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

dholdi

Active Member
Jul 3, 2008
931
4
Preston
Cheers for that steve, I thought 5m might be pushing it to do 4 doors so was looking at the 6mm x 8m myself.
 

mikeholroyd

Guest
Cheers Mike. I decided in the end to let nature run its course and dry out naturally as the weather simply hasn't been good enough for me to start gutting the car. After attacking the bulk of the leak water with towels I've found that leaving the windows open by about 5mm on dry days has helped loads. Obviously the water retained in the channels under the carpet will take longer to shift but the car is no longer the miserable experience it once was.

DubSteve :)

Steve, the best way of shifting the water is to put a dehumidifier in the car every night for a few nights. When I did mine, I simply dropped the rear seatbacks down, and stood the dehumidifier in the boot, trailing the electric cable out of the boot. I was gobsmacked at the sheer volume of water the thing actually shifted, but it worked a treat. No more steamy windows in mine now (well, most of the time anyway:whistle:)

Mike
 

DubSteve68

Active Member
Nov 4, 2010
125
6
Up North
Steve, the best way of shifting the water is to put a dehumidifier in the car every night for a few nights. When I did mine, I simply dropped the rear seatbacks down, and stood the dehumidifier in the boot, trailing the electric cable out of the boot. I was gobsmacked at the sheer volume of water the thing actually shifted, but it worked a treat. No more steamy windows in mine now (well, most of the time anyway:whistle:)

Mike

Cheers again Mike, I'm now looking at a couple of dehumidifiers on eBay. Seems like the way forward...

DubSteve :)
 

irishmanr26

Active Member
Jun 30, 2010
382
1
Ireland
Got my butyl seal yesterday so i'll have a go at fitting it on Friday weather permitting.
My floors are bone dry now after I taped the window but I still get the musty smell in my car every now and again so looks like I'll need the carpets valeted as well
 

Fadel

Active Member
Dec 15, 2010
117
0
Nottingham
Just to note, I bought 10mm Butyl stuff and had no issues getting them back togethr, had to push the carrier a little to get the threads to catch on the bolts but no real issues at all
 

DubSteve68

Active Member
Nov 4, 2010
125
6
Up North
Got my butyl seal yesterday so i'll have a go at fitting it on Friday weather permitting.
My floors are bone dry now after I taped the window but I still get the musty smell in my car every now and again so looks like I'll need the carpets valeted as well

I don't know if a previous keeper treated the carpets with Scotchgard but I've been lucky so far and not had any musty smells from it. I was waiting on a couple of dehumidifiers to finish on eBay but I've notice B&Q are selling one for just under £80, so that's where I'm going tomorrow.

DubSteve :)
 

irishmanr26

Active Member
Jun 30, 2010
382
1
Ireland
Might look about one myself. Going to get a wet/dry hoover as well, it'll be handy down the line im sure. I dont know where the smell is coming from though, I only smell it the odd time
 

Joey2cool

Active Member
Nov 14, 2007
60
0
Wiltshire
when i first had this problem, the seat dealer quoted £120 to remove the carpets dry and treat the inside to prevent mould. If youre gonna spend £80 on a dehumidifier, you might wanna consider it?
 

DubSteve68

Active Member
Nov 4, 2010
125
6
Up North
when i first had this problem, the seat dealer quoted £120 to remove the carpets dry and treat the inside to prevent mould. If youre gonna spend £80 on a dehumidifier, you might wanna consider it?

If I can find a Seat dealer that will do my carpets and sort the carpets in the Golf (poly door seal finally given way after 20 years...) and sort the damp in our basement for £120 then I'll be happy. Otherwise the £80 B&Q job looks like a sound investment... ;)

DubSteve :)
 

tener

Active Member
Jan 23, 2007
150
0
arrr....just found this thread.now i can sort my wet footwell out,if it ever stops raining!!!
 

Bioman1966

Guest
Hi Guy's, Having picked up my car yesterday, drivers and rear carpets where soaked!! Read most of the posts about what it is, if i needed to take my seat out to dry the carpet, what would happen to the Airbag light? Or would i be better with a dehumidifier? Bioman
 

Joey2cool

Active Member
Nov 14, 2007
60
0
Wiltshire
im using a dehumidifier at the moment, and always driving with the window open a smidge. its certainly helped mine, the carpets are dry now! I understand that some water can still be trapped under the carpet, but i think this will dry in time with the dehumidifier.

Not sure what will happen the airbag light; but they do need to be disconnected during the removal process of the seats, but this is always done with the battery disconnected, and they are reconnected before the battery is reconnected. It should just all be ok tbh
 

irishmanr26

Active Member
Jun 30, 2010
382
1
Ireland
Put the butyl seal onto mine this evening. Got my brother to give me a hand as its far handier with 2 pair of hands (thanks for the hint DubSteve68). Hopefully thats it sorted for good now!
Just have to sort the leak in the boot now and I have a waterproof Leon again!
 

DubSteve68

Active Member
Nov 4, 2010
125
6
Up North
Hi Guy's, Having picked up my car yesterday, drivers and rear carpets where soaked!! Read most of the posts about what it is, if i needed to take my seat out to dry the carpet, what would happen to the Airbag light? Or would i be better with a dehumidifier? Bioman

This should answer your question (cheers Mike). One other thing to consider is the possible need for a Throttle Body Alignment after disconnecting the battery for seat removal...

On Mike's recommendation I picked up a dehumidifier (ended up buying a B&Q 16l/day unit on sale for £99) which pulled about 500ml of water overnight. The carpets felt quite dry beforehand so that's not bad going. As a bonus the fog/reversing lights on the hatch are no longer misted up now :D

DubSteve
 
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mikeholroyd

Guest
This should answer your question (cheers Mike). One other thing to consider is the possible need for a Throttle Body Alignment after disconnecting the battery for seat removal...

On Mike's recommendation I picked up a dehumidifier (ended up buying a B&Q 16l/day unit on sale for £99) which pulled about 500ml of water overnight. The carpets felt quite dry beforehand so that's not bad going. As a bonus the fog/reversing lights on the hatch are no longer misted up now :D

DubSteve

Thanks Steve. It's amazing just seeing the sheer volume the dehumidifier can draw out. I've just had all the mats out of mine, and given it a good hoover, and checked all the carpets underneath. It's over 12 months since I resealed all the doors, and, thankfully, it's still absolutely bone dry.

Throttle body alignment -- yes, recommended (obviously if it's a petrol), not applicable on the diesels.

And yes, you do really need to lift the carpets to get to the underlay/soundproofing. That's where the bulk of the water will be sitting, and you'll not dry that out properly if it's covered by the carpet.

Mike
 

irishmanr26

Active Member
Jun 30, 2010
382
1
Ireland
Checked my carpets this morning and they are bone dry so the new seal did the job.
I have a leak in the boot area now on the passenger side in behind the carpet. Its definately not the light seals, the wee vent, the rear washer or the ariel causing the leak.
Anybody know any other places I can check for the water getting in at?
 

DubSteve68

Active Member
Nov 4, 2010
125
6
Up North
You might want to check behind the rear quarter trim on your passenger side in case you have a washer leak from a union in that area. My carpets feel bone dry too but I still managed to pull a 1/2 litre from the dehumidifier last night...

DubSteve :)
 

Bioman1966

Guest
Got a dehumidifier today, will use that tonight, do you close the Air vents as well? Going to tape the top of the doors where the window meets the sill on the drivers side later, just until i can do the door, looking at Monday if the weather is o.k. I poured some water down the outside of the window, and you could see the water coming from under the speaker. Bioman
 
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