Should this water be here?

[Sue G]

Hi everyone

Whilst cleaning the rubber seal and gullies on the roof this morning I noticed that at the front of the roof on each corner there was quite a lot of water just sitting there, is this normal? To me it seems that if it stays there every time we have rain then it will surely lead to the area rusting. One thing just to mention is that our driveway very slightly slopes down at the front of the vehicle but only very slightly but I've never read anything to suggest that we have park it a certain way. Any thoughts would be very welcome.

Many thanks
Sue

 

[flying banana]

no. grab that black plastic trim and pull it off. it just clips in. underneath the wiring there is a hole. roof drain. this should drain onto your wheel under the arch. it will be blocked probably with leaves and stuff. be careful sticking anything in there too hard as you could push the pipe off inside. . use maybe a wd40 straw or something. when nyou see water drip on the wheel area its clear.

 

[TripleBee]

get something like an air blower (hand pumped, not electrical), like a nose sucker, but then use it to blow the air out. Put the tip in that hole, and blow in that hole. First suck up the balloon with water. Then it should be visible under the front windscreen. There are 2 rubber hoses that are the water outlets. They don't come out under the wheel arches in the front.

Don't stick anything in it, you might pop out the tubes to drain the water. Then you will have the water flowing into the van, like I had once .
It is a real pain to get those tubes back in place. You would have to loosen the front head lining and then you still can't reach it with your bare hands.

DON'T STICK INTO THOSE HOLES!!! (<- am I clear?)

 

[calikev]

They also work on gravity and water will build up before they empty

 

[TripleBee]

They also work on gravity and water will build up before they empty

Yes, but if you look at that picture, there is definately some dirt blocking the tubes.

Hi everyone

Whilst cleaning the rubber seal and gullies on the roof this morning I noticed that at the front of the roof on each corner there was quite a lot of water just sitting there, is this normal? To me it seems that if it stays there every time we have rain then it will surely lead to the area rusting. One thing just to mention is that our driveway very slightly slopes down at the front of the vehicle but only very slightly but I've never read anything to suggest that we have park it a certain way. Any thoughts would be very welcome.

Many thanks
Sue View attachment 46082

You really need to clean more underneath the roof (like I don't ...).
It is already a 2 hours work for cleaning the outside by hand, and then I am tired to clean more, and forget about the dirt under the roof until I go camping, and then say: I really need to clean underneath the roof next time, but most likely 'forget' to do it........ and again and again and again...

 

[Sue G]

Many thanks for coming back so quickly. We cleaned the drains as per Flying bananas' instructions as hadn't seen your post also TripleBee. We gently stuck a thin piece of wire (sorry TripleBee) into the tube and heard a gurgling noise and the water drained away and looked onto the wheel and thought we could see some water had come out but also now reading your post as well TripleBee's we should have checked the bottom of the windscreen also. I'm really hope that we haven't dislodged the tubes. I suppose the best thing to do is poor some water down the drain holes and see that it comes out in the right place and not in the van .

 

[flying banana]

Many thanks for coming back so quickly. We cleaned the drains as per Flying bananas' instructions as hadn't seen your post also TripleBee. We gently stuck a thin piece of wire (sorry TripleBee) into the tube and heard a gurgling noise and the water drained away and looked onto the wheel and thought we could see some water had come out but also now reading your post as well TripleBee's we should have checked the bottom of the windscreen also. I'm really hope that we haven't dislodged the tubes. I suppose the best thing to do is poor some water down the drain holes and see that it comes out in the right place and not in the van .

if yopu were careful it will be fine.sounds like job done to me.

 

[briwy]

If you have pushed the tube off then you will see damp patches on the corners of the headlining next to the windscreen.

Shows the rubber tube attached to the 90 degree plastic bend. It's the plastic bit that gets pushed out of a rubber grommet by pushing too hard down the holes. The rubber tube then goes down the A pillar and out under the wheel arch.




This is what you have to do to get at the tube joints.

 

[Sue G]

Oh gosh that looks scary, thanks briwy for sending the photos through though. I suppose we'll just have to keep an eye on the inside and hope we haven't dislodged anything, with all the rain predicted over the next couple of days it will be a good test.

 

[TripleBee]

If you have pushed the tube off then you will see damp patches on the corners of the headlining next to the windscreen.

Shows the rubber tube attached to the 90 degree plastic bend. It's the plastic bit that gets pushed out of a rubber grommet by pushing too hard down the holes. The rubber tube then goes down the A pillar and out under the wheel arch.

No!
The tube comes out under the windscreen. Between the plate of the engine bay and the plate to the inside of the van. Then the water pours down through big holes in that space, making it look like the water comes from behind the wheel arches.
If you look through the holes of the plastic cover under the windscreen (open up the bonnet), you will notice left and right a black round rubber which is the outlet of that tube.

 

[briwy]

Well ok if you want to be pedantic but the effect is the same, water comes out under the wheel arch

 

[TripleBee]

Oh, we are friendly.

