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

[DubSteve68]

I see closed window on the foto. So I do not understand...should I either open window or close during remove the door card operation?

Hi, the window was definitely all the way down in the pic - my windows are rarely that clean... Put the window down before you disconnect the window switches, if fitted, it's simply easier with the door card in place. Having the window down makes the carrier easier to pry open when feeding the sealant strip into the gap between the door frame and the carrier

DubSteve

 

[Slimy]

When I first tried the 'gap' method, I found that the window position didn't make much difference. The clearance allowed at the bottom of the carrier is based on the the window channels rather than the window, so whether it was up or down you still only had a couple of inches to work with. With the window wound all the way down I was paranoid that I was working on the door carrier with a sheet of glass right behind where I was working, so I wound it back up again.

However, I did notice that having the window shut tight DID put some tension into the channels which made things more difficult, so I would agree that winding it down to release the tension made things easier.

Of course, in my case the door carrier was a mess, so I had to go the whole hog in the end. What I did for that was to remove the window switch from the door card and connect it back on to the loom, so I could control the windows without having the door card in the way. They're only clipped in to the door card, just a quick push and they pop out.

 

[stu749]

Water in footwells

Apparently there was a recall 2 years ago for this.

I had this problem also, with water in my drivers footwell, found this post and took my drivers door apart, took off the whole window regulator panel cleaned out inside the door, then sprayed wax seal all over the inside, but before putting on the window regulator panel back on I cut a bit of polythene around 325mm deep and slighty longer than the length of the regulator panel and taped it to the bottom of the panel, so when you refit the panel you tuck the polythene over hang into the door frame, so when it rains the water runs down the door down the regulator panel, but instead of building up at the panels seal, which is dogdy by now hence you are doing this, the rain water hits the polythene sheet and goes straight into the door frame and out the drain holes at the bottom of the door, totally by-passing the bottom of the regulator panel , also cut polythene squares for around the 2 large rubber gromets for taking the window off the panel, as these can leak like f**k also, as with age these gromits dont seal as well and water can by-pass these also, then rebuilt door sprayed with garden hose, no water penetration....job done...

 

[maryousz]

Hi, the window was definitely all the way down in the pic - my windows are rarely
DubSteve

Ok, but I still see "SEAT" logo on the bottom right corner on your front window

 

[DubSteve68]

Hahahahahaha well spotted! My windows are never that clean, must have made a special effort to make it look tidy for this guide

Now I remember, I took the pic before realising I'd pulled the door card off without lowering the window, but I definitely put the window down after as it makes the job a lot easier. The rear windows don't wind down all the way which is why I couldn't easily seal all the way around it.

Cheers, DubSteve

 

[maryousz]

I sealed my doors but I did not use buthyl sealant strip because unfortunetly I did not get it even Castorama I needed to do it on the past weekend because then was nice weather (last weeks where totally raining in Poland). So...I used silicon.... I removed old sealant strip only there where was leaked and filled the gap using silicon. I have not tested effect of my work because I am waiting a few days for dry it.

What do you think about it?:|
Did I good that or tottaly screw up?

 

[DubSteve68]

Hi.

It's vital that all surfaces are clean and dry whatever you use to seal the gap between the door frame and the carrier, but especially with silicone. Be prepared for more leaks elsewhere if you have just put sealant where it's currently leaking. At the very least you should seal the entire lower half of the door otherwise you will keep getting new leaks. This really is one of those jobs that only needs doing once if it's done properly, otherwise it will end up taking far longer each time you have to strip your door down to find out where that new leak is.

The other problem with silicone sealant is that it cures and sets, which makes it difficult to separate the door parts at a later date should you need to replace window regulator clips etc.

Just my humble opinion of course...

DubSteve

 

[Ronin225]

Just got into my swimming pool again tonight, did a quick bodge originally on the passenger side rear but didnt last so i redid it properly and its been ok for the last 2-3 months
Opened the car after a heavy rain last night and surprise surprise, so starting to loose my patience with it now
Will redo it again tomorrow but wonder if i may have slightly distorted the thin plate removing it to get the seal on

 

[Dan8145]

Hi everyone. Ive just got a 2000 Toledo and so am new to this forum. But I have been really impressed at how helpful and friendly everyone is on here! Feels like I've joined a special group of people since buying a Seat.

