Checking For Leaks/drain Holes

[ATK 140 1 Cars]

Anyone got a definitive list of where all the drain holes are, and a list of places that need sealing up that are prone to letting water in?

[ATK 140 1 Cars]

Replacing rear window seals this weekend so I know to cover them.

 

Where else should I be looking for leaks aside from rear windows and around bootlock.

 

Front carpets are damp, as is under the seat and in the boot.

[Anthony 1,003]

The boot and tailgate area can leak from upteen different places in my experience, including:

 

Main tailgate - body seal

Seal/bonding around the glass

Lock barrel

Washer jet

Wiper motor

Tailgate spoiler

Wiring/washer fluid tubing conduits

Sunroof drains

Rear lights

 

That's a starter selection for you. Best part stripping some trim and getting someone to hose the car down while you look for leaks.

 

The front footwell should be more straight forward - it'll likely either be the heater matrix, the windscreen seal, sunroof drain, or around the scuttle panel / heater air inlet.

[welshpug 1,657]

sunroof handle fibre seals too.

[mowflow 67]

Leaks are the sole reason that i have ended up almost completely stripping my car.

 

I had water in the same areas as you OP. I found the water in the front footwell was coming from 2 sources. Front window seal. Cure will be window out and new seal. A leak in the inner wing drain area. The area under the scuttle panel diverts water down either side behind the wings. There is a huge amount of sealer used here to seal these areas up but water seems to be getting in via the tiniest pin hole so it all needs re sealed.

 

My sunroof handle seals are also leaking

The rear quarter windows leak. An initial attempt at fixing by stretching the seals and refitting with some black gutter sealer underneath didn't help so it's back to the drawing board

The boot leaks from god knows where. I resealed the washer nozzle and have done the holes for the spoiler. Still getting water so i'll be working through Anthony's list above including removing glass and replacing seals.

 

I've never thought about how difficult it must be to make a car water tight. Living in New Atlantis doesn't help

[ATK 140 1 Cars]

Great stuff! Good list for me to work through! Thanks very much all - hopefully I'll get her nice and dry inside......not betting on it though!

Where can I see the inner wing drain area mate? Know it's in the inner wing (!) but any tips on location?

 

Leaks are the sole reason that i have ended up almost completely stripping my car.

 

I had water in the same areas as you OP. I found the water in the front footwell was coming from 2 sources. Front window seal. Cure will be window out and new seal. A leak in the inner wing drain area. The area under the scuttle panel diverts water down either side behind the wings. There is a huge amount of sealer used here to seal these areas up but water seems to be getting in via the tiniest pin hole so it all needs re sealed.

 

My sunroof handle seals are also leaking

The rear quarter windows leak. An initial attempt at fixing by stretching the seals and refitting with some black gutter sealer underneath didn't help so it's back to the drawing board

The boot leaks from god knows where. I resealed the washer nozzle and have done the holes for the spoiler. Still getting water so i'll be working through Anthony's list above including removing glass and replacing seals.

 

I've never thought about how difficult it must be to make a car water tight. Living in New Atlantis doesn't help

[mowflow 67]

It's not really a visible/accessible thing. What happens is the water in the scuttle area drains off either side of that area and the water basically comes out the bottom of the wing above the sill. The front sunroof drains also drain down into the area. You can't see it unless you remove the wings and that's a biatch of a job.

 

My method for finding the leaks was to put some food colouring into some water in a watering can then pour it over various areas and check for the coloured water inside. For anything going into footwells this is obviously best done with the carpet lifted so you don't ruin it but also because the water will most likely go behind the carpet.

 

With my leaky wing i found the water was running down the inside of the wing/footwell panel to the right of the accelerator. There's a plastic panel here with sound deadening material on the back. That was soaking up the water which was then soaking into the carpet.

 

The windscreen leak is more of a hunch. I've got a small spider of rust at the very top edge. I would guess this is leaving a very small gap with the seal letting water in. As another tell tale, a previous owner has shoved a load of silica gel packs down the back of the dash ​

 

The rear quarter light leak is much easier to spot if you suspect it. Same dyed water but it's easier to see with the panels removed as it seems to run down behind the panels and results in both the base of the rear seats getting soaked and the rear footwell carpet as it runs down the side.

 

Something i've not checked but will be before I put everything back together is the sunroof drains. They run to all 4 corners of the car from the sunroof. I think they can become blocked, pouring water down them will show if they are. I have also seen pics of one example where the metal connection had rotted away so the rubber drain pipe wasn't connected to the roof.

