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

[Law.]

Yeah that is right. I've got the footrest piece off. Not sure how to get the other bit off as it's got a weird plug that doesn't seem to screw/pull off.

Sorry for all the questions, just paranoid about breaking something.

Also, I've only had the leak on the drivers side... would you say I need to take the whole carpet out to dry, or will taking just the drivers side underlayer out and allowing the top carpet to dry in the car be OK?

 

[csd_19]

I'm sure a 10mm socket fits over that plug bit and unscrews it

 

[Slimy]

Also, I've only had the leak on the drivers side... would you say I need to take the whole carpet out to dry, or will taking just the drivers side underlayer out and allowing the top carpet to dry in the car be OK?

The carpet itself does dry relatively quickly, I just took the underlay out from underneath. I even cut the underlay at the transmission tunnel so I didn't have to remove the centre console.

Driving the car around without underlay got the carpet dry, albeit very noisy!

 

[Marv-95]

Thank God I cut my underlay out LOL!!!

 

[Law.]

Yeah I went for just cutting out the underlay on the drivers side.

Currently been drying over the radiator for a couple of days!

 

[gilksy]

Just thought I'd let you know my story...
Y reg seat Leon cupra with squelchy carpets
Followed this amazing guide and sorted all four doors!

Cleaned out pollen filter area checked for leaks and refitted rubber cover as it should be.

1 night of the heaviest rainfall ever known to man and I end up having 2 inches of water above the carpet in the rear drivers footwell...... Yes you heard right lol 2 inches.

Final straw.......... So I decided to strip out the interior to find the leak
It took 5 hours to remove the carpets from the car.

Then I sat in the car and my wife went around the car with the hose while I was inside with a torch looking for leaks.
All doors were fine and the pollen filter also didn't leak.

But there was a river running down the bulkhead behind the accelerator pedal into the drivers footwell And then running through to the rear footwell!!!!!!!

Yet again the windscreen panel came of and upon inspection the problem seemed to be where the loom comes through the bulkhead!

So I removed the plastick cover plate and cleaned the area with kitchen role.
Then I applied a liberal bead of silicone to the panel and refitted.

I had to remove the windscreen wiper mech to make this job easier.

I have been driving around for a week so far and alls well Evern when I use the hose on it the interior is as dry as a bone!!!!!!!

Just waiting for the underlay to fully dry now before refitting!!
I also decided to bleach the floor pans and carpet shampoo the underlay and carpets to kill any mould that was causing the horrid smell!!

 

[richie kaye]

Omg you have been on a mission to sort the leaks out...Can I get a mrs like yours please,get my socket set out and get a round of Fuchs from the wife...My leak list is growing,Nice one bud

 

[Molehill_Mike]

I need to do this. Has anyone got the MS Word file Andy links to in his initial post? The link doesn't work anymore.


Cheers

 

[NickCupraR]

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

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

Moved this to the end of thread.

Did mine yesterday and so far looking good with the rain last night!

 

[NickCupraR]

One thing i did notice was that there were slight water stains on the metal plate underneath the black circular seal for the manual wind windows. Anyone had this??

 

[the_hutch]

Has anyone sealed the doors using butyl still had leaks ? I have had an ongoing problem with leaks but it only started since moving house ! The car is now usually parked out on the road which has a slight camber and I think this is making the problem worse - the water seems to be running into car.

I have read most of the this thread and have sealed the drivers door using butyl. When I loosened the carrier I could see someone had already sealed it using butyl ! I thought maybe they had done a poor job so I loosened the carrier, removed the old seal and made sure the surfaces were as clean as possible before sealing, think I did a reasonably good job of it but I am still getting water on the sill after heavy rain. However when I put the car on the drive and spray it with the hose then no water at all appears on the sill The problem only seems to happen when the car is parked on the road.

