Water Leaks -- How to Find and Fix

Hello Jetta owners,
I own a '99 VW New Jetta and have been frustrated the last month about a passenger side leak. It's already been determined that the leak has NOTHING to do with the windshield or windows. 4 mechanics have looked at the car to no avail.
Everytime it rains, i get about 3 inches of water on my passenger side. Not only does it stink, but I cannot figure out where it's coming from! Someone suggested it was coming through the speaker. is that possible? It's not coming from the front of the car, but somewhere on the side. No mechanic within 30 miles of San Francisco has been able to help me.
CAn you???? I'm tired of having a pool of rain water in my car!
Thank you! Julie
See Also: How to Find Water Leaks in Your Vehicle
I own a '99 VW New Jetta and have been frustrated the last month about a passenger side leak. It's already been determined that the leak has NOTHING to do with the windshield or windows. 4 mechanics have looked at the car to no avail.
Everytime it rains, i get about 3 inches of water on my passenger side. Not only does it stink, but I cannot figure out where it's coming from! Someone suggested it was coming through the speaker. is that possible? It's not coming from the front of the car, but somewhere on the side. No mechanic within 30 miles of San Francisco has been able to help me.
CAn you???? I'm tired of having a pool of rain water in my car!
Thank you! Julie
See Also: How to Find Water Leaks in Your Vehicle
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I'm going to change the title of this topic to "Water Leaks" and e-mail you so you can find your topic again.
But as to the cause, I can think of two things:
1. Does your car have a sunroof? If so, you may have a plugged sunroof drain.
2. Has any warranty work been done to that passenger door, like window regulator, etc. If so, there is a moisture barrier (plastic shield) and sometimes mechanics, in their rush, will tear it or forget to replace it. This moisture shield will sometimes re-direct water leaking past the window "squeegee" (rubber strip at the bottom of the window) into the door drains. If there is no moisture barrier, the water leaking past the squeegee will drip into the car instead.
Fixes:
1. Push sunroof all the way back. Using gentle air pressure, blow into front sunroof drain (there are usually two, front and back). Then pour a small amount of water into sunroof channel. Water should be seen draining somewhere in back of front tire. If no water is draining, and you can't unplug the drain by air pressure, you may have to dig into the headliner or window trim to get at the channel. There is usually a small section of rubber hose that can be cleaned.
2. Obviously replace the moisture barrier and the window squeegee.
Host
The water is leaking in a few areas. the first is where the fan is at your feet (know I no why my fan onley works on high) I do not have a sunroof and am pretty sure it is not leaking from the door. it is leaking up high, I have \had a knew winsheild put in 1-2 years ago And I think it was leaking a little before then, anyways it started to rain last night and when I went out to check this morning their was a 1"-2" puddle. when I drove to work it stopped leaking.
Help.
You can test this by pouring a cupful of water into the fresh air cowl and see if it drains out behind the front wheel. If you don't see the water going anywhere, you are plugged up for sure.
Passanger side leak. All drains seem to be clear, but I suspect the fresh air intake vent drain is partly stopped up. Water poured thru exterior intake vent will drain under car, but the soft rubber parts covering parts behind interior vent and under under dash become wet. I see no way to approach intake vent drain drain from the top.
Any suggestions?
What happens is that the "box" or compartment under the fresh air cowl eventually fills up with water and then leaks through plugs or holes that were never designed to keep water out.
It is well under the part of the hood that does not lift and there is very little clearence. I did caulk around the front of the joint that appeared to not be well sealed.
(At one time, for birthday, Christmas, etc my wife bought me several things she thought I needed. A several hundred dollar scope that I never used and sold for $50 in a garage sale {who needs one, just put new plugs and wires on, don't 'test' them} High voltage and non-distributer cars don't need such things anyway.).
The tool is a sonic tester to find leaks. It has a small box, which is an 'emitter'. (You can't hear the emitter at all. Dog and cats sure can.) You can put this inside a car near where you think it leaks. Then there is a large detector box, with meter and buzzer and long tube to use as a noise 'sniffer'. You go ourside the car and move the tube around until it registers on the meter.