I love the car, however I have started noticing that the carpets on the passenger side are damp and I dont like the idea of this problem getting to the stage of an inch of water in the footwell. So this weekend I am gonna try the silicone method to repair the problem.

What I wanted to ask is, if you use the rubber beading from the stealer, can that be put in without completely removing the ancilliary carrier? Can it be done with the "leave two bolts in and wedge open with wood" method? Or does the ancilliary carrier need completely removing?

Dan

 

[LEE69]

Check the pollen filter under the skuttle panel first, seeing as it on the passenger side, make sure the rubber flap is fitted correctly.

Personally, i'd use some butyl (search ebay) rather than silicone do it once, do it right.

Yes the two bolt method will work.

 

[Joey2cool]

when i was doing my leon i used the two bolts method and used the stealer's rubber strip to do it. If u ever do need to remove the carrier, silicone will make it harder messier job.

 

[Klone]

when i was doing my leon i used the two bolts method and used the stealer's rubber strip to do it. If u ever do need to remove the carrier, silicone will make it harder messier job.

yep!

i had to take the passenger side off and the silicone was a right b*stard to get off!

the inner of my door is a mess now lmao but i dont really care as its hidden by the doorcard

 

[Slimy]

when i was doing my leon i used the two bolts method and used the stealer's rubber strip to do it. If u ever do need to remove the carrier, silicone will make it harder messier job.

Too right, when I came to do mine it took longer to remove the old silicone than it did to apply the butyl. What really wound me up was the layers of different silicone, they'd obviously bodged a bodge. Didn't they realise that it didn't work the first time, so just going over the same thing again will be just as bad!

I cleaned the lot off and started from bare metal, applied the butyl strip and refitted the panel.

Removing the carrier really isn't that difficult, the main thing is having the correct spline bit for the door lock. In my case I had to remove the panel because the silicone was everywhere and I couldn't get to some of it using the 'wedge' option. But despite the heavy storms we've had recently my sills and carpets are dry!!

Ronin225, I did notice one of my door panels is slightly distorted, I bent it straight as far as it could go but then the thickness of the butyl tape took up the gap. As long as it adheres to the door and the carrier all the way round there is no leakage.

 

[big eck]

The write up and pics on page 33 are superb and would be best suited on page 1 I think.

 

[big eck]

Leaky doors? Welcome to the club. There are two ways of tackling the problem, one is bodging it and the other is doing it properly which only takes a little longer. Here's how to do it properly. Overall the job is very easy and will take maybe 1/2 an hour per door, less time once you know how it's done.

Before you even think about tackling this, get onto eBay and buy the following items.

1. Search for "pry tools", the iPod/mobile/laptop opening variety. Buy some that look like this...

2. Buy some "Golf trim clips", there is every chance you will bust a couple unless you are very lucky. These are the ones you need...

3. Search for "butyl sealant strip". I bought the 6mm round stuff - 8m roll, enough for all four doors, and not too thick to be a problem when reassembling the door's inner carrier. Cheaper than the VAG branded stuff at £7.49, delivered. Looks like...

Once the postman's delivered your bits, get the following tools together. Large Philips screwdriver, T20 Torx, sharp knife, plastic pry tool, and a 10mm socket. A flat-head screwdriver and a pair of wire cutters may also come in very handy...

While the job can be done solo an able-bodied assistant will make certain tasks much easier. Assistance while disconnecting/reconnecting the door-card electrics is highly recommended. Having someone around to hold the roll of butyl sealant while you feed it in will also be a huge help.


Step 1. Remove the grab-handle cover. This is why you bought the pry tools! While you could just use a screwdriver instead of the pry tools you will most likely chew up the handle plastic while trying to pop the cover off. The pry tools do the job without totally knackering the cover. Start at the lowest point of the handle (upper side) with the pry tool and wiggle it until you have about 1mm of gap. Repeat on the lower side, then back to the upper and keep wiggling until the cover pops free...

Pull the trim from the lowest point...

And finally pull on the opener so you can get the handle cover off...