Another thing I noticed is that on the weather strip at the bottom of the door somebody has cut away some of the rubber around the drain holes, a good chunk of the outer lip has been cut out for each drain hole - could this cause leaks. I read somewhere that only small v's should be cut ?

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[csd_19]

If it's the seal attached to the actual door then the car has probably been back to SEAT for the water leaks, cutting the seal on the door was one of their fixes for it

 

[NickCupraR]

Anyone got any pictures of where the drain holes are located because I never found mine. wouldnt mind checking them but so far so good!

 

[Slimy]

Cutting that seal can actually lead to leaks, it's quite possible that's where the water is coming in!

However, it's more likely that you have water coming in from the scuttle panel, either via the pollen filter (passenger side) or cable grommet (driver side). I had this twelve months after doing the doors, I thought the butyl had failed. I sprinkled talc on a bare metal surface, and found the water coming from the front of the car. Then I found that the scuttle panel drain holes were blocked, and any water coming off the windscreen was simply filling the scuttle, and then the pollen filter. Clearing away the muck was enough to get things flowing again, I didn't have to do any more sealing. Car has now been dry for two weeks, all the way through the latest downpours.

 

[the_hutch]

Cutting that seal can actually lead to leaks, it's quite possible that's where the water is coming in!

However, it's more likely that you have water coming in from the scuttle panel, either via the pollen filter (passenger side) or cable grommet (driver side). I had this twelve months after doing the doors, I thought the butyl had failed. I sprinkled talc on a bare metal surface, and found the water coming from the front of the car. Then I found that the scuttle panel drain holes were blocked, and any water coming off the windscreen was simply filling the scuttle, and then the pollen filter. Clearing away the muck was enough to get things flowing again, I didn't have to do any more sealing. Car has now been dry for two weeks, all the way through the latest downpours.

Would a leak from the scuttle panel leave water on the door sills though ?

 

[csd_19]

Would a leak from the scuttle panel leave water on the door sills though ?

Nope a scuttle panel leak will cause wet carpets, wet underlay and the car steaming up lots.

The water on the door sills is from the door seals as in the guide a few posts up

 

[the_hutch]

Nope a scuttle panel leak will cause wet carpets, wet underlay and the car steaming up lots.

The water on the door sills is from the door seals as in the guide a few posts up

Thats what I thought. Trouble is the door seal has now been done twice with butyl and I still get water on the sill afterr heavy rain. I think it must be coming in from somewhere else on the carrier like the speaker or maybe the holes where the cables clip in ?

 

[csd_19]

Thats what I thought. Trouble is the door seal has now been done twice with butyl and I still get water on the sill afterr heavy rain. I think it must be coming in from somewhere else on the carrier like the speaker or maybe the holes where the cables clip in ?

Yes the speaker seal and the cable clip holes further up can let water through - can you make out any signs of water tracking from the cable hole or around the speaker?

 

[the_hutch]

Yes the speaker seal and the cable clip holes further up can let water through - can you make out any signs of water tracking from the cable hole or around the speaker?

I dont remember seeing any water marks on the carrier itself. The door card did have some water marks around the speaker area. I think I will have to remove the door card and get the mrs to hose it down while I search for leaks - what fun

 

[BigV]

Currently having this problem with my car..... small puddle in the drivers rear footwell after it rains; then the windows misting up to the point where water is dripping on the dash and the screen is so foggy it is not safe to drive it.

Paid to have it fixed and whatever was done has actually made the problem worse; it used to only leak after really HEAVY rain but now it is always wet even after a light shower.

Seriously pissed off with this car now, I bought it thinking high fuel economy - cheap running costs...... but so far I've spent £££ hundreds chasing an oil leak (still not fixed), 2 sets of glow plugs with fault codes that never clear and now I've got horrible clunking when going over speed humps.

Its an 2004 toledo and im seriously considering scrapping it and buying some cheap banger on ebay to run around in....... total false economy this car; might get 50mpg but needs something fixed every week.