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

[traumapat]

Hi,
Does anyone know how to get the carpets up, my cupra is leaking in the front passenger, the rear passenger and it was leaking in the rear drivers sides but that seems to have stopped but i wanna check it out anyway.
I just need to get the carpets up (not nes all the way out) to get rid of any underlying water and try and dry the carpet out p.s. any tips on how to dry out the carpet other than ''wait for a hot day'' would be fab too.

Thank guys

proberly easiest to start removing trim from the drivers footwell, as this bolts on. b pillar will clip off revealing a screw which holds the main long trim pieces. just go steady and it shouldnt be a mare. remove rear ash tray on centre/gear trim to reveal holding screws and remove plastic plugs down the sides to reveal more screws/bolts.
carpet dried in a day but the very thick soundproofing took 3 days. made the house smell

remember to disconnect the battery for at least 30mins before unplugging/removing seats.

 

[tolly_tdi]

Thanks Andy!



I did the front driver and rear drivers doors today. I did not use the seal kit as couldnt see the point - the seal is not like a specialised seal on a door perimeter ie a special shape - this seal is just like a gasket and so exterior grade silicon sealant will work fine (all for £4! and not £25 for the replacement seal SEAT should give free!!)

some advice...
Believe its absolutely ESSENTIAL to remove and clean all traces of foam seal from half way down the ancillaries carrier. I used a scotch pad/green scourer to remove all of it before cleaning area with isopropyl alcohol this will ensure that the sealant will adhere very well to the surface and not on top of deteriating pieces of foam!

oh how I love removing trim
managed to break loads of trim clips will have to order some more - from an earlier post in this thread the part number is
3B0868243 - Door trim clips pack of 10 previous prices have been quoted at £7.90
Though if your VW dealer is just as close it would interesting to know their price as they often are cheaper for the same part!

Going to do the other two doors next weekend. The carpet will have to be removed and dried along with all the sound deadening, which I may see if I can get away with putting in the tumble dryer at a low heat setting!

here is a link to removing the carpet from marshyc - thanks for your efforts mate

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216&page=9#178

Hopefully this will make my toledo a pleasure to drive again!

 

[DJFunkimunki]

Thanks to all input - I'm gonna give it a go at the weekend

All this snow recently left me with a lake in the rear footwell, which after reading every single post in this thread, I can now attribute to the local stealer not replacing the door seals properly when they did some work inside... for the cost of a £30 seal kit - very tiresome!!

Thanks to original poster and everyone else for tips and tricks, let you know how i get on.

 

[Lordy]

Just off to B&Q now to buy some outdoor sealant to have a go at sealing the inside of the doors. Have cut the notches in the seal on the bottom of the door and currently have a de-humidifier trying to dry the car out ('52 Toledo). Not looking forward to doing the job but going to give it a go anyway!! Anyone have any joy with getting a result from trading standards? I had problems with my Ibiza and it's slipping timing chain, will never buy a SEAT again as the company don't seem to give a toss!!!

 

[tolly_tdi]

Can confirm (thank god!!!) that after using this guide my car has not leaked since- thanks again andy!!

 

[m.r.davies]

i'm about to do this but i'm really unsure whether to buy the official stuff or go for some other type of sealant?

what sealants have other people used, and what is the long term result like?

 

[tolly_tdi]

just go for exterior grade sealant and use plenty of it - do not be tight! this is about £25 cheaper and works just as well

 

[m.r.davies]

the only sealant i've ever used is the bathroom stuff, which is messy as!

so is the exterior stuff the same?
do you draw it on, and then leave to dry, then put the frame over it, or put the frame on when its wet?

sorry to sound dull but aint got a clue about this?, its too tempting too buy the expensive stuff as its seems a lot easier!

 

[tolly_tdi]

up to you mate at end of day its your wallet and I'm near broke at present! get a sealant gun and crack on, put on some latex gloves and smear it with your finger, thats what I did to get even coverage. its really not that difficult- removing the carpet is another story!