Step 2. Remove the door card. Before proceeding, wind the window down all the way. The front door has 2x T20 Torx screws at the bottom which need removing (none on the rear doors). The grab-handles are secured by two large Philips screws (arrowed)...

Now pull on the door card from the bottom. If you do it slowly and firmly then trim retaining clip casualties should be kept to a minimum. Once all the clips have popped free you will be able to lift the card slightly and move it clear of the door frame. Have an assistant hold the card while you disconnect the various wire connectors. All the connectors have one or two squeezy retaining clips. Don't be hasty and you'll have them off in no time. The door opener is fairly simply to unhook - pull on the cable outer, away from the handle, and lift it over the plastic bracket. Once you have all connectors off you should see this...

Part 2 follows shortly, DubSteve

 

[big eck]

Step 3. Loosen the carrier plate. Take your 10mm socket and remove all the 10mm bolts except the two that are arrowed below. These two remaining bolts should be wound out nearly all the way, allowing you good access to the rear of the carrier without completely removing it. You could remove these last two bolts but your assistant would then have to hold the carrier while you fit the sealant strip - but you really need your assistant to hold the roll of sealant so leave the bolts in position...

Front door...

Rear door...

Now you need to break any seal between the door frame and the carrier. The best way to do this is with the large flat-head screwdriver you hopefully have ready, resting on a towel so you don't kill any paint...

Here's where my seals disintegrated, seem to be very common failure areas. Affected areas are between the arrows...

Front door...

Rear door...

Now the carrier is loosened, get to work on that seal and show SEAT how it should have been done in the first place! Start wherever you like and pull the old seal off slowly. I made an exception on the rear doors as I couldn't get as much clearance behind the carrier as I wanted and so left some of the seal in place. The next step will show what I left in place. It's adhesive backed but will come off cleanly if you are lucky. I wasn't, and was left with a few inches-worth of rotten seal on each door that had to be scraped off. I used my trusty T20 to get into the channel where the worst of the remaining rotten seal (and brown gunk) was hiding. You don't need to get the surfaces surgically clean but they do need to be dry and free of as much of the old seal and gunk as possible.


Step 4. Fitting the new seal. See the pics below. I started where I did on the front door (arrowed) due to the electric window wiring loom getting in the way. It seemed like a good starting point and worked well for me. Slowly feed the butyl sealant strip into where the old seal lived.

Front door...

As mentioned in step 3 I didn't replace the whole seal on the rear doors due to access. Here's what I did replace...

Step 4. Put it all back together. Self explanatory really. Replace any trim retaining clips that broke. Here's where I used the wire cutters to grip and wiggle free any snapped clips or clips that came off the door cards and could be reused…

And after all that, only one bust clip per door. Not bad going!

Once you've done one side the other will be a piece of cake. I'd read all the guides but still wasn't sure how difficult it was really going to be. As it is, the job isn't difficult at all. All four doors can easily be done in an afternoon once you have everything prepared. One final note about the butyl sealant strip, it's pretty sticky stuff (even more so when warm) and it's much easier to handle when it's cold. For anybody reading this in the summer, stick your sealant in the fridge before you need it...


Cheers all, DubSteve

 

[hondated]

Thanks...

Thanks Steve sent you a pm. Great posting and its saved me a few bob as well.

 

[mccracd]

Thank you so much, most useful piece of info I've got of a forum!

 

[irishmanr26]

Done my final door last night and broke the head off one of the bolts that holds the carrier panel on.
Its going to be a right pain in the ass to get out of the door now!
Does anybody know the correct size of bolt I need for this? All I know is that it has a 10mm head!

 

[DubSteve68]

Done my final door last night and broke the head off one of the bolts that holds the carrier panel on.
Its going to be a right pain in the ass to get out of the door now!
Does anybody know the correct size of bolt I need for this? All I know is that it has a 10mm head!

Wow... how tight did you do the bolts up? The bolts are M6 if I remember correctly. Whereabouts was the bolt that sheared located? You may get away with having one missing bolt if the seal areas were properly cleaned up beforehand (nothing's going to get past butyl assuming it has a chance to stick properly)...

DubSteve