I think my quattro wants to be a boat!!!

[4wheeldrifting]

I finally got my quattro through its mot, but had to change the top mount bushes and whilst i was there, got some lowering springs for it to stop it feeling like a boat round corners.

Today has been quite wet (not pouring thou!!) and the interior passenger side of the car had LARGE puddles as thou i just spilt a big bottle of water in there.

Does anybody know if this is a common problem and where the likely hood of the leak would be from??

I think i will be replacing the carpet in the new year after xmas once i get some money.

[Rusty]

Yeah, really common unfortunately. Not sure what causes it. Worth checking the sunroof seal and drainage channels for a starter...

[steve1234]

same problem

i think mine is caused by the window seal, i dont think the seal is close enough to the window. The problem is really annoying aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[4wheeldrifting]

cheers for the advice. been doing a search around the forum and found a few common areas e.g. heater matrix, sunroof seal and sunroof drainage pipes.

even after that i am still left confused the coolant is full and the water is only on the floor, and there seems to be no sign of the water getting in through the windows (due to door alignment or window seals). i would say it could be getting through the under side of the car, but the water should have drained by now, and no holes on the under side were mentioned on its recent mot.

where would the sunroof drainage pipes end so the water can escape? i did try to look, but it was too dark.

also the sunroof liner is not wet.

would there be any other posibilties?

for the help!!!

chris

[Error404]

leaky windscreen at the a-pillar is another one, probably worst case scenario.

[madwolf_Uk]

leaky windscreen at the a-pillar is another one, probably worst case scenario.

Also check the trims that are riveted on that pilar, if a rivets missing water can get in there or if they dont sit flush with the screen properly at the top.

[S2Coupe_Nic]

I thought Id be real clever last week and put a towel over my winscreen to save some time in the morning. Instead of ice we had rain and because I had tucked the corner of the towel inside the door I had lost the seal. The next morning I too had a swimming pool in my footwell.

[DarrenM]

I also had this once, passenger footwell full of water. In the end i managed to track it to the black plastic trim nr the wipers at bottom of screen, soon fixed with a bit of silicone.

[Nj]

I also had this once, passenger footwell full of water. In the end i managed to track it to the black plastic trim nr the wipers at bottom of screen, soon fixed with a bit of silicone.

just what I was going to say. if the trim that sits below the wiper arm isn't sealed properly water can run down between it and the bottom of the windscreen and drips down through the air intake/channel space for your heater. take the panels off under the glovebox and see if they're wet or the bottom of the fan/blower is damp. Obviously water going through this isn't great either.

Good luck

[4wheeldrifting]

the rubber seal around the windscreen has streched so it could be that. its rained for the first time rained in a couple of days so will check the vent.

if it turns out to be this, what would be the best option to fix?
- silicone?
- smash the windscreen and claim off insurance?
- or buy a new seal and replace myself?

cheers, completly forgot about the windscreen.

chris

[nigelm]

Sunroof Front Drainage Pipes

Sorry to piggy back your thread.
I've got a blocked sunroof drain channel (front) at the moment.
Anyone know where the lower end of these come out?
I tried unblocking mine from the top with a piece of wire and a piece of thick strimmer line but both just got stuck half way ish. Anyone point out the lower end of the pipe so I can have a jiggle from below.?

Thanks
Nigel

[madwolf_Uk]

Sorry to piggy back your thread.
I've got a blocked sunroof drain channel (front) at the moment.
Anyone know where the lower end of these come out?
I tried unblocking mine from the top with a piece of wire and a piece of thick strimmer line but both just got stuck half way ish. Anyone point out the lower end of the pipe so I can have a jiggle from below.?

Thanks
Nigel

They come out in the door shuts, open the door wide and about half way down should see a big black rubber bung, think its below the wiring bung with a tube poking out the end.

I thought mine were blocked, same isue as you so poured hot water down there from the top and it ran out no problem, could try the same.

HTH

[Nj]

the rubber seal around the windscreen has streched so it could be that. its rained for the first time rained in a couple of days so will check the vent.

if it turns out to be this, what would be the best option to fix?
- silicone?
- smash the windscreen and claim off insurance?
- or buy a new seal and replace myself?

cheers, completly forgot about the windscreen.

chris

Is it the rubber that seals the plastic to the screen or the actual seal between the screen and the frame? The sealant between plastic and window is just a soft strip of stuff you can get at a vag dealer by the roll as far as I know.. same stuff that seals the tail lights in (often needs replaced). you can use silicone to seal it up though. i'd try that to see if it fixes it before doing anything more extreme.
the sealant used to put the window in is a black bonding agent that is really tough. I don't know if it's likely to have perished and leaked to be honest. I saw 2 polish guys take a screen out of a car I was breaking and fit it to their own. It was a long job and needed a cheese wire thing to cut it out, then needed the proper bonding agent to put back in. Even if you cracked the screen and got a new one fitted you'll want to be careful and tell autoglass or whoever is doing it that you want an experienced fitter to do it. have a search for windscreens for tales of woe and the odd good report. It's about £400 to pay yourself or just £50 to £70 excess through your insurance

......that all said.. i would expect the windscreen to leak. anybody correct me on this if i'm way out? if it's just the seal from windscreen to plastic trim at the wiper arm seal it up, let it dry and chuck some water at it to see if it leaks through inside.

when dry it's also worth spraying a hose around the car one area at a time and have someone sit inside to tell you when water appears. take it slowly though so you've not moved on to a different area by the time the water makes it through.

phew.

[4wheeldrifting]

I've been checking the car to see if it is the windscreen that has been leaking, and i'm still confused. mainly due to the fact that i cannot see any signs of water entry. checked the air vents, pillars and theres no signs that the water is getting through the arches.

the main floor of the car in the passenger side is soaked (i think the rear footwell has the worst of it) but the sides of the footwells are dry, the door cards are dry and the sunroof is also dry.

GGGGGRRRRRRRR

[Nj]

Did you check the trims that sit under the glovebox to see if the reverse side are wet? If the water comes through the intake above the blower unit it will drip down that way and you won't feel wet bulkheads anywhere. even if it runs down the bulkhead between the cabin and engine bay there's such a thick layer of padding there that you won't feel it without pulling it all back