 

[m.r.davies]

up to you mate at end of day its your wallet and I'm near broke at present! get a sealant gun and crack on, put on some latex gloves and smear it with your finger, thats what I did to get even coverage. its really not that difficult- removing the carpet is another story!

cheers fella

so do i have to remove the carpet or is it optional?
my leak isn't that bad at the mo, but it does smell earthy in the cockpit.

so did you leave the sealant to dry before attaching the metal bit?

or did you put it all back together when sealant was still wet?

 

[tolly_tdi]

its entirely up to you but removing carpet is a big job and a lot of agro and needs to be done properly. I did it purely to get rid of earthy damp smell and replace it with a fresh one. I am fussy and will have this car for a few years because I am saving money plus the windows will keep steaming up because the water underneath will evaporate.

when you partially undo the metal bit (the ancillaries carrier) you will see the orginal foam seal (this is shown in first photo of this thread on page 1) that is where you have to put the sealant. put loads in there more thatn you need and then just bolt it up tight again and leave it. mine has been fine since except on the first door I did where I don't think used enough the rest of doors have loads on and have never leaked since.

 

[l18oud]

amazing no more water just take the door card of and buy some tec 7 scealent £9 + decortors gun for apliying, from a plumbers place and put it all around the metal inner skin and its now all dry!!!

 

[m.r.davies]

amazing no more water just take the door card of and buy some tec 7 scealent £9 + decortors gun for apliying, from a plumbers place and put it all around the metal inner skin and its now all dry!!!

cool, where did you get the tec 7 stuff from?

 

[LEE69]

A plumbing place at a guess

 

[m.r.davies]

A plumbing place at a guess

let me re-phrase that,

can i pop to b&q and pick some up?

 

[LEE69]

TBH i have never heard of it so no idea where he got it from.

 

[Ian McN]

Footwell leak!

A big thanks for the guidance posted on solving this problem - I had wet carpets and under-felt in ALL of the footwells! I'd been quoted £60 + VAT per door from my local 'stealer' advising it was a 2 hour job to cure the front driver and passenger doors. Having read up on the posts and carrying out the experiment of a wet sponge to the driver and passenger side windows with the door open to see where the water drains from it was apparent that the water was in part draining out from the trim below the door speaker, confirming that the inner door seal to the ancillary panel had failed/perished! A tube of low modulus silicon sealant (@£2.30 from my local PVC supplier) and little more than 30 minutes labour and both front doors are cured!!
I've had the common problems with my Leon - failed temperature sender unit, electronic pedal control sender unit and now the leaking front doors (the rears are bound to follow suit in due course but at least I now know how to fix them!) and all in the dealer had quoted £450.00 or thereabouts to fix the various ailments but tackled myself with parts from eBay I've done all for less than £30.00!! - my advice give these fixes a go yourself and save a packet!

 

[Mr Bigglesworth]

3B0868243 - Door trim clips pack of 10 previous prices have been quoted at £7.90
Though if your VW dealer is just as close it would interesting to know their price as they often are cheaper for the same part!

84p each btw.

 

[Ian McN]

A big thanks for the guidance posted on solving this problem - I had wet carpets and under-felt in ALL of the footwells! I'd been quoted £60 + VAT per door from my local 'stealer' advising it was a 2 hour job to cure the front driver and passenger doors. Having read up on the posts and carrying out the experiment of applying a wet sponge to the driver and passenger side windows with the doors open to see where the water drains from it was apparent that the water was in part draining out from the trim below the front door speaker, confirming that the inner door seal to the ancillary panel had failed/perished! A tube of low modulus silicon sealant (@£2.30 from my local PVC supplier) and little more than 30 minutes labour and both front doors are cured!!
I've had the common problems with my Leon - failed temperature sender unit, failed electronic pedal control sender unit and now the leaking front doors (the rears are bound to follow suit in due course but at least I now know how to fix them!) and all in the dealer had quoted £450.00 or thereabouts to fix the various ailments but tackled myself with parts from eBay I've done all for less than £30.00!! - my advice give these fixes a go yourself and save a packet!

 

[widearch]

thats a real helpfull guied especially for somone like me who is new to this