Sponge thing from inside wing, anyone removed it?

[GTJEDI]

Noticed a while back I had bubbles starting on my nearside front wheel arch, did a bit of searching and found there was a sponge thing inside which causes it, I took it out tonight but there isn't one on drivers side.

Is this normal or has a previous owner done the same at some point?




Cheers
AL

 

[KarlB1]

Not sure about Leon's but my old mk2 Toyota MR2 turbo had rusted sills because of some foam behind the interior trim that absorbs any moisture from the windows etc and just rots from the inside out

 

[GTJEDI]

Its definitely the reason for my wing starting to go but I just assumed it would be in both sides.

AL

 

[KarlB1]

I can't understand why there would be foam there?
Where about is it? I'll check mine tomorrow before work

 

[too hot]

It's a well known problem with MKV Golfs,the sponge holds water and causes the wings to rust from inside.
For a while VW were repairing/replacing them as a goodwill gesture.
Don't know if Seat will be the same,might be worth a try !!

 

[GTJEDI]

If you pull the lip of the plastic wing liner where it meets the arch at the highest point down towards the wheel its right there, basically directly above the centre of the wheel.

Its a bit of a fiddle to get out, not sure why its there some kind of spacer of something.

AL

 

[GTJEDI]

Im defo going to go to seat and moan, as far as I know theres meant to be a 12 year anti corrosion warranty, with vw anyway.If they wont do it for nowt even a contribution cos once it get really noticeable it'll do ma head in.

AL

 

[cupra.al]

Im defo going to go to seat and moan, as far as I know theres meant to be a 12 year anti corrosion warranty, with vw anyway.If they wont do it for nowt even a contribution cos once it get really noticeable it'll do ma head in.

AL

you have to have the yearly paint check with seat service history or some rubbish they will fob you off either way.
the mk4 ibiza suffers the same thing a few of the mk4 ibiza owners have tried with there dealers recently and failed.
i removed the foam inserts from my wings this weekend to prevent this happening to my ibiza as like you say it rots from the inside out.
i painted the inner wing just to be extra safe.
the water looks like it comes in from around the headlight with the car in motion rain obviously pushes through and onto the foam well thats on the ibiza but i can imagine its the same on the leon as the arch liner seems to do a good job of keeping it clean in there.

 

[GTJEDI]

I've just read through the the service book and there is 3 reasons as to why the warranty won't be covered,

If the damage is due to exterior influences or insufficient care

If damage is not repaired in due time or to manufacturers spec

If corrosion perforations are due to nonobservance of manufacturers spec for body repairs.

There's no mention of having to have full seat service history or paint check, there's also no mention of a paint check in the service schedule for yearly oil inspection.

Seems to me they could blame it on previous repairs or damage but not on s/h or yearly paint check.

AL

 

[anni25pd]

Very common on mk4 golf platform cars, although haven't checked my lcr to see if it has it! Alot of people remove to prevent chance of corrosion or trim them up a bit to prevent contact with lip of wing. In my experience they are always sodden (like a massive sponge) & don't see that they add anything other than perhaps sound deadening ....