Aye Up
OK here’s some more.
The first is the heater/blower duct. I found water leaking around the (dried out) gasket and the bolts.
I loosened the bolts, pushed duct back, spread sealant inside then redid the bolts.
The second image is the seam that runs the full width of the vehicle/scuttle. The original filler looked pristine but gouging a small section out showed rust beneath on each of the panels identifying that water was getting through, running down the bulkhead engine side, onto the cable harness and back through into the footwell.
OK here’s some more.
The first is the heater/blower duct. I found water leaking around the (dried out) gasket and the bolts.
I loosened the bolts, pushed duct back, spread sealant inside then redid the bolts.
The second image is the seam that runs the full width of the vehicle/scuttle. The original filler looked pristine but gouging a small section out showed rust beneath on each of the panels identifying that water was getting through, running down the bulkhead engine side, onto the cable harness and back through into the footwell.
Aye Up agin,
Just a few additional notes to go with the phots.
The windscreen is often one of the first suspects when h20 is found in the footwells.
On D1s after 1994 (I believe) they are bonded.
If the top bond and/or the side bonds are U/S you should see h20 running down the inside of the screen.
It’s easy to test - gorilla tape some builders polysheet right across the screen just above the bottom and around the doors then play a hose on the top of the screen. (Place a small child (or wife) inside the vehicle to watch for ingress.
The bottom of the screen sits slightly forward of the scuttle so theoretically even if the bottom bond is U/S water should not be able to get backwards and upwards through it whilst stationary - but if on the move is another matter.
With regards to the windscreen side trims make sure that the rubber ‘flaps’ at the top of them are correctly positioned and sealed so that h20 cannot go down behind them.
The scuttle: at either end of the scuttle is a drain hole through into the inner wing. It can get blocked with leaves etc so it must be cleared. Even so I found that water naturally pools across the scuttle and if the vehicle isn’t used for a period of time it just sits there looking for places to seep through that seam, down the bulkhead and into the passenger compartment.
Because of this after gouging out the old filler with and replacing with sikaflex Infurther added a layer of roofing flashing tape right across the scuttle on top of the seam and up the sides and ends (remembering to leave the rear end drain holes clear!).
More to follow.
Just a few additional notes to go with the phots.
The windscreen is often one of the first suspects when h20 is found in the footwells.
On D1s after 1994 (I believe) they are bonded.
If the top bond and/or the side bonds are U/S you should see h20 running down the inside of the screen.
It’s easy to test - gorilla tape some builders polysheet right across the screen just above the bottom and around the doors then play a hose on the top of the screen. (Place a small child (or wife) inside the vehicle to watch for ingress.
The bottom of the screen sits slightly forward of the scuttle so theoretically even if the bottom bond is U/S water should not be able to get backwards and upwards through it whilst stationary - but if on the move is another matter.
With regards to the windscreen side trims make sure that the rubber ‘flaps’ at the top of them are correctly positioned and sealed so that h20 cannot go down behind them.
The scuttle: at either end of the scuttle is a drain hole through into the inner wing. It can get blocked with leaves etc so it must be cleared. Even so I found that water naturally pools across the scuttle and if the vehicle isn’t used for a period of time it just sits there looking for places to seep through that seam, down the bulkhead and into the passenger compartment.
Because of this after gouging out the old filler with and replacing with sikaflex Infurther added a layer of roofing flashing tape right across the scuttle on top of the seam and up the sides and ends (remembering to leave the rear end drain holes clear!).
More to follow.
I also found that the rubber gasket around the wiper motor housing showed signs of not completely sealing and whilst there was no evidence that water had passed through I went to town on it too. See image
Finally, I found that water ran off the windscreen, over the scuttle/A pillar/inner wing junction which I had repaired, along the channel between the inner and outer wing, down the engine side of the inner wing and once again onto that main wiring harness and through into the passenger compartment. It was even getting through the self tapper holes which hold the wing on. I plugged the channel at both ends and made small rubber washers for the self tappers.
Eventually I also made a rough shroud type affair sikaflexed to the bulkhead to deflect water if it got past the other repairs.
All of the research and repair that I did went on over about two months during that almost continuous heavy rain that we had earlier in the year. It was extremely frustrating to have repeatedly found after a repair that the footwells were wet but the realisation that there are potentially multiple failure points meant perseverance was the only solution.
Incidentally, it is worth removing the glass-to-inner rubber seals on the sun rooves, cleaning the seals and the channels that they sit in to make sure that they are in order and that the glass ‘crushes’ the seal when closed appropriately so that h20 can’t even reach the troughs/drain tubes.
I also gorilla taped the sunroof - gasket to roof and glass to rubber seal and the alpine window seals so as to eliminate/isolate them whilst I was working on all of the aforementioned front windscreen issues. Otherwise you jus end up chasing your tail!
Finally, I found that water ran off the windscreen, over the scuttle/A pillar/inner wing junction which I had repaired, along the channel between the inner and outer wing, down the engine side of the inner wing and once again onto that main wiring harness and through into the passenger compartment. It was even getting through the self tapper holes which hold the wing on. I plugged the channel at both ends and made small rubber washers for the self tappers.
Eventually I also made a rough shroud type affair sikaflexed to the bulkhead to deflect water if it got past the other repairs.
All of the research and repair that I did went on over about two months during that almost continuous heavy rain that we had earlier in the year. It was extremely frustrating to have repeatedly found after a repair that the footwells were wet but the realisation that there are potentially multiple failure points meant perseverance was the only solution.
Incidentally, it is worth removing the glass-to-inner rubber seals on the sun rooves, cleaning the seals and the channels that they sit in to make sure that they are in order and that the glass ‘crushes’ the seal when closed appropriately so that h20 can’t even reach the troughs/drain tubes.
I also gorilla taped the sunroof - gasket to roof and glass to rubber seal and the alpine window seals so as to eliminate/isolate them whilst I was working on all of the aforementioned front windscreen issues. Otherwise you jus end up chasing your tail!
