I've got a 2002 130 bhp 3 door Golf TDI -it really lived up to my expectations when I bought it a few months ago ..... that was until it started raining (English weather an all that ) water originally started leaking into the passenger footwell now it has started leaking into the rear nearside passenger footwell ...before you ask the car does not have a sunroof ... I took the car to a local garage who are familiar with Golfs they thought it might have been a poorly fitted pollen filter ..refitted it and added some sealant significantly they said no charge which leads me to believe they hadn't spent much time to discover the problem as IT STILL LEAKS ! Boy has it been a rainy month .. My question is has anyone else had this problem ( or Just me ) - Is there some kind of pipe that runs from the windscreen gulley through the car from front to back under the carpet via the nearside passenger footwell as I can feel a bump here ( or is that just my imagination ...my car hasn't been in an accident and the seals around tboth doors seem to be dry and in tact anyone out there got any ideas ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
water LEAKS Into my newly aquired TDI
- Thread starter stufer
- Start date
weedeater
Top Post Dawg
There are electrical lines running along the door sills, so maybe that is what you are feeling.
Has the windscreen (windshield) ever been replaced?
Have the doors ever been worked upon? If the doors were ever opened up for anything, I think it is possible to not get things back together such that you have leaks down the glass into the door. Which reminds me that you should check the drains under the doors. There are 3(?) on the front, two (?) on the rear doors. Over time they can get blocked with dirt, though VW puts a ton (tonne) of cosmoline (beeswax) in the doors that tends to ooze out in warm weather.
Has the windscreen (windshield) ever been replaced?
Have the doors ever been worked upon? If the doors were ever opened up for anything, I think it is possible to not get things back together such that you have leaks down the glass into the door. Which reminds me that you should check the drains under the doors. There are 3(?) on the front, two (?) on the rear doors. Over time they can get blocked with dirt, though VW puts a ton (tonne) of cosmoline (beeswax) in the doors that tends to ooze out in warm weather.
rdkern
Top Post Dawg
- Joined
- May 21, 2004
- Location
- Humboldt Co CA
- TDI
- Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
Also - check underneath the doors to make sure the drains in the doors are not clogged. If they are, you'll get the overflow. Does the passenger door sound "slushy"?
Mike_Van
Veteran Member
Have you determined if the water comes in through the HVAC fan, which sits just behind the glove box, or elsewhere?
Water poured on the windscreen near the pollen-filter should exit either out of a drain in the front wheel-well (behind the cover that lines much of your wheel-well) or run through the body (behind the door hinge) and then exit the body via a drain (well-)below the door hinge. If you're pointed up a hill, the water might exit the body via a drain at the rear after running through the rocker panel (that might not be the correct term).
A possibility regarding the pollen-filter is that it has a cover that has a plastic tab on it that can break off, allowing water to no longer flow where the tab would redirect it.
The tab is indicated with a yellow arrow in the pic below:
http://www.agthompsonfamily.com/vw/PollenFilter13.jpg
The pic from this How-To on the filter replacement:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=968305
If alternate methods of discovery fail, it might be useful to disassemble the trim needed to pull the carpeting, so as to be able to disgnose where the water enters the vehicle. Once you've dried the interior out, use newspaper to spot where water enters (you can act as the source of 'rain' with a bucket).
Water poured on the windscreen near the pollen-filter should exit either out of a drain in the front wheel-well (behind the cover that lines much of your wheel-well) or run through the body (behind the door hinge) and then exit the body via a drain (well-)below the door hinge. If you're pointed up a hill, the water might exit the body via a drain at the rear after running through the rocker panel (that might not be the correct term).
A possibility regarding the pollen-filter is that it has a cover that has a plastic tab on it that can break off, allowing water to no longer flow where the tab would redirect it.
The tab is indicated with a yellow arrow in the pic below:
http://www.agthompsonfamily.com/vw/PollenFilter13.jpg
The pic from this How-To on the filter replacement:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=968305
If alternate methods of discovery fail, it might be useful to disassemble the trim needed to pull the carpeting, so as to be able to disgnose where the water enters the vehicle. Once you've dried the interior out, use newspaper to spot where water enters (you can act as the source of 'rain' with a bucket).
weedeater
Top Post Dawg
And in respect to that, these cars are notorious for getting dirt and debris packed into the space behind that cover inside the wheel well. It's not a bad idea to take it off (partially) and clean behind it.
Mike_Van
Veteran Member
Absolutely, weedeater. I discovered the water drain paths I described in just such a cleaning exercise, prior to mounting splash-guards (aka mud flaps)...
At the top of the firewall just below the windshield there is a rather small drain hole that drains down behind the wheel well cover. I had a mouse get in there and plug the hole with some insulation. It does not take much water in there before it starts to leak through the firewall and down onto the floor. I had to pull back the piece of plastic and the engine compartment seal to get at the hole on the drivers side. It was difficult to see the hole and it was tight getting my hand in there to clear the debris. I have not had a leak problem since and I check it on a regular basis since leaves manage to get down there too.