Water leak in boot - NOT the usual rear washer problem

[Steely]

its more than likely the boot seal, i had all the side panel off today to try and source the leak and its all pointing back to the weld joint and the boot seal, ive taped up the weld and put a strip of tape down the entire seam ot the spot welded bit which the seal pushes on to

time to sit and wait, see what happens, i'll let you know

i doubt its the hinge, ive had a good look at that and also the srips on the roor its not from that either,

 

[Fien]

any joy Steely sorting out the leak?

I've still got mine. Gonna have another go at sorting it out tonight. Think i'll have a look at the roof rack rail and screw points.

 

[Fien]

Ok, well i think i've found the culprit however im not sure of the solution.

When pouring water into the left side boot hinge cavity the leak seems to start up quite quickly in the boot. i.e pouring water into this bit:

which then starts a leak in this part of the boot:

i'm thinking that there's something a miss in the cavity bit but cant really get in there to see what it is. Does anyone know how to remove the plastic covering? I'm not sure how to remove the plastic clips and from the look of them im guessing that they'll probably break and i'll just make the problem worse

 

[Steely]

thats the exact same issue i had,

it turned out to seem to run along the seam of the weld then down the back of the c pillar

take the rubber boot seal off, and run 2 strips of insulation tape over th seam of the weld thats usually underneath the rubber seal, mines cured now,

all i could put it down to was water capillary effect, and its a small route for water to follow, which over time will give quite a bit of water getting through!

 

[C9JD]

Sorry to hijack this thread but the back passenger well is soaking today!

Anyone else had this? Do you think that would be a boot seal then the water finding the lowest point? Can't feel it wet anywhere else?

 

[Steely]

Sorry to hijack this thread but the back passenger well is soaking today!

Anyone else had this? Do you think that would be a boot seal then the water finding the lowest point? Can't feel it wet anywhere else?

that'll be your inner door car seal mate, 1 sec i'll find the link for what you need to do

 

[Steely]

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216&highlight=door+seal+leak

thats what you need, have a read, and go get yourself some bathroom sealant

 

[C9JD]

Cheers Steely. I'll give it a go.

 

[Fien]

Fixed all my doors the other weekend following that guide. Was a great help and hasn't leaked since!

 

[C9JD]

Had a look today and the boot is deffo dry but the thing with the inner door seal, wouldn't the carpet be wet right up to the the plastic panel that holds the carpet down? The thing is, that's dry!! Or is that normal if the inner door seal goes?

 

[C9JD]

I've just sat in the car while somebody's run a hose pipe over the "affected" side. I didn't see any water come in at all? If it was the inner door seal, wouldn't I see it running in with a hose pipe on it?

 

[Fien]

luckily for me the leak in the door seals only seemed to venture as far as the door sills and never got onto the carpet so im not sure how it would effect it.

i'd expect that if it is the seals it would be more of slow release rather than gushing out. if u take off the door covering, then undo most of the bolts holding on the inside metal plate so u can lift the bottom bit slightly out, then run ur finger in between and see what the seal feel likes. mine just crumbled off so clearly needed replacing. i'd suggest giving this a go as it'll only take about 15mins.

 

[Fien]

Oh, i've just checked my boot after resealing the clips covering the boot joint and it's made no difference what so ever. Argggggggggh!!!!

Back to the drawing board!

 

[Fien]

thats the exact same issue i had,

it turned out to seem to run along the seam of the weld then down the back of the c pillar

take the rubber boot seal off, and run 2 strips of insulation tape over th seam of the weld thats usually underneath the rubber seal, mines cured now,

all i could put it down to was water capillary effect, and its a small route for water to follow, which over time will give quite a bit of water getting through!

Steely, how do u get the boot seal of? gonna give ur idea a try and see what happens. Dont want to go ripping off the seal tho and destroying it all together.

 

[Fien]

Just in case anyone else comes across this thread i've now managed to solve it and feel pretty dumb about it.

After all the work and searching i've done i got so fed up with it that i asked the good people at awesome to see if they could find it. they said that theyve had something similar with a TT before which just had a drainage hole built in around where the water was building up. Turns out that wax had just built up and blocked the hole!! A quick scrape with a screwdriver and viola!

Im not convinced that water should be leaking though the car in the first place but it doesnt suprise me with SEATs!

 

[irishmanr26]

Bump up again!
Ive got the boot leak on the nearside in my MK1 FR now. Its definately not the rear washer and I have sealed around the vent so its not it. Where is this drain that you unblocked Fien?

 

[Fien]

Bump up again!
Ive got the boot leak on the nearside in my MK1 FR now. Its definately not the rear washer and I have sealed around the vent so its not it. Where is this drain that you unblocked Fien?

i never had a problem with the near side on mine and when i looked like no water went down there so there was no drainage hole. Once you remove all the coverings it was basically a small gap between the chassis behind the wheel arch and the rear bumper. It was just clogged up with wax so once removed the water just drained away. havent had a problem since (thank god!)

 

[irishmanr26]

Had a good hoke about today in the back of my car. The seals are fine as is the vent and it seems that the water is running down the top of the wheel arch on the inside. The problem is I cant see where its coming in at because of the location! Any ideas???

 

[Engimaneer]

In my MK4 Golf, I had the same problem of a very wet boot! It turned out not to be the vents in the rear bumper but the Seal under the radio aerial had perished and allowed water to leak in, run down the pillars and collect by the wheel arches.

There was no sign it was comming from there other than when I stripped the entire boot and dropped the roof lining to see it dripping. Didnt suspect that at all. - Takes 2 mins to check, so would be worth a look.

 

[irishmanr26]

How did you chech the seal/fix it?
Do you just pull the plastic panel off at the back of the roof and check from there?