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

markmck

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Feb 1, 2002
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Rookwise said:
Apparently there was a recall 2 years ago for this.

Be interested to know the detail

My car's registered February 2002 so I don't think I have any hope of getting it done without paying Also, wife's Leon March 200 has the same prob
 

sahunt

Guest
Tip on removing the door handle trim

Our Leon has that footwell leak on front passenger side. It was fixed under warranty a few years ago but came back recently. Thanks to this fantastic write-up, I decided to have a look inside the door today.

One small tip for other people doing this. It's MUCH easier to remove the door handle cover if you start at the rearmost end, and insert a screwdriver into the gap from above. That narrow end splits open easily, and the rest can then be peeled open surprisingly easily. And the mark from the screwdriver, although unavoidable, is in a fairly discreet place. If you start at the front or middle, it's much harder to get started, and you'll likely make a mess of the plastic in several spots before it parts.

Well, I got as far as having the door trim panel off before poor light stopped play. Turns out that when the stealer "fixed" this he did it by putting a lot of silicone on the outside of the join (which is a fair enough short-cut for a DIY-er but not acceptable for the main dealer, I reckon). It's failed just below the speaker. Looks like I'll have to strip it all off and do the job properly.

-- Steve
 
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CupraUK

Pushing on
Aug 15, 2005
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Bedfordshire
Here's the description from the VAG workshop system (interestingly it says NOT to remove the carrier):

Problem description

Doors, water getting into vehicle interior through the joint between the door assembly carrier (bottom) and the inner door frame.

Cause

Rubber seal around door assembly carrier not watertight.

Production solution

Change in watertight seal fitted to the door assembly carrier or plate.

From 12.01, Chassis No. 2R 067365

Service solution

In all cases where water is entering the vehicle interior around the door, carry out the following checks before replacing any parts or attempting any kind of repair:

1 - Check to see if the water is coming out through the bottom of the inner door trim panel. If the water is coming from this area, remove the trim panel.

2 - With the trim panel removed, check to see where the water enters: through the wiring harness clip, the rubber grommet, the window glass fixing screw rubber cap, the door trim clips or screws OR through the rubber seal around the (bottom of) the door assembly carrier.

3 - If the water is entering the interior via the watertight seal on the carrier, and the chassis number is earlier than the one given above, (under the heading of Production), proceed with repairs as follows:

The rubber seal on the carrier plate should be repaired without removing or loosening the carrier plate bolts. Apply bodywork paper to the area around the joint between the inner frame and the carrier plate.

Apply the two products which make up adhesive kit KR00430003 to the area around the joint where the paper has been applied: first the paint primer and then a bead of between 4 and 7 mm of the sealant.

Once the sealant is completely dry, check again to see if water comes through before refitting the door trim panel. Also check whether the holes on the inner lip or edge of the rubber trim around the bottom of the door are blocked. If they are blocked, make the necessary holes on the inner lip of the rubber trim.

Never make any holes or cuts on the outer lip of the rubber trim around the bottom of the door. This will not solve the problem of water entering the vehicle and will actually create a new problem with dust getting into the vehicle.

4 - Check too whether the drain holes in the doors are blocked with wax. The holes are easily visible if you lift the rubber trim.

If the holes are blocked with wax, remove the lower door trim and apply gentle heat to the area to melt the wax which will then drip out through the drain holes and leave them clear. Refit the door trim.
 

sahunt

Guest
CupraUK said:
Here's the description from the VAG workshop system (interestingly it says NOT to remove the carrier):

They want to minimise the time spent doing warranty repairs, don't they - and avoiding removing the carrier must save a lot of time and reduces the risk of causing other problems.

Interesting that it refers to a special two-part sealant kit with a primer (presumably to make the sealant stick well to the paint). I am sure the stuff this dealer used is ordinary black sealant, which will be why it hasn't stuck properly. He made a messy job of it too.

-- Steve
 

Rookwise

Meeeep Meeeeep !!!!!
Yep. Exactly the same prob with the rear doors as well. Same type of seal.

When doing the repair. You dont have to take anything off except for the inner door pannel and the bolts that hold the ancillary pannel to the door skin. Make sure your window is all the way down (the window runners are bolted to the ancillary pannel).
Get someone to hold the ancillary pannel while you run the new seal around it. Stick the seal to the door skin and follow the same route of the original seal. Make sure some of the new seal overlaps the ancillary pannel so that when you refit the bolts, the seal squeeze's to form a watertight seal on the door skin and the ancillary pannel.

