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

[LEE69]

Silicone has been proven to not work do it right do it once with butyl strip

 

[Stuwoo]

Silicone has been proven to not work do it right do it once with butyl strip

Yeah I realise that, this is just a temporary fix for a month or two given the current goings on.

 

[louweb]

I just picked up an '04 Leon last week. Had the same problem with water in the back and damp in the front After pulling up the carpet there was probably a couple of pints back there.

Just had the door card out today and there was very obviously perished seals on the carrier towards the back of the door.

As mentioned (way earlier) in this thread took the retaining bolts off the carrier except the top 2, put a fat bead of silicone on the body work then bolted the carrier back in to make a messy sandwich.

Hopefully this will sort the problem.

Hi there,

Well, I checked the doors and I realized the water was not coming from there everything was dry with no signs of water. As I said earlier, however, there was a quantity of water so large that it seemed impossible to come through the doors, I am talking about 5 liters on the rear left...
As someone recommended here I disassembled the Pollen filter and the entire structure around it and I found that:
-The filter seal was completely damaged and filled with water.
-The seal at the bottom of the windscreen was simply not there, just traces. (I am convinced that loads of water came in here that could fall directly on top of the filter (even with the protection mounted) because the filter was really in a very bad condition ... it just wasn't undone because it is made of fiber.)

I fixed everything properly and hopefully, the problem is fixed I'm waiting to dry the interior completely and when it rains I will see !!!

 

[louweb]

Pollen filter needs resealing if the carpets are wet. Also the rear hinge for the boot leaks on them too. Also more recently the heater matrix has started to fail but that leaves a film on the windscreen due to the coolant.

Hi
Yea I did this hopefully is fixed!
Thank you so much

 

[Stuwoo]

Hi there,

Well, I checked the doors and I realized the water was not coming from there everything was dry with no signs of water. As I said earlier, however, there was a quantity of water so large that it seemed impossible to come through the doors, I am talking about 5 liters on the rear left...
As someone recommended here I disassembled the Pollen filter and the entire structure around it and I found that:
-The filter seal was completely damaged and filled with water.
-The seal at the bottom of the windscreen was simply not there, just traces. (I am convinced that loads of water came in here that could fall directly on top of the filter (even with the protection mounted) because the filter was really in a very bad condition ... it just wasn't undone because it is made of fiber.)

I fixed everything properly and hopefully, the problem is fixed I'm waiting to dry the interior completely and when it rains I will see !!!

Good luck hope it worked!

 

[Stuwoo]

As noted above, temporary fix is done with silicone.

It seems to have worked. Ran the hose on rain setting onto the doors for 20 mins today, not a drop of water on interior surfaces.

Hopefully this can last till i can get back in work as currently laid off due to Corona virus then will do a proper fix with butyl strip.

As a side note, has anyone changed the carrier before? Is it a ballache?

Some over zealous owner before me bent the aft end of the door carrier trying to do this fix previously and left a 5mm gap. Managed to get it roughly straight now but not entirely flush.

 

[Damienw666]

this might help Anyone who has puddles in their footwells, VAG
i have a 2005 Leon Fr150 Diesel. about 2 months ago i changed the front door speakers for pioneer components. see where this is going...!!!
my dad went to put in some screen wash in for me. looking for the bonnet pull, he realized i had a 'water feature'!! front and rear drivers side floormats were soaked to the touch. oh dear! time to rip out the whole interior!
i put the problem down to a a small tear in the rubber along the driver sill. it was replaced, and it done nothing! the leaks persisted, and i had to sponge out a minimum of a litre of water per day. i live in ireland, and its Nov/Dec, so weather is very crap!
i started looking on the net for VAG footwells full of water and i was Very surprised! lots of people experiencing similar problems.
i read a lot of posts, and watched a lot of vids. i found a post from a guy with a Passat. the rear door speakers were replaced under warranty, and his car began taking on water in both rear footwells. the rear door skin seals had failed, and this was the the cause of his leak. he stated they had been replaced by an apprentice, and he failed to notice the issue he was creating, same as myself with my front speakers
So, my problem... in changing my front door speakers, i had to remove the old ones. as we know, they are riveted in place. i opted to drill off the rivets with an 8mm bit. in pressing against, and causing vibration in that lower corner of the door skin, i inadvertently destroyed the seal, and failed to realize. the car is nearly 15 years old, and also its components. had i not touched the speakers all would be fine, but alas, here i am, with with what i hope to be an answer for some peoples problem.
i have just finished gutter sealing both front doors, and the weather is terrible for the next few days!
anyone with soaked floors, please remove you door panels, and press against the bottom corners of the skin to see if it leaks or if its moist.
if you have aftermarket speakers installed, or if an alarm installer had the door card off, or a window tinter, anything like that. this might help
thanks to everyone who posted. had it not been for all you good people, i would be lost. my car would be at a dealer and i would be charged a fortune because they are brain dead idiots!
the good news... this fix cost me 10euro for the sealant! and also, while i have the entire interior removed, i can wire the car for some proper sound!!

