may be another cause of leaks. : Mines a 72, not heard about this before i will have to investigate......

cheers for your help...ill let u know what i find!!

Stuart Sepple · Post by **Stuart Sepple** » 7th December 2004 - 7:07pm

Same problem on mine

Whats the procedure for checking (finding!) the drain hole(s) for the airbox?

Stuart

Clem · Post by **Clem** » 8th December 2004 - 7:27pm

I had this, and the main leak was from the airbox drain being blocked ... it was full of broken glass and old leaves. Clear it out and that stops the gush.
Im still left with a trickle. Ive removed and reseated the windscreen rubber, theres no rot on the frame, and it still seeps in.
Im never surprised how much water can find its way around a seemingly tight window seal.

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 9th December 2004 - 9:52am

my car has no vents below the windscreen

.....am i to take it they have been bogged up or did the model change in 72 to have no vents...somebody put me out of my misery.......

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 9th December 2004 - 10:09am

yep on closer inspection...the vents have been filled, for some reason??

, at least they did a proper job, its not visible at all... i didnt notice at all. One less leaky hole problem to deal with i suppose.......at least i know the water problem can only be my window rubbers now....

and of course ill just have to open my windows in summer....Ho hum!!

Post by **Editor** » 9th December 2004 - 12:21pm

You've found water up under the dash, so that's a pretty certain diagnosis now.

When you think that water seeping in at the top of the screen rubber can build up a 2-foot head of water, it's not that surprising it gets inside. The better the bottom is sealed, the more comes in. Make sure you run some of that thin sealer in along the top and sides. it's almost better to leave the bottom edge free of sealer to allow water out!

Sometimes it can come in through the heater vent, having leaked in through a bad seam in the rear wheel arch from the air-intake louvres. It runs along the inner sill and rots the heater tube out, seizes the outlet selector valve and rots the floor where it rests. Nasty stuff, water!

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 9th December 2004 - 12:27pm

thankfully there is no water ingress from the rear of the car...the channels are nice and dry....Phew! Couldnt deal with 2 shocks in one day!

Stuart Sepple · Post by **Stuart Sepple** » 10th December 2004 - 10:34am

can anyone describe the position of the drain holes?

Water ingress seems such a universal problem on Type 3s that a full tech article on this subject seems in order - from somone with more knowledge than me

Stuart

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 10th December 2004 - 10:39am

I agree.....
Saves us lookin a fool and asking the silly questions....

type3 · Post by **type3** » 10th December 2004 - 7:09pm

Aloha,
If you look under the dash you should see a large black plastic box, this is bolted to the underneath of the scuttle. IIRC there's one tube that runs from the box and another that runs from second skin below the scuttle, they then run down and exit through the lower part of the bulkhead just above the carpet under the dash. From the outside they exit just behind the petrol tank.

The reason the drainage tray (actually the second skin of the scuttle) rots out is that leaves and gunk naturally find their way through the outer vents on the scuttle and over time block the drainage tube and the mesh on top of the air box. When you look through the vents from the outside (if they haven't been welded up like mine :-) that's the top of the box that's visible through the hole in the second skin. It's that second skin that dies, the water can't escape so just sits there and kills the metal. Eventually, if left long enough, you will also see corrosion from inside the front boot too as it rots through the curved part of the bulkhead.

I hope my description isn't too confusing, bit hard to explain, but makes sense when see first hand that the top of the air box is the bit visible through the vents. Hope this helps.

cheers,
type3

Stuart Sepple · Post by **Stuart Sepple** » 10th December 2004 - 9:25pm

Hmmm.....

a diagram would help

guess as you say its obvious when you look.

Guess I'll have to get off my A***se and go out there in the cold and look

type3 · Post by **type3** » 10th December 2004 - 10:59pm

Apologies, my reply was a bit verbose and not much use.

Basically if you look under the dash you should see two rubber tubes that exit through the bulkhead, these are the drainage tubes. The two tubes exit just above tunnel/frame head area.

cheers,
type3

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 11th December 2004 - 1:46pm

Im glad im not the only one with filled in vents....phew!

But interesting reading, my fresh air box is all still there so im gonna take it out and see whats behind, just for peace of mind.....

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 5th January 2005 - 8:47am

Well over the xmas period.....i have taken the windscreen out to find no holes... hurrrah! Just a little bubbling of paint. I stripped it all back & treated the affected areas.
I Took the car to the RAC Glass fitters who put my new T3D Windscreen Rubber and brand new Glass in...... Bloody thing still leaks

Grrrrrr! Now the window man said i need to let the rubber settle (sounds like flannel to cover a bad job to me) then it should naturally seal so he says...is this true or does anybody have ideas as how to best seal the bugger? Somebody above mentioned running sealer under the rubber.....is this wise, im not afraid to use silicone sealer but could be messy??

what do u think??

Post by **Editor** » 5th January 2005 - 9:35pm

I used a runny liquid that is applied through a bendy plastic nozzle (like a 3-in-1 oil-can). You can push the nozzle behind the rubber lip to dispense it. It certainly helped on the Jetta (Polo? can't recall which). It's not the thick goo, but you can use that - just have some approproate solvent for cleaning up.

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 6th January 2005 - 8:51am

will try that......dont suppose you have a brand name ????

john gill · Post by **john gill** » 17th January 2005 - 7:50am

Sometimes it can come in through the heater vent, having leaked in through a bad seam in the rear wheel arch from the air-intake louvres. It runs along the inner sill and rots the heater tube out, seizes the outlet selector valve and rots the floor where it rests. Nasty stuff, water!

It also rots your carpets - Anybody know where I can source individual sections? It seems a waste to get a full set when only a bit has gone nasty

Stuart Sepple · Post by **Stuart Sepple** » 17th January 2005 - 1:40pm

>It also rots your carpets - Anybody know where I can source individual >>sections? It seems a waste to get a full set when only a bit has gone >>>>nasty

Try Spirit of the Fifties

/www.spiritofthe50s.co.uk/carpets.htm

john gill · Post by **john gill** » 18th January 2005 - 7:13am

Thanks

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 19th January 2005 - 9:23am

well the windscreen is in and sealed up totally....rac windscreens did a good job...my only problem now is chrome trim....mine was bent to much so they couldnt get it in the new rubber, they tried installing before they put the glass in and after....still no joy...what options if any do i have??

Post by **Editor** » 22nd January 2005 - 12:16am

It has to be in the rubber and that fitted to the screen before putting the whole assembly in.
I can't really see any other way of doing it. Can you face taking it all out again?

poopyfish · Post by **poopyfish** » 24th January 2005 - 8:33am

well i may have too....its been sealed up but after the car sat outside in heavy rain all saturday im still getting a bloody trickle of water......arrrggghhh! cant work out where else its coming from ive sealed all the holes i can.....roll on summer

help ive got a leak.......water that is!

help ive got a leak.......water that is!

oh right......

now i am worried....

oh well.............

Water leaks

thankfully no...

Would be Nice...

Oh well...........at least ive tried...

Screen sealer

oh!

Now, that is worth knowing

Windscreen-rubber trim