Bulkhead vent seals

So i'm about to attempt my third try and getting the dam air vents to seal and stop the puddle in the footwell, With a new set of seals, again,

Firstly anyone got any tips how to stop them leaking,

Second when looking for tips myself on utube i spotted that some people put the seal on the flap rather than the car itself. Has anyone else done this

adyw said:

So i'm about to attempt my third try and getting the dam air vents to seal and stop the puddle in the footwell, With a new set of seals, again,

Firstly anyone got any tips how to stop them leaking,

Second when looking for tips myself on utube i spotted that some people put the seal on the flap rather than the car itself. Has anyone else done this

Click to expand...

First off, make sure the flaps are actually closing fully. Lubricate the joints of the linkages with engine oil, and the hinges of the flaps.
Then, while you pull the lever inside across out of the slots, get someone else to push the flaps closed from the outside.
You can do this yourself with the doors open, but be careful if you do it when it is windy.

Also, be aware that there are plenty of other places water can enter and end up in the footwells. Such as the door seals, various holes in the bulkhead, the join between the top of the bulkhead and the windscreen frame, probably others I can't think of at the moment.

The makers used to publish a book called "Water Ingress Manual". Which in itself gives an idea of how bad the problem can be.
I haven't seen one of the books for years, but you may be able to find one on the net, give you some ideas.

Hi, thanks, managed to narrow down and remove all the other leaks, just two left and having removed the dash i can see the stains where it runs in, hopefully will save a Tupperware party i have to leave in the footwell overnight

adyw said:

Hi, thanks, managed to narrow down and remove all the other leaks, just two left and having removed the dash i can see the stains where it runs in, hopefully will save a Tupperware party i have to leave in the footwell overnight

Click to expand...

Liking the Tupperware party idea!

Sounds like you are thinking in the right ways already. Another simple solution is to remove the mats, that way the water runs out through the holes in the floor.

Models up to 300tdi had seals fitted on the bulkhead, then they were fitted on the flap. Which ever way you go ensusre replacement is of closed cell type that does not hold water and promote rust.

Aftermarket seals look like they’re made from foam, which isn’t as good as the genuine rubber seals. Worth buying genuine ones for a few pounds more.

Neoprene self adhesive strip off ebay

lynall said:

Neoprene self adhesive strip off ebay

Click to expand...

Or closed cell foam tape. Available in a variety of sizes.

I use it all the time, small sizes for inside porthole surrounds, 20mm wide for weed hatch seals.
If it seals up a weed hatch, it will work on the flaps.

Turboman said:

Or closed cell foam tape. Available in a variety of sizes.

I use it all the time, small sizes for inside porthole surrounds, 20mm wide for weed hatch seals.
If it seals up a weed hatch, it will work on the flaps.

Click to expand...

I think that is the same stuff as neoprene?

Have found the new rubber seals for the series flaps are as hard as nails, and you simply cannot shut them, and all this talk of them bedding in is utter rollacks!

lynall said:

I think that is the same stuff as neoprene?

Have found the new rubber seals for the series flaps are as hard as nails, and you simply cannot shut them, and all this talk of them bedding in is utter rollacks!

Click to expand...

I think the tape I use is like aerated neoprene. And a bit softer and more forgiving than rubber seals.
The flaps on Series don't leak if they are fully shut. But they hardly ever are fully shut when I see them, usually one notch back on the internal rack that holds them in place.

As said above there are two types of seal. The foam seals fitted to the flap itself and the older style rubber seal fitted to the bulkhead. You can fit either seal to any vehicle it is just personal preference. I have found the older style rubber seals fitted to the bulkhead are a much better seal as long as the rubber is soft enough to allow the flap to close properly rather than the hard ones meaning it is always one notch open as mentioned above by @lynall and @Turboman