Rain

[e21-Mark]

Does anyone have a problem with rain getting in? Has anyone had past problems and solved them?

Particularly water in the rear passenger footwell - ''well'' being the operative word!

[E21meister]

Not in the current cars, but the last two leaked in the usual places. You've got opening quaterlights?

[e21-Mark]

Yes

[E21meister]

It might be prudent as a stopgap measure to take them out and run a bead of mastic around the lip. Longterm of course it's new rubbers time. I'd also check the drain holes in the sunroof aperture.

[e21-Mark]

Done the sunroof although it was all bone dry up there anyway. Will take a look at the rubbers when I whip the carpet out later.

[tommi_e21]

for some reason i had pictures in my head of you whipping a carpet to get it out of the car.

i think im losing my mind

[E21meister]

for some reason i had pictures in my head of you whipping a carpet to get it out of the car.

i think im losing my mind

Here's some help in that direction:

[tommi_e21]

i think im glad i cant see that picture at work lol

[PK]

arrr Devo synth pop at it wrongest

[e21-Mark]

Meanwhile, back at the original topic.

[e21-Mark]

Having stripped out my interior I decided to try and trace the leak I have on the passenger side when it rains.



As you can see, there is water coming over the rubber door seal.





There is also a very slight leak that's coming through the front bulkhead near the heater matrix I think?



Even after the jet wash has been stopped for a minute or two, you could clearly see water running along the door bottom as it drains out. Those white dashes below are actually water running along the bottom of the door as it drains away.



I will be taking the inner door panel off in the morning to investigate but I'm guessing there is a) blocked drain holes in the door or b) No plastic sheeting to stop rain etc, running down the back of the inner door panel or c) a combination of the two?

Am I right in thinking that the inside of the door, beneath the interior panel, should be skinned in plastic or polythene? Would a lack of such plastic result in water coming in under the door as it seems to be? Does anyone know what else would be causing such a large amount of water to be draining away from the door bottom?

Are there any well known / obvious places that leak in the front bulkhead? Obviously, I want to cure any leaks before I fit my freshly dyed carpets!

[E21meister]

Eureka!

[e21-Mark]

Right, well I stripped off the inner door panel and the good news is that the door is totally rust-free and all the drain holes are clear. The problem - I think anyway? - is that there is no inner plastic that is usually stuck on between the door and the inner trim panel. Am I correct in thinking that this plastic keep any rain water from going anywhere other than the places it should? i.e the drain holes in the door bottom?

Anyway, I'm off to get some heavy duty polythene and gaffa tape.

[E21meister]

The polythene sheeting is there primarily to protect the back of the fibreboard door card, so the moisture should find it's way out of the drain holes. People mistakenly pull it all off thinking it's unimportant when they repaint their cars.
Don't overlook the fact that the door seals, if original, are compressed over time so now don't quite seal as close as they did. I'll dig out a web address where you can get the correct door seal online by the metre.
Also check the seal for your heater against the bulkhead. Also, are you getting water in the glovebox?

[e21-Mark]

Well I retrimmed the door with plastic and took the time to do the job properly.



I also took out, cleaned and replaced the trim and rubber, that goes between the door panel and window glass.





Once I replace the carpet I will make sure to clean and fit the rubber / plastic lower door seal properly too. I know they're quite old but they still look pretty fresh and the rubber isn't brittle or severely compressed. Then it'll be fingers crossed!

The glove box is bone dry and the leak is pretty small from the bulkhead. I'll check the rubber seal on the wiper etc etc. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I had the speakers fitted, when I first got the car, that is when the trim was removed / disturbed and my water based problems began. Anyway, fingers crossed it'll all be sorted by the weekend.