 

You pretty much just need to systematically check everything. It's either that or decide to keep it garaged and only drive it when it's dry ​

 

PS. I'll get you pic of that wing area tonight if i can.

[mowflow 67]

As promised.

 

 

The water that collects in the scuttle runs down the deep channel here. You can see the really thick seam sealer (the 2 big dirty lines running vertically). I figure it's possibly leaking slightly but i'll just seal up every single join in this area. The sunroof drain is the black hose sticking out at 45º about half way down. The outer wing panel doesn't get attached or sealed at the bottom so water just drains out over the top of the sill.

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Are there drain holes in the sills?

[Anthony 1,003]

Yes and they can/do get blocked up too.

 

Tale-tale is that you'll hear a sloshing noise from the sill as you accelerate and brake as the trapped water moves around.

[jackherer 543]

I couldn't see the aerial base mentioned so I'll add that to the list. My new 205 was filling up with water and most of it was coming in the rear quarter windows so I sorted those but it was still damp and I eventually noticed that it was the aerial, it's a non sunroof car so it wasn't anywhere near as obvious as it would have been normally, I think it was running across the headlining and down the pillars.

[Para 82 2 Cars]

I am having similar issues with my car at the moment. Weather is absolutely terrible and it has been raining whole January. I have water in the boot, water under the rear seats, water under my feet and under passenger feet, water on the seat and drops of water on the sunroof!!! Car has been resprayed and all the windows and seals has been taken off and put back on again, I bet this cause to loose the proper sealing and now I need to be thinking about moving to Australia where the issue is not there

[jackherer 543]

Yes, mine has been resprayed too, I bought it from someone who had probably only used it on nice days and kept it garaged so none of the seals were ever tested I don't think.

 

My aerial seems to be sealed now, I put the one from my old Xsara on first but it didn't quite seal so I bought a brand new genuine aerial base and the difference was immediate.

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

I was looking for my sill drain holes today, I could only find a front one. Should there be one at the rear? I wonder if they've closed up due to bad jacking? Would it be ok to drill my own?

[welshpug 1,657]

there's three or 4 along the lip, but most are covered with underseal, I wouldn't go drilling holes.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Neither would I any hole you drill will be above the level at which the original drain holes sit and you'll potentially make it a rot box super quick

[kenp 3]

Resurrecting an old thread rather than creating a new one ...

 

Been tracking down and fixing leaks on the old girl ( the car not the missus ), just left with the one in the front passenger footwell. If I water the scuttle area in the corner (with the vacuum tank removed) I get water ingress inside the car, however I've peered in through the side repeater hole and the sealant looks intact, in addition I've hosed that area directly (again via the repeater hole) and the footwell remains dry.

 

So it appears to be leaking inside the box section that the scuttle drains into and then out into the area shown in the image posted previously by mowflow.

 

The only proper way to fix this as far as I can see is to remove the wing, cut a hole into the box section, seal/repair as necessary and them make the hole good, refit wing...

 

I was thinking maybe squirting some thinned-down waxoyl in there and hope it seeps into any cracks preventing further leaks but without causing a water trap itself... Sanity check (and/or alternative suggestions) from the forum please?

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Could you not remove carpet and/or dash and with it dried out seal it from the inside of the car? I'm not sure there is a box section in the area you mention?

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Ok so it just so happens I have a front corner of 205 in a sectional view

 

Some photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kenp 3]

Thanks Tom, those are very useful.

 

The bit I'm referring to can be seen in pics 1 and 4 - basically between the inner wing and the bonnet hinge mounting panel - perhaps it's not a true box section but the are is effectively "boxed" by the hinge panel. the water drips inside from behind the interior box section shown in pic 5 (which is why I can't really get to it from inside).

 

My assumption is that there's a split or rusted section I can't see behind the hinge panel which is where the water is entering.

 

Worth noting at this point that I've previously had to weld in a section around the mounting stud for the vacuum tank - it was well sealed afterwards and still "looks" ok. I did have to weld right up to the edge of the scuttle drain hole, flush with the hinge panel so I suppose it possible the leak is there (in fact thinking about it, that now seems very likely) - I'll see if I can press some more sealant into that area although to do the job properly it looks like I'd need to cut out the hinge panel, do a repair and re-weld it again... It's not a nice area for access.