Volkswagen Golf II (1983 - 1992) - 90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

Sat 6 Sep 2008 02:11

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - franco

I am getting very wet carpets in the driver's side footwell, which leaves the carpet wet back to the rear passengers seat. The drivers door is letting water in because the internal (cardboard type) door panel gets wet at the bottom.

The problem I have is that I think I might have two seperate points where water is getting in because I cannot see how it gets from the inside of the door down to the carpet, despite sitting in the car when it's raining and looking for leaks.

The door seems to have had a knock at some point so the rubber fitting between the outside of the window and the door, does not sit flush against the window. But I thought there should be a seal inside of the door in any case so that any water getting into the door would not reach the interior panel of the door. This does not seem to be happening.

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Sat 6 Sep 2008 09:00

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - cheddar

Mk II Golfs are notorious for this, we had a '90 1.8 GL and I changed at least two of the door diaphragms. On the golf this is a polythene sheet between the door and the inner door trim and it stops water that gets into the door past the window seal from getting into the car, instead it is supposed to drain out of holes in the bottom of the door.

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Sat 6 Sep 2008 14:42

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - franco

Cheers for that cheddar. I don't think I have that part. I removed the panel to replace the window winding mechanism a while back, and I don't recall there being any polythene sheet.

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Sat 6 Sep 2008 15:17

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - Victorbox

The sort of clear plastic liner Cheddar mentions is shown here. I know it's a Cavalier and not a Golf but it will be similar. Scroll down through photos.

www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=124648

I think I read somewhere that garden centres are a good place for buying the clear plastic sheet you need to make a new one. Poke out the drain holes at the bottom of each door as well to check they are clear of debris.

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Mon 15 Sep 2008 02:04

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - franco

Do you guys know what is best to stick the plastic with. I tried using a frame sealant that was lying around the house because it would be waterproof, but it doesn't seem to be setting too well. Would the "Hard as Nails" outdoor stuff act as a glue and waterproof sealant at the same time?

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Mon 15 Sep 2008 07:31

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - Dave_TD

Some sort of silicone sealant should do the trick, but it would be best to let it cure for 24-48 hours to be really sure. Good quality double sided trim tape would probably do as well, as long as you were careful not to leave any gaps especially at the top of the door.

Personally I'd use duct tape, but then I use that for just about everything ;-)

Edited by Webmaster on 21/09/2008 at 13:34

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Mon 15 Sep 2008 14:20

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - VR6

When mine went on my MK2 Golf, I stuck it all down with some special tape I got from Halfords. Same size as parcel tape, but it was translucent green - special bit was that it would stay stuck at temperature extremes and it was waterproof. Seemd to work quite well.

I've used duct tape in the car before on other things, and it seems to perish after a year.

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Mon 15 Sep 2008 16:32

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - franco

I've let it cure for about 4 days, but it is not setting hard yet, but then I did use some kind of a frame sealant, and I left the windows shut for the first two days. It had no chance of setting with the car being damp. I'll try duct tape as a second layer if this does set. If not I'll find another sealant to use.

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Mon 15 Sep 2008 20:13

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - steveo3002

id scrub it all off and try again

duct tape works very if you clean the metalwork well and remove all the clips...it needs to be a very neat and tidy job for it to seal well

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Tue 16 Sep 2008 15:04

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - franco

That's right Steve, those clips do get in the way. Actually it had started to set solid, but not everywhere. The worst thing was I left my window open a little bit to allow air in to help it set, and it seems like some toe rag had a go at forcing the window down because there is now some slack when I am winding the window up. I will have to take the plastic off to get access to the window. One thing after another. Rant finished.

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Fri 19 Sep 2008 00:33

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - vulcan bomber

The best stuff to use for your "Home made" door foil is spray glue. You can get it from B&Q is mostly used for sticking carpet down. If you use the moisture guard from lamiate flooring, that is the sheeting that goes between concrete floor and the insulation, you will get a awsum water tight finish. Let the glue set for a minute or so, that way it doesn't fall of, you then just cut to shape with a sharp stan knife. Easy, proper Job!!!!

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Sat 20 Dec 2008 20:21

90 1.3 flooding in door and footwell - Lickydog

Another possible ingress point is from the top of the engine bay - I had a couple of floodings due to leaf litter blocking the scutcheon drain points (under the top corners of the bonnet) - the whole area was filled with water, and as the water level rose, it leaked into the car passenger compartment... make sure that it drains OK when filled from a hose. I had to jet these clear (at the front corners)

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