Leak in the footwell

[Titch]

Hi All

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but....I have found water in the drivers side footwell!

First time I thought water had dripped in from the top of the door as I was in and out on a wet day doing some measuring up and finding my way round the van and thought no it can't be a leak. Then on Monday with a cold morning it was as iced up on the inside of the windscreen as it was on the outside, demonstrating lots of condensation on the inside of the van. Then, today, I parked it up somewhere different for the day and collected it after some heavy showers during the day, to find a wet carpet on the drivers side by the wheel arch.

Any ideas where the leak might be coming from and how to fix it? I don't want to tell the wife that we have spent 40k on a van with a leak! We haven't had it long.

Cheers

Titch

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Door seal would be my first guess.

I don't know the T5 Cali's very well, but aren't there drain holes in the roof that are routed down through one of the pillars? Could be a blocked drain, or a leak in the pipework?

Sit inside and get someone to hold a running hose over the door and roof.

hth,
dan

 

[vmaxkiddy]

I have the same problem but on the other side. Dealer had a quick look on wednesday and think it could be a roof drain that runs down the A pillar. They want to take out the cab roof trim for further investigation, and need it for a week.

Sent from my iVan using smoke and mirrors.

 

[Wojtek Boden]

Hello Titch,

I had this problem some years ago. The drainage tubes running down the A pillars were blocked.

If you are very lucky, the blockage will be at the point where the tubes exit into the back of the engine bay near the battery. They are a bit hard to find, but once you have located them just tap the rubber ends with you finger. This should encourage the tubes to drain.

However, if like me, you are very unlucky, the drainage tubes will be blocked in the roof cavity in front of the elevating roof (i.e. under the caste aluminium roof section which is the subject of so many paint corrosion complaints at the moment). In my case, the tubes were blocked within the roof cavity by black sealant, a fault at the point of manufacture. This caused water to build up and find alternative drainage routes, i.e through cable holes located above the drainage holes, resulting in water running down the A pillars and dripping onto the carpet at the wheel arches and footwell. I also had water damage to the headlining around the top of the A pillars. Excessive condensation on the inside of the windscreen is also an indicator that there is a drainage problem.

In my case, the caste aluminium roof section had to be removed to fix the problem. I hope your problem is a blockage at the exit end of the drainage tubes, otherwise it will be an expensive fix, unless you can claim under warranty.

Wojtek

 

[Titch]

I had a little test with this today pouring water down the roof and wind screen, to find water coming through the grab handle on the inside of the A pillar and dripping onto the air vent! I didn't want it to go any further so mopped it up at this point but presume that the water would go through this and find its way to dripped on to the inner wheel arch where I have found the water before. So I need to find out where the water is coming in in the first place.

The tubes sound a possiblity but I don't understand where the water comes in in the first place at the top of the roof? To add insult to injury I have found the paint blistering on the roof on both sides at the leading edge with the roof rail. How does the roof rail attach to the roof? Is it bonded or does to it have some sort of hole it fixes into? Does this leak have anything to do with the paint blistering?

Anyway a trip to the garage for a warranty claim is in order, which will not go down to well with the good lady, having spent the amount we spent on the van!

Thanks for the support and info so far.

Cheers

Titch

 

[Wojtek Boden]

Hello Titch,

Is your roof corrosion located on the elevating part of the roof itself or on the caste aluminium panel in front of the elevating section/above the windscreen?

If the latter (and if my suspicions are correct about the cause of your leak) then you may be in luck. VW are due to roll out a warranty programme (probably starting in the New Year) to replace those aluminium roof panels damaged by corrosion. If your drainage tubes are blocked behind the roof panel rather than at the exit point in the engine bay, then you should get an FOC fix by your Van Centre when the roof panel is replaced under warranty.

I agree with you that its a mystery how water should get into the cavity below the roof panel, as it should be fully sealed onto the bodywork. However, my case showed that there must have been a fault in the quality of the seal allowing water ingress.

Regarding your question about the roof rails, these are riveted onto the elevating roof section (you can see the rivets located in the recessed channels of the rails). If you suspect that water is leaking through these rivets, you should be able to confirm this by checking for water stains on the internal roof lining of the elevating roof.

regards,

Wojtek