I just picked up an '04 Leon last week. Had the same problem with water in the back and damp in the front After pulling up the carpet there was probably a couple of pints back there.

Just had the door card out today and there was very obviously perished seals on the carrier towards the back of the door.

As mentioned (way earlier) in this thread took the retaining bolts off the carrier except the top 2, put a fat bead of silicone on the body work then bolted the carrier back in to make a messy sandwich.

Hopefully this will sort the problem.

I was thinking of siliconing mine up, had it done the job??
I’ve had puddles in the rear footwells of my 05 fr for over a year, thanks to everyone’s advice on this was getting worried I had a hole on the underside ?

 

[LEE69]

Don't use silicone, do it right and do it once. There is also the electrical box under the wipers and the pollen filter seal, all made of the same shite seal lol

 

[Alexis27]

Silicone doesn't last. Use butyl

 

[verbal_kint]

As noted above, temporary fix is done with silicone.

It seems to have worked. Ran the hose on rain setting onto the doors for 20 mins today, not a drop of water on interior surfaces.

Hopefully this can last till i can get back in work as currently laid off due to Corona virus then will do a proper fix with butyl strip.

As a side note, has anyone changed the carrier before? Is it a ballache?

Some over zealous owner before me bent the aft end of the door carrier trying to do this fix previously and left a 5mm gap. Managed to get it roughly straight now but not entirely flush.

First I will echo the point about butyl, the time spent dismantling is just not worth having to do it twice.

Regarding the change of carrier, yes I changed mine as I needed to change the window mechanism and an ebay seller was selling a complete carrier with mech as one. I was surprised that the carrier came pre-fitted with a foam seal which I was tempted to rip off but so far a year later it has held and no leaks.

If you take the whole carrier off you stand a better chance of coaxing it back straight.

 

[Manny14]

Great guide! A little tip for easy removal of the old seal. Once the carrier plate has been removed/ partially lifted out, use a source of heat (heat gun, blow torch etc) on the areas where the seal is but on the outside face of the carrier plate so that the heat transfers but does not burn the seal. This heats up the glue and allows you to all pull of the old seal off in one (even if it’s disintegrating) . But be cautious not to heat up any wiring! I did one door with this method and one without and it saved me at least half an hour in prep work!

 

[joiner1986]

I recently bought a Leon FR and experiencing a wet passenger front footwell. I noticed this. However, I can't see the photos. Does anyone have the manual available with photos

 

[LEE69]

Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[j.tauris]

Facebook

www.facebook.com

Page is not avalaible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LEE69]

Works for me https://www.facebook.com/mark.marvao/media_set

 

[Kris1m]

I'm just getting this problem in the rear driver foot well , a while ago I had to change my front driver window carrier and I remove this sealant back then and I haven't had any issues at the front since removing it , but I just started searching for what might be wrong with the rear I see that this sealant I've removed is important yet I haven't had any at the front. But now I'm having this issue at the rear driver foot well.

 

[LEE69]

Drivers side is either the window carrier seal gone,or this under the scuttle

 

[andycupra]

I'm just getting this problem in the rear driver foot well , a while ago I had to change my front driver window carrier and I remove this sealant back then and I haven't had any issues at the front since removing it , but I just started searching for what might be wrong with the rear I see that this sealant I've removed is important yet I haven't had any at the front. But now I'm having this issue at the rear driver foot well.

also depends exactly where the leak is. for example, you could have a leak at the rear of the front door, and that would leak into the rear footwell.
Been many years since i had my Mk1, but if i remember correctly the front and read footwells are separated by a raised section/wall on the floor, and which is under the seat. and this is why a leak from the rear of the front door can appear to affect the rear footwell.

 

[Kris1m]

The butyl tape fixed my problem , water is no longer coming into the cabin , but seeing as this thread is quite active still.

I couldn't find anything on this issue , water is collecting onto the door sills (side skirts). It's not leaking into the cabin , but still curious on what's the reason for that to happen. I did all 4 doors with butyl tape and only 1 doesn't collect water on the door sills. Any tips , where to check etc. are appreciated.

 

[andycupra]

honestly sounds like a poor job done. sadly. many people over the years have done the job and its simply not worked.
im not 100% sure the butyl is the best and easilest thing to work with.
cleaning and clearing off the old stuff is difficult but something to spend time doing.

water on the sill in idicative of the seal leaking. whether it enters the cabin is down to the angle the car is sat at as well as how fast the leak is. if its leaking faster than the water drains away then it enters the cabin.