It actually works very well. A friend used it to find a leak in a Suburban rear door. I used it to verify missing sealing in a windshield (I could actually feel cold air coming in there.)
It's just - how often do you really need to use one of these things.....
A large body shop might have one of these. Mine came from Sears, years ago when they carried more tools than they do now....
Oh, yes, this thing can also find vacumn leaks. A vacumn leak will produce an untrasonic sound, which is what the detector is listening for. It works very well for this also. You have to get right down on the connections, but if one is leaking, this thing will tell you about it. A carborated motor will set it off anywhere near the open intake. It will also tell you how bad the throttle rods are leaking. I've never used it around a fuel injected car, I need to play around and do this.....
I own a 2001 Chrysler Neon and have noticed that water is leaking into the back passenger floor space on both sides. I can't figure out how it is getting in. My vehicle does have a sun roof, but it isn't wet at all around that area. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where it could be getting in?
If you can see the water draining out the bottom of the car as you pour it in (a small amount please) through the air intake, then you have to look at the windshield gasket probably.
If you suspect a bad windshield gasket, one quick and easy fix might be to use a LATEX based black-colored sealer that is used in a caulking gun to seal windows, etc on houses. This must be LATEX based and you just wipe it on with your finger and clean the excess with a wet rag. Be sure to get the sealer up under the gasket if you can do this. Of course, this is done from OUTSIDE the car.
Last of all, sunroof drains can clog and water will leak from the A-pillar.
I have had a problem for years with water entering into the trunk and spare wheel well, and will try siliconing the rear tail lights. Any direcion or help would be greatly appreciated!
-Eric
Unplugging a sunroof drain can be trickly. You don't necessary want to be poking something down there, as you might dislodge the rubber hose that is embedded somewhere in the car's interior roof. Compressed air is best.
Any ideas?? Please help maintain a otherwise immaculate car.
Also, have you checked to see that the drains under the door itself are not clogged?
Peel the seal up along its entire length. If you find even a small place without adhesive, reglue it there.
My own personal experience working on cars for many years that it is 80% the tail light lens gaskets and 20% the trunk seal...sometimes the trunk seal can look fine but is too compressed to work properly anymore.
Point of entry would be the tip off. If it's the tail light lens gaskets you will of course get water right under the lens body on one or both sides.
Water can run left or right or seep into carpeting, so what you feel as wet may not be the point of entry.
Back passenger floor leaks can be sunroof drains or door drains.
What happens is that organic matter (leaves, debris, whatever) gets down in there and decomposed over time, forming a kind of glop that plugs the drain.
Now you are SURE the water is not anti-freeze?
Bill
If you try to unplug them BE CAREFUL how you do this---if you run a wire down there you could dislodge the rubber hosing in the A pillar and then you REALLY have a problem. So try compressed air if you can buy a can of it somewhere or blow through a soda straw. That might work or at least give you a red face.
:confuse:
Carpet getting wet in passenger well, water dripping from the screws around the heater blower engine. Have now taken out both seats and carpet to determine where the leaking comes from, but with no luck. Seems also to be comming water from the B-pillars (Maby from window or rails on the roof?) I don't think it's the sealing in the doors, it's not comming from there.
Anyone having a maintenance manual for 1997 Tahoe, showing the ventilation-system? Thinking it maby be a leak where the fresh air enters.. a broken gasket.. leaky seal.. ?
If there are anyone that has experienced similar problems, please contact me at: [email protected]
Since your car is wet anyhow, you can test this by pouring a small amount of water into those vents and seeing if they drain out behind the front wheels...maybe a coffee cup full at most. Of course if the drains are plugged on both sides, this water may go into your car.
What happens is that the compartment under your wipers fills up and up, since the drains are clogged, and eventually, like a kitchen sink, is going to overflow through wiring holes or cable holes in the firewall.
Very annoying when there is no ashtray and I smoke.
I know quit smoking, Right?
I will as soon as I figure out this damn leak...
Thanks
You have a very sweet case for Small Claims Court on this one, if indeed that's what they are claiming....."wear and tear" on a sheet of plastic glued to a door, with an upholstery panel on top of that, that they recently removed.
Yeah, right.
I haven't heard their side of the story, but I'd love to. :P