11 replies to this topic

[Gsi_Joe]

Well the first seems to be a fair bit of corrosion on the inner sill (?)

I peeled back the rubber seal after washing the car and found some corrosion along with some resting water :'(

I did a temporary repair job by patching the holes up with sealant (the white bits in the pic).



The thing is, how should I go about stopping the water gathering at the bottom of the seal? Is the seal knackered? Does the door need to sit higher? (it seems like there's a gap at the top when its shut)

Next I found two holes in the middle of the car, both identical and seem to have been 'man-made'.
There is one on each side, towards the front of the rear footwells;



The hole is nearly half way up on the far right.
The photo was taken with the front of the car to the right, you can probably see the edge of the drivers seat...

So there's two of these holes, but i'm not sure if they should be sealed up with something, and if so, what??

And then there's the first (and more worrying) lot, would a new seal stop it gathering? I just see why it's gathering at the bottom and isnt draining away??


Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you can help me with any suggestions!

Joe

[Gsi_Joe]

Bump...

The main problem I have is the water collecting inside the seal on the doorstep, it just collects at the bottom :'(

I could get it repaired but I dont want to until I find a way of making the water 'not gather' at the bottom! It also does it on the passenger side but not to the extent at which it does on the drivers side.

Would it be possible to maybe drill some drainage holes right through the sill, then paint the insides of them with hammerite??

Would new seals be a good start? It's just that I cant see why new seals would stop the water gathering at the bottom, I really need to park my car up-side down!

Help please!

Joe

[Big_Adam]

you "shoulden't" get any water build up there. check the hole in the bottom of the door is ok. also make sure that tape on the door (under the door card) is still there. stops water trickling in.

[Gsi_Joe]

you "shoulden't" get any water build up there.

My thoughts exactly!

I've checked the drainage hole on the door and thats ok.

Is the door card fairly easy to remove/replace?

Thanks Adam!


Joe

P.S. I've got some new door seals on order so I'll fit them for a start then go from there!

[Tomf]

The door card is east to take remove, all you do is undo the handles then the card is fixed on with a sort of popper thing. these just pull out but they are not very strons so take care when doing this,

[Big_Adam]

well i was just thinking. on my el gordo the water drips in thro the top gap of the door. have a look see if its sealing right. if you look the water has a straight drop to exsactly were your problem is.

[Gsi_Joe]

well i was just thinking. on my el gordo the water drips in thro the top gap of the door. have a look see if its sealing right. if you look the water has a straight drop to exsactly were your problem is.

You might be onto something there...

...The drivers door doesnt sit flush with the rest of the car, it looks like its ever so slightly open but even if the water got to the seal, then trickled down to the bottom, surely it should then trickle off the car somehow??

[Sprocket]

Firstly the water is being held where the seal meets the body because those seals are non genuine. The genuine seals have gaps at two points along the bottom to allow water to escape.

Secondly, water should never be dripping down the inside of the door in the first place. If it is, the weather strip at the bottom of the window has had it. The plastic behind the door card prevens condensation from soaking into the cards as they are made of hard board and very absorbant.

Thirdly the holes in the floors are for the seat catch hoops, of which i cannot see min the picture. What is stopping your seats tipping up????

[Gsi_Joe]

So there should be gaps where the seal 'joins'??

And how big should the gap be?? (i'm presuming it should be at the bottom, but should it be nearer the front/back or doesnt it matter?)

I've fitted brand new seals and the water is still gathering :'( :'( :'(

I think the door is sitting slightly out of line from the bodywork, but i'm not sure how to correct it?? Can I just tighten something up (here's hoping!) or will I need to take it to a bodyshop (more likely )??


Someone suggested that I use a 'tapping hammer' and tap a small channel to allow the water to flow out and off the sill.

Does this sound like a good idea??

I was thinking along the same lines but i'd be tempted to line the channel(s) with hammerite.


Thanks in advance for any help/ideas to stop the water gathering on my beautiful Austin!

Joe


I'm not sure what stops my seats tipping up, but i'm sure something does! The frames have been welded in seperately I think...

[Sprocket]

No gap as such, but rather a notch out of the soft bulbus part of the seal. At the 'join', both ends of the seal should meet. There should already be two 'drain chanels' on the door step, these notches in the seals correspond with these chanels. Genuine seals have these notches, non genuine do not, its one of the ways in telling whether you have genuine seals or not.

Some water will still gather there due to surface tention of the water. If theres rust or bare metal, it needs sorting and sealing (painting) to prevent corrosion, thats the prime function of paint. If there is any rust or bare metal visable, its a matter of time before its rot.

Its worth noting that this water sitting there may not be the prime reason for there being rust there. A problem with the Mini ever since its conception is that the box sections of the sills rust out from the inside to out. Water trapped between the body and the seal will only agravate it further.

Also you are aware that good quality car polish acts as a barier protecting the paint, reduces the surface tention of the water as well as make the paint look shiney. Have you seen a well polished car when its wet? the water just runs off it and sits in tiny droplets rather than large pools.

[Gsi_Joe]

Ah right, well I havent noticed any notches! There are holes dotted around the soft/bulbous part of the rubber but no notches I dont think!

Am I right in thinking that there should be channels on the door-step to allow the water to flow off or have I mis-read something??

Anyway, there arent any channels on my Austin....yet:

Someone suggested that I use a 'tapping hammer' and tap a small channel to allow the water to flow out and off the sill.
I was thinking along the same lines but i'd be tempted to line the channel(s) with hammerite.

So would this be a good idea or not as I dont want to cause any further damage!

I'll be taking it to a few bodyshops on Monday to hear their opinions but i'm not sure if there are any locally that specialise in the mini...


Thanks for any ideas/advice!

Joe

[Gsi_Joe]

Bump