Cabin FLOOD!!!

[Lord Nelson]

:1zhelp: Last night we had the biggest rain pour for a while, This morning as i was setting off to work, to my horror, i opened the car door to find the drivers footwell and the floor behind the drivers seat submerged in about 3 inches of water!!
now, the route of the intruding water seems to be coming from the seal at the top of the door as the lining around the pillar was wet.
What i cant understand is, why hasnt it leaked water before (i've had the car over a year now).
I started to think that maybe its because the car was parked on an angle (nr side on the kirb). this would explain why only the drivers footwell was flooded i suppose!

So I managed to soak the standing water up and the carpets are just about dry now (after driving to work with the heaters blowing full blast into the footwells), but there are still patches which squelch when pressed!!

Has any one got any advice on this situation?
VW have quoted me £35 for the full rubber seal which surrounds the front and back door ways!

Thanks people

[bora(ing) nick]

The same thing (but not as bad) happend when i got my new Bora. put it into vw and they said that the door appeture had been incorrectley set at 17mm instead of 7mm, and all is now well. (AND DRY!!!)

Nick

[Veedubber]

Oh yuck! I think it might be worth cleaning the seals while trying your best to check them. However a teeny little split could be the cause and you might never find it. I would clean them all thoroughly and then power hose the gap and see if anything creeps in. If water still creeps in you might have to replace the seal in which case £35 doesn't seem too awful? Assuming you've had the car a while and it's not brand new anyway...

[Lord Nelson]

Cheers ppl.
another thing which i have noticed recently, is that the doors are sticking when im trying to open them after they have been closed for a while...ie. over night.
is this a sign that the seals are knackered too?
i must admit, on inspection, they do look a little rough and there seems to be some residue under the seal where water would have got through!

Hmmmmm......im only getting problems now i've decided not to sell it.
typical eh?

[Veedubber]

How old is the car? If the doors are sticking it sounds like a problem with the seals - do you park it under trees? Is it the same with all doors or is the driver's one worse?

[Lord Nelson]

its a 2001.
Its doesnt get parked under tree's.....although it does park near them maybe twice a week!

[Lord Nelson]

I think its the same with all doors, as i have felt damp spots in the passenger footwell too!
although this morning, it was definately the driver's side.
im not sure about the sticking on passenger side though as this door is rarely used!
il have to check!

[Veedubber]

Its doesnt get parked under tree's.....

You said that in a "I've stepped in some dog mess" kind of a way!! lol! No, well, quite and neither does mine! 01 doesn't seem a long time to have seals breaking up. I think I'd give a thorough cleaning a go with some sort of thing that will strip it of pretty much everything (except rubber, of course!). If it's still leaking, go on treat yourself, splash out on some new ones!

[Lord Nelson]

lol, cheers mate.....not a fan of trees and the Sap they trow at your car!!
so il leave the parking under trees to the dogs!

anyway.....im gonna have to get the cleaning stuff out cos i dont want it to happen again and i certainly dont want the smell that comes with it!

Cheers anyway, and il let you know the outcome.

[bigwint]

Alright mate,

I cant comment on the seals. But I had a leak in an old car of mine and it took weeks to get rid of the damp, and in the end was causing a damp mouldy smell. In terms of getting as much damp as possible best bet is too head to a tool hire company and hire a wet/dry vaccum and spend a couple of hours sucking it up. The main prob is that the sound proofing and insulation gets soaked and is very dense.

good luck mate, keep us informed...

j