Go to your local SEAT dealer and ask for a box of Sealing Cord. This is the correct item that solves the problem and doesn't cost much at all. Run it around the door and fit as stated in the paragraph above.
 
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jiege01

Toledo TDI
Jan 11, 2006
236
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Magherafelt, NI
got mine fixed eventually, it wasnt the doors that was leaking it was the rubber panel at the bottom of the windscreen. water was running down the back of the scuttle panel and getting in somewhere thru the pollen filter housing. took off the wipers and scuttle panel and resealed it all problem fixed, no more wet carpets:p
 

markmck

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Feb 1, 2002
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Toledo now all silicon'ed up.

Car's now dry inside but a bit whiffy with the silicon.

At least I won't have a recurring stagnant pond in the rear footwells anymore.
 

andyj

There's no F in Quality..
anyone know the part number for the rubber sealing strip ?!?

mine's exhibiting the same fault :( but I put it down to the fact that Pete had the door cards off soo many times that the original stuff didn't stand a chance of remaining water tight !!! :D
 

jiege01

Toledo TDI
Jan 11, 2006
236
0
Magherafelt, NI
got mine fixed eventually, it wasnt the doors that was leaking it was the rubber panel at the bottom of the windscreen. water was running down the back of the scuttle panel and getting in somewhere thru the pollen filter housing. took off the wipers and scuttle panel and resealed it all problem fixed, no more wet carpets:p

this lasted 6 months, i have now a damp drivers door footwell and a pond in the rear passenger side. anyone have any other suggestions of where to look and seal apart from the doors as they seem fine or can u not see the water leaking in from the doors?
 

markmck

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this lasted 6 months, i have now a damp drivers door footwell and a pond in the rear passenger side. anyone have any other suggestions of where to look and seal apart from the doors as they seem fine or can u not see the water leaking in from the doors?

its hard to see the water leaking in.

do you get watertrapped behin the outer rubber seal which flows out when you open the door?
 

jiege01

Toledo TDI
Jan 11, 2006
236
0
Magherafelt, NI
its hard to see the water leaking in.

do you get watertrapped behin the outer rubber seal which flows out when you open the door?[/QUOTE]

yup i do surely, runs out of it! that a sign of the door seals? also if i dont open the door, after its been raining then it runs over the top of it of the plastic and down onto the mats
 

markmck

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Feb 1, 2002
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its hard to see the water leaking in.

do you get watertrapped behin the outer rubber seal which flows out when you open the door?[/QUOTE]

yup i do surely, runs out of it! that a sign of the door seals? also if i dont open the door, after its been raining then it runs over the top of it of the plastic and down onto the mats


that's the door seals then

I'be siliconed mine up and no more leaks

Door panels can be a bit hard to prise off once you have the necessary screws out and some of the fastners may break so best to get a few of these just in case - I got mine from the VW garage as its closer than the seat one
 

jiege01

Toledo TDI
Jan 11, 2006
236
0
Magherafelt, NI
yeah fixed window clips in my mates leon a couple of months ago, know all about it. took till sealing them up on saturday, an hour did all four doors, fingers crossed it works.
 

markmck

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Feb 1, 2002
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yeah fixed window clips in my mates leon a couple of months ago, know all about it. took till sealing them up on saturday, an hour did all four doors, fingers crossed it works.


As long as you loosened oof thye ancillaries carry behind the plastic panel and got a good run of silicon in behind about half way up the door then you should be fine. The stink of silicon in mine has started to subside
 

jiege01

Toledo TDI
Jan 11, 2006
236
0
Magherafelt, NI
yeah did that, sealed the whole way around it and then smoothed of the silicone on the outside when i had it bolted back on. i used some black sealent stuff, dries with no smell, cudnt stand the smell of ordinary silcone, rotten.
 

sahunt

Guest
Don't know if any of the numbers in this earlier post give you any clue?

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1066820&postcount=15

Workshop manual refers to "adhesive kit KR00430003 "

That part number appears to be the two-part sealant kit described in the service bulletin, and NOT the "sealing cord" referred to (and photographed) by other people in this thread. I just got off the phone with the local parts dept and they cross-referenced that KR part number to a new part number (SE0000981203) "glue kit". They couldn't tell me what the glue kit was but I'm pretty sure it's the two part sealant as they said it was classed as "hazardous"..

If anyone has a part number for the "sealing cord" I'd be glad to know it, as it looks to me like a better solution than mastic.

-- Steve