Water ingress around doors.

[DavidOliver]

I have stripped out the old carpet and soundproofing for a carpet renovation.
When i washed the car with a hose prior to new carpet fitting a certain amount of water ended up on the footwell
which would quickly render the new carpet smelly and useless, floorpan drain holes achieve nothing.

Water/rain running forwards down the window top H-frame goes straight into the door interior.
I have sealed this with a silicon Dam to divert the water to the outside.

The door fit to the bodywork is not a work of art, particularly the window frame, I wonder if the Excel ever went through a rainstorm test, including relevant design/sealing correction.

Will Forum followers kindly post their experiences and suggestions for Water ingress protection with a view to
maintaining new carpet newness and avoid smelly cockpits?

Dave the cog.

[rbgosling]

Clearly not a problem. https://youtu.be/uiXu7LwXRO8

[amarshall]

Standard problem areas:

* A pillar cover to windscreen - should be sealant between cover and glass.
* Aircon/heater intake plenum - drains clogged leading to build up of water which can enter via the heater.
* Aircon drain on bulkhead clogged - condensation builds up and runs out of heater duct, esp. when cornering. Often accompanied by a "rushing" noise as the water runs from one side to the other.
* Bulkhead speedo cable grommet not properly seated - water runs down the bulkhead and into the driver's footwell
* Door seals not properly fitted - they really need sealant between them and the body otherwise there's capillary action which draws water under the seals and into the carpets as it gets splashed up from the road
* Rear seat lower seat belt mounts corroded - water gets in via the bolt holes and pools under the bolsters
* Rear window adhesive/sealant hardening with age and cracking - water gets in and runs down. First sign of this is often the drooping headlining. I've found Capt. Tolley's creeping crack cure to be very effective at dealing with this problem.
* Windscreen wiper wheelbox not properly sealed - it really needs sealant under the big washer to keep water out of the hole, and there should be a rubber cover over the spindle to prevent water getting in the mechanism too.
* Door beams/frames misaligned, leaving too big a gap between door and seal.

I use a pressure washer on mine and since I dealt with all of the above, haven't had a problem. It also lives outdoors and survives snow and heavy rain.

[Phantasm]

My water ingress was at the bottom of the door seal. The water was pooling in the channel of the seal and then overflowing in to the footwell as this side was lower when the door was compressing the seal. The solution, ironically, was to cut a small portion of the seal to allow the water to drain away from the car. My issue was on the other side but I'm pointing to wear I put a small V-cut in my seal here.

[rs blu]

in my case the water came in through the inspection covers of the door. I siliconised screws and cover and the water was no longer in

[Hawaiis0]

Seal the rubber with sealant. I found water falling into the u-tube top horizontal part of the seal channels water down the vertical drop and capillary action sucks it inside