Leaky Xm

[dean]

Hi all

I got up this morning to find water had made its way into the cabin, it is in the N/S foot well just under the speaker, there was water on the flat plastic sill in front of the bonnet release and on the carpet where the floor meets the wheel arch, any ideas?? Also i have an old leak i have been trying to fix for ages, when i drive round a left hand bend during or shortly after heavy rain water runs out of the air temp sensor vent in the roof console, but nowhere else (no wet roof lining) and it doesn't do it when the car is stationary or when i run a hose over the car, I have sealed the Aeriel with a new rubber and some silicone but it has made no difference,
Does anyone know where the sunroof drain pipes exit the car??? maybe i could give them i blast with compressed air to see if they are clear??

Thanks

[xmexclusive]

Hi Dean

Sun roof drains run down in tubes inside the four corner roof pilars. If you take off the boot side trim you will find the rear ones end in a plastic moulded plug that fits in a hole in the rear of the wheel arch. Not sure where the front ones go after the bottom of the windscreen but suspect it is the front wheel arches. You should be able to get to the front ones from the top end with the sun roof open. For the passenger side water try blowing out the drain holes in the bottom of the passenger door and check the door seal round the door and frame.

Regards

XMexc

[roddew]

Hi again Deian, Whilst on the sunroof drain clearing subject, an old speedo cable makes a useful friend when clearing them out from the top. Make sure it has no sharp edges,though, as these could pierce soft pipes or jam halfway down.
Using compressed to clear plastic pipes might seem a good way to go, but beware the pipe that is not well secured at the end where it is a push fit... it could well slide off when filled with 150PSI from your compressor and disappear into oblivion.
I won't bore you with the consequences of discovering this, but suffice to say I won't be doing it again in a hurry.
Wishing you many happy miles with dry feet.

[roddew]

Apologies Dean!! Must be the weather....that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

[onthecut]

Hi Dean.

Check the drain holes either end of the scuttle. Very prone to leaf blockage this time of year.

Mike.

[Peter.N.]

Another favourit place for water ingress above the windscreen it the radio aerial. If you remove it and give everything a coat of Waxoil that should stop it.

Water in the footwells often comes in through the door panels. If someone has had the panel off and not fully sealed the door, the water drips from the bottom of the window onto the panel and runs out in the car. You can seal the inside with polythene and parcel tape.

Peter.N.

[jorgy9]

Also, water in footwell as Dean describes can come through the door panel even if the factory waterproofing is intact. In my front door, the metallic bracket were the upper part of the door handle attaches was leaking. This is due to the desing overthere, there's a little hole that can ocassionaly pass water. I used a little piece of grey tape to mask it from the inside of the door metal sheet. You have to see it to see what I mean, but that's all it needs -a sort of screen to keep water *within* the door frame-. I had had the door trim off for a long time to repair the electric window and could see the little stream running downwards over the insulation foam whenever it was raining. Its path was marked -this handle fixture is totally rusted because of that little leak-. Since then, no leaks.

cheers
George

[Ciaran]

Funny, my S1 has been doing the leaky aerial thing with all the really heavy rain we've had lately, must get the light out and sort it

[dean]

Evening gents

The door seal looks fine and it hasn't leaked since, i know the door and window was definitely shut and i cleaned all the crud out of the gully under the scuttle trim this summer so i dont think its coming through the fan, thanks for the info on the sunroof drain holes when i get 2 minutes and it ain't tipping it down i will get out and give them a clean out and see how it goes from there.

Thanks Dean

[Peter.N.]

If it does come through the door seals, it depends which way the car is leaning.

Peter.N.