The best way to check if the tube is clear is to look at the direct output, and that is under the windscreen.

 

[Hotel California]

Let me point out a very interesting tread ...

Cali technical tips&tricks

As followinging the tread Umbi27 , my fellow Belgian member, started here http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/vw-campercenter-amersfoort-7-march-technical-demo-for-belgian-cali-owners.9424/ I 'm gonne show some more pics and post some of the "tips&tricks" we got from our Dutch VW aces at CCN (...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Sue G]

Thanks everyone for your advice and the helpful tips & tricks thread. So far all seems dry and we've had a lot of rain in the last 24 hours, but I'll be much more diligent in the future about keeping that area clear.

 

[TripleBee]

You'll be surprised how often and how fast that drain gets blocked again.
Best thing is after a heavy rainfall, or a long period of rain, just to check the drains and if necessary blow the holes.
This will keep your mind at ease about this.

 

[Sue G]

Yes good advice, will do.

 

[russho]

I use long peace of strimmer nylon about 2m long and leave in vehicle pocket rolled up, better than a peace of wire. Its not sharp and can get it the wole way down to the outlet with a bit of giggerling.

 

[TripleBee]

I still don't like that poking in that small tube with a 90° bend after 2 cm. But it's your van.
I once got the tube plugged out above the windscreen, and all the water went down onto the carpet.
It is a hell of a job to put the tube back together.

 

[fili villanueva]

Any other tips for unblocking one of the roof drains anyone?

After a weekend with some snow and rain, this morning I have found the puddle on the left hand side. After reading this thread, I have managed to unblock it using a bit of fishing line, which I imagine is similar, or the same, as the strimmer nylon mentioned by russho. I have then poured some water in the area, and it has come out through the wheel arch, some towards the front, and some towards the rear, as you can see in the picture below. So it seems that I have unblocked the left hole, but is it normal how the water has come out?

I have then tested the right roof drain. This area didn't have the puddle, however I have thought that perhaps the water had gone to the left side before arriving home. The water didn't go through, I have gently tried with the fishing line, but have achieved nothing. I have thought about perhaps pushing the fishing line from the bottom, however I don't really see through which point exactly the water goes out. You guys also mention the holes under the windscreen, and say open the bonnet, I have done that, I see some holes (are you referring to the ones in the pic below?), but no water through any of them.

That's why I'm asking if anyone has any more tips to unblock this drain.

 

[Perfectos]

The roof drain empties into the scuttle panel, which drains to the wheel arch.
there are two rubber valves, one either side, in line with the roof drain tube (connected) the debris can block the valve Or the rubber can stick together.

the valve is rubber with a cross cut, when the water builds up sufficiently the pressure will cause the rubber slits to open allowing water to drain to the scuttle , then into the wheel arch.
if you remove the scuttle and look at either side you will see the black rubber valves.

very gently inserting a piece of fishing line may help open the valve (carefully)

a squirt of silicone spray on the rubber valve will do no harm and may assist.

try a search : “ Syringe “ which may also assist in flushing the pipe

edit: scuttle removal after removing wiper blades (note mark position of wipers before taking them off , Google is your friend)

 

[KGCali]

Roof drain grommet under windscreen scuttle panel, one each side.

 

[fili villanueva]

Thanks both for your replies. Looks like I need to put aside a nice chunk of time to get onto this.
If I understand correctly, if I remove the scuttle panel, I could put the fishing line up that grommet marked in yellow? And I imagine this is simpler than removing the interior stuff to get to the tube, as briwy showed. Will have a look at some point and report back. Thanks again.

 

[Azteccamper]

Thanks both for your replies. Looks like I need to put aside a nice chunk of time to get onto this.
If I understand correctly, if I remove the scuttle panel, I could put the fishing line up that grommet marked in yellow? And I imagine this is simpler than removing the interior stuff to get to the tube, as briwy showed. Will have a look at some point and report back. Thanks again.

I just put an old wire coat hanger under the scuttle and give the rubber grommet a little prod and the water flowed out. It just gets a bit sticky at the opening. 10 min job

 

[KGCali]

Thanks both for your replies. Looks like I need to put aside a nice chunk of time to get onto this.
If I understand correctly, if I remove the scuttle panel, I could put the fishing line up that grommet marked in yellow? And I imagine this is simpler than removing the interior stuff to get to the tube, as briwy showed. Will have a look at some point and report back. Thanks again.

I regularly use a syringe and small tube filled with warm water and slightly soapy water to flush out the roof front drain holes from the top. You only need to insert the tube a few mm then the pressure from the syringe should push and debris out. If the water appears over the wheels the drain pipe is clear.

 

[KGCali]

I just put an old wire coat hanger under the scuttle and give the rubber grommet a little prod and the water flowed out. It just gets a bit sticky at the opening. 10 min job

Give the grommet a spray with Silicone spray