water trapped in lower door seal

[turbin]

In my -04 LCR I have noticed a couple times when I open the doors a little water flush out. Its trapped between the door and the rubber seal at the bottom of the door. kinda..

any obvious solution for this now then? I imagine it can become a problem when its raining then freeze over during night time.

 

[SEATgod]

Hello Turbin,

Is the water sitting between the inner sill trim (plastic) and the rubber door seal?

Please check the drain holes in the bottom of the door (3 of them)!! Do not cut the cover seal just make sure they are not blocked!! - you may need to peel it back!

Please let me know how you get on!

 

[Muttley]

This is usually a symptom of the seals between the door panel and the ancilliary carriers starting to fail.

The carriers (that hold the window mechanisms, speakers & etc.) are sealed to the door outer by a closed-cell foam self-adhesive strip. This fails over time (don't know why, may just be fatigue, reaction with the glue, expansion/contraction or gremlins) and becomes porous, usually starts in the corners.

Rain runs down onto the carrier from the window. If the foam has started to leak, it gets onto the door sill and eventually some gets into the car, pooling in the footwell. Best way to check, open the doors after heavy rain. If water runs off the door sills, you've got leaky seals: it may not be in the footwell yet, but it will be.

The VW replacement strip is a mastic, which will deal with vibration and the metal expanding with heat, but probably will need renewing if you have to take the carrier off again. However it does stop your doors leaking, which is really the important thing.

Taking off the carriers completely requires some careful work with the windows. You don't have to do this, all I did was take off all the lower bolts but leave the top bolts along the window opening in place, just loosened off a bit. I could then move the carrier out enough to remove the old foam (make sure it's all gone) and replace it with new sealer strip over the bottom and sides of the carrier, up to 2/3 of each side. If the door fills up beyond that with water, then something else is the matter

 

[LEE69]

Do not cut the cover seal just make sure they are not blocked!! - you may need to peel it back!

Why not cut them, surely it would help the water to escape when the door is shut?

 

[SEATgod]

Because the blockage...if there is one is not caused by the cover seal...it is excess preservation wax!

As correctly detailed above the issue is normally the foam adhesive seal that deteriorates over time and allows water to penetrate throught the auxilary cover / door skin!

You also have to check the electrical connection box seal and the pollen filter seal as they are made of the same material.

You have to check the scuttle does not flood and the air con drain hose is not leaking onto the centre tunnel.

If you do find a water leak a thorough dry out (carpets and underlay up) is normally required to stop mould and smells! This also aids water testing...you can see exactly where the ingress is!

 

[lc_allan]

Some people have cut a small v shape underneath each of 3 drainage holes. This helps the water drain out a little more. Not done it myself yet but mine is only a little water at the moment.

 

[SEATgod]

SEAT recommended not to do this as it then allows spray from the front wheels access to get inside the door skin!

Look at how much water would need to be in the inside of the door before it ran over the auxilary cover....litres of it!!

It simply runs down the inside of the aux carrier and soaks through the seal!

Kind regards,

 

[Muttley]

Why not cut the seals? Because until you open the door, the water is trapped inside the inner seal. It only drops onto the sill as you open the door.

The rubber door seal is not any part of the problem, it is there to prevent water from the outside getting in, driven by the pressures generated at motorway speeds. Cutting this seal will not help get rid of the leak (which is inside the door) and could make things worse.

Prod up through the drain holes to make sure they're clear. No need to cut the seal.

 

[SEATgod]

"Prod up through the drain holes to make sure they're clear. No need to cut the seal"

I agree!!

KR

 

[lc_allan]

The seal under the drain holes only holds the water in more and helps the build up for it to reach the other seal. If water passed through it would drain off the sill quicker. Water/rain will not enter the cabin as the other seal keeps it out. Obviously the holes blocked will not help but even when cleared that door seal underneath holds water.

 

[matt_s]

No point in cutting the seals, just repair what is broken. Don't break something else to compensate. I used butyl rubber sealant to stop the leak (no smell and no trip to SEAT). Took about an hour as I didn't know what tools I needed to open it up and to find all the bits to undo.

I thnk it is slamming the doors that does it. Only me drivers door leaked until I stopped being single and the passenger door got a lot more use.

 

[SEATgod]

The blue line on the left is not the issue!

It is the blue line on the right as R6 says, it gets caught in the seal between the aux carrier and the door itself!

Cutting the seal under the door will not stop it! and is advised against by SEAT UK!

Cant remember the part number for the sealant...will try and find it tomorrow!

P.S. nice diagram R6!! ;-)

 

[lc_allan]

I think I might not have put down what I meant, so well.

I know the left seal does not cause the common leak, it is the door card seal that the water get's through that causes the problems for the footwells. As far as I know water travels down both sides of the door interior. The left side on the diagram, if holes are blocked just fills the door up with water which can lead to a lot of water being dumped when you open the door etc... If the holes are cleared and the water is helped passed the lower seal then it will not build up so much in the doors. From what someone said it was only a tiny v shape slit to stop that seal being filled with water.

The other seal is often the problem one anyway as this is what leaks to allow water into the cabin.

SeatGod, I can't take credit for the picture. It was from a very long post done by Andy

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44216

 

[allh2k]

I got a full tube of kitchen sealant and stuck that lil bitch down till it screamed

piece of **** leons

 

[turbin]

I use a silicone spray on all rubber seals every now and then. Obviously not on the hidden seal under the door panel there. Weak link.

 

[Dom Sweeten]

Exact same problem on mine recently.
Rear foot well was totally soaked.
Drivers door was the problem.
Garage re sealed with sealant and job done.

Just need to really dry it out inside now.

 

[JamesL]

how much did the garage charge you? I think I'll need to do mine soon.

 

[Dom Sweeten]

I got them to whack my HIDs in at the same time.

Cost me £112 total.