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Water leak into footwell - dodgy seal info and DIY repair guide (Image links dead)

1986brandon1

Active Member
Nov 16, 2011
151
0
Chester
Yes I was being sarcastic.

But as a serious point, it's only on my drivers side door sill that has water sat on it, my passenger side is dry, but my passenger side front foot well is wet now we've had a few night of rain. So today I will be checking my pollen filter, and when we have some nicer weather I will reseal the door carriers.
 

Dozer360

mk1 Seat Leon 20v T
Jun 1, 2010
1,026
1
southampton
Yes I was being sarcastic.

But as a serious point, it's only on my drivers side door sill that has water sat on it, my passenger side is dry, but my passenger side front foot well is wet now we've had a few night of rain. So today I will be checking my pollen filter, and when we have some nicer weather I will reseal the door carriers.

if its the pollen filter you would know, i could swim in mine.
 

csd_19

Full Member
May 11, 2005
2,279
28
Angus / Edinburgh
I finally put my car back to full road trim spec yesterday after over a year of stripped out, looking for water leaks :rolleyes:

After regularly pulling over 1/2 pint of water from the footwells (with no carpets in) it was time to sort it!

51BFE608.jpg


Over time I have:

  • Resealed all 4 doors with butyl rope
  • Sorted the classic rear washer leak behind the trim panel (soggy boot trims and carpet)
  • Cleaned all the leaves and gunk out from around the pollen filter housing under the scuttle

    44109E47-orig.jpg

  • Replaced a bodged pollen filter cover (spot the "modification" :censored:)

    IMG_9560.jpg

  • Removed, cleaned and resealed the pollen filter housing with butyl

    07FC7725-orig.jpg

  • Resealed the wiring grommet/block on the driver's side
  • Had to replace the original carpet as it was ruined by the water
  • Resealed under the bottom of the windscreen (water was coming down the back of the dashboard down the firewall, very difficult to trace)
  • Sealed where the loom passes through the firewall behind the glovebox

I also painted a rectangle of hammerite on the floor where driving with no mates or carpets had worn through the paint ;)

5C616F8E-orig.jpg



People often wonder why their rear carpet is wet when the pollen filter leaks, or when their front door seal fails - simple, once you remove the rear heating ducts you uncover a channel from front to back.

84205DA7-orig.jpg


Once you have a water reservoir in the underlay and carpet, it'll feed to the rear. An unfortunate side to this is there is a seam weld which also runs along this channel area, with the water in the car its an ideal place for corrosion to start. I saw a few small spots so rubbed down both sides and slapped some hammerite on to stop it getting any worse. :)

Fingers crossed that's it for now!!
 

anoyceperson

Active Member
Mar 30, 2012
127
3
Hi guys, I dont suppose anyone has the original doc that is linked to in the first post do they? The hosting link appears to be dead and all the pics have vanished :(
 

dannyCworth

Sarcasm is lost in print.
Apr 13, 2013
147
0
Milton Keynes
Just had a quick browse around on eBay, it seems the prices on the Butyl Strips have gone up considerably. Is it still worth while picking this stuff up, or shall i just opt for the Seat stuff?
 

Mike_444

Guest
does anyone have access to the photo's and diagrams for this thread, as they seem to have gone missing. I've got a leaky door and need to fix it.

ta
 

matroblee

Active Member
Feb 8, 2013
6
0
Hi all, sorry if this has already been raised, but the threads too long to look through it all. I'm having the same problem as many others where the rear passenger side foot well is filling with water. The most common fix people are giving is to replace the sealant between the carrier plate and door frame (page 33). But is this really the cause of the problem? For that to be the weak point which is allowing water to enter, the water first has to get there, which means getting inside the door in the first place. Surely the root of the problem is that water is getting into the door and as far as the sealant in the first place.
 

csd_19

Full Member
May 11, 2005
2,279
28
Angus / Edinburgh
Hi all, sorry if this has already been raised, but the threads too long to look through it all. I'm having the same problem as many others where the rear passenger side foot well is filling with water. The most common fix people are giving is to replace the sealant between the carrier plate and door frame (page 33). But is this really the cause of the problem? For that to be the weak point which is allowing water to enter, the water first has to get there, which means getting inside the door in the first place. Surely the root of the problem is that water is getting into the door and as far as the sealant in the first place.

With any moving window its nigh on impossible to seal it 100%, so the design is for rainwater to run down the glass and enter the door, and then exit via the drain holes in the bottom. Hence why it is important to make sure the drain holes in the doors are clear.

With the seal around the door carrier fully intact, this process happens with no issues at all.

When the seal fails, this is what lets the water then pass through by the carrier, build up on the main door seal and then get into the passenger compartment.
 

matroblee

Active Member
Feb 8, 2013
6
0
With any moving window its nigh on impossible to seal it 100%, so the design is for rainwater to run down the glass and enter the door, and then exit via the drain holes in the bottom. Hence why it is important to make sure the drain holes in the doors are clear.

With the seal around the door carrier fully intact, this process happens with no issues at all.

When the seal fails, this is what lets the water then pass through by the carrier, build up on the main door seal and then get into the passenger compartment.

Thanks for the explanation cds
 

seatleon1.4s

Guest
leaky leon but not ancillary plate

in my 2003 leon same, i have water in both front footwells quite alot and the back also has a little water as well but not ass much, after reading on here i stripped the doors down to re seal the ancillary plate to the door only to find this has already been done by the previous owner. next i checked the pollen filter but all that area seeems dry does anyone have any ideas where it might be coming in? thanks
 

BEEFYGTI

Full Member
Nov 20, 2004
625
0
Port talbot, south wales
in my 2003 leon same, i have water in both front footwells quite alot and the back also has a little water as well but not ass much, after reading on here i stripped the doors down to re seal the ancillary plate to the door only to find this has already been done by the previous owner. next i checked the pollen filter but all that area seeems dry does anyone have any ideas where it might be coming in? thanks

The only other commin olace is under the scuttle panel where the wipers arw fixed there is a large plastic box that is sealed with some sponge type foam that eventually allows water in. The water comes from above the pedals and or where the grommet is for the bonnet pull. I have sealed both areas with burtyl seal as well as the doors

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 

bensaud

Here for the ride
May 26, 2001
417
9
Cambridge
I had one of the First Leon 20vt Sports back on 2000 and that spent weeks at Marshalls while they attempted to fix the door leaks. What I really don't understand is why they didn't change the type of gasket used to seal the doors in later models. I now have a 2004 Leon and just used Butyl Tape Strip to solve the leak in no time :)
 

Toledo20VT

Active Member
May 29, 2013
16
0
Kent
Thanks to all who posted guides and pics - used them to do the drivers door on my 1M Toledo 20VT the weekend before last. Weathered the rain too, seems I got it right!
 
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