14 replies to this topic

[MiniMaggs]

Hi all,

 

I have a 1998 Cooper 1.3i that is not water tight. After a heavy downpour I often find water in the drivers side footwell. I believe this is due to water seeping down through the door and splashing out behind the door cards. The water is especially coming out through the bottom of the window regulator (the panel holding the window crank). 

 

Does anyone know of a way to stop the water from getting through the door behind the door cards?

 

Any thoughts would be great!

 

Cheers 

Chris

[alex-95]

The window winders should have some putty stuff to seal it onto the door, you can stick some duck tape over the holes to stop the water coming through them.

[MiniMaggs]

There is tape over the larger holes already. The putty does seem to be pretty perished, so that may be a good shout. Does the sealant need to be anything in particular?

 

Cheers

[sonikk4]

I would make sure the drain holes in the bottom of the door frame are clear. Also the chrome trim at the top of the door how perished is the rubber wiper seal?? If this is bad then change it.

[reallybig]

mine does it cus my door seals don't seal properly as the door is too tight at the hinges and the whole frame of the car is slightly bent...

 

i just keep all the carpets out and a sponge in the car to bail it out.

[MiniMaggs]

I am going to replace the chrome trim weather strip as this should help, but the previous owner has done some work on the door skin which has ended up with the skin slightly bowed. So I think there will always be some water that can get inside the door, are there any solutions to prevent the water from entering the car?

 

Otherwise I'm with you, haven't had my carpets in since I bought the car last year!

 

Thanks for the thoughts

 

[firstforward]

This is not going to help you much but only 2 days ago somebody posted a link to the correct sealant to use for the window mechanism. I have tried a search but cannot find it.

 

 

Found it.......... http://www.amazon.co...sxp_grid_pt_1_1

Edited by firstforward, 06 September 2013 - 10:07 AM.

[AVV IT]

As already, stated check/replace the outer door weather seals/mouldings to minimise the amount of rain water entering the door from the window above. And make sure that the drain holes in the bottom of the door are not blocked with paint, waxoyl or rust etc.https://www.minispar...|Back to search

 

It's also worth checking to see that all the bolts are actually present in your door hinges, if one of these is missing rain water can get in through the hole it leaves, from the gap between the door & A-panel. Also consider investing in a set of door card membranes, to protect the back of your doorcards and stop water from entering the car. These were actually standard on later models, but often get removed at some stage and not refitted. You can also tape up the holes in the inner door panel with duct tape as suggested above, or to be doubly sure, use both duct tape and a plastic membrane. 

http://optauto.easys...DC/MK3/A/PS/FS"

[MikeRotherham]

I'd be surprised if you couldn't reuse the sealer that is there.

I've recently removed and reapplied the sealer between the windows winder and the door.

I removed all the sealer and rolled it into a ball. If you warm it up by working it between your hands it makes it easier to reuse (reminded me of when I used to play with plasticine as a kid!).

I cleaned the door of all traces of the sealer with white spirit then washed that with water and washing up liquid.

I split the ball of sealer into 4 equal pieces, rolled out the pieces to about the length of each side of the hole in the door (just used my hands and the top of the fridge) and just reapplied using my thumbs.


Mike.

Edited by MikeRotherham, 06 September 2013 - 12:07 PM.

[reallybig]

have you had someone pour a watering can of water all over the door and windows while ur sat inside the car to see exactly where its coming from?

[sonikk4]

From what the OP has said the issue is the door skin being bowed out at the top. You can apply some gentle pressure to the skin at the top to see if you can relieve the bow but be very careful as you may press too hard and cause some more damage.

[MiniMaggs]

A lot of useful suggestions here! As far as I can see the drains are clear. The major problem is that the door is bowed so the weather strip is largely ineffective, so any water splashes its way through the door. I'll give it a go trying to force it back into shape, but I don't want to risk putting a dent into it!

 

Thanks for the suggestion Mike, I'll try and re-shape the "plasticine" this weekend and see if that gives some improvement. Those plastic membranes look like a decent investment too, if only to protect the door cards.

 

Thanks

Chris

[sonikk4]

With the bow unless it does push in the only real cure is to reskin it. I have had one dodgy bowed skin in the past that led me to use a Heritage skin although now i use pattern skins which i check before use. 

[reallybig]

i've got cellotape on the ends of my weather strip cus one seems to be too short for some reason...

[MiniMaggs]

Reshaping the sealant between the window winder and the door into a U-shape seems to have drastically improved the situation, I see far less water ingress now when pouring water in between the door. A small amount of water does make it through the various holes in the back of the door, but far less than before. Hopefully this, combined with the new weather seals I will be buying will get me through the winter without getting wet feet!

 

Chris