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UPDATE 31st Dec 2012
I thought it was worth updating this for anyone who comes across a MKII focus which leaks. I understand 2006-08 models are known for a few having problems - though they remain, on whole, leak free. In spite of owning a lemon, I am still considering buying another Focus!
Anyway, shortly after my OP back in 2009, a local independent found that the *rear light cluster fixings* were letting in a surprising amount of water into the rear passenger footwell. Proper puddles, not just a bit of moisture. They fixed the problem and charged a very nominal fee which proved their worth as one of HJ's Good Garages (Witmun Engineering).
After that, the entire floorpan of my car was of course sopping wet and would, in time, turn unsavoury and possibly foster a variety of yellow and orange mushrooms. A call to my insurer with the red telephone culminated in their being prepared to sort it out in spite of this not being covered. Goodwill if you like, for which I was grateful.
The car was then in an insurance repair centre for one month which cost me about £1000 in car hire and alternative arrangements. To say I felt sorry for myself would be an understatement; it depressed me greatly.
When I eventually got the car back, it was poorly repaired but dry, and remained so for about 18 months.
Then, recently, a series of occasions on which my alarm would sound when it rained alerted me to the fact that the leak had returned. I ignored it, switched off the alarm every time I parked up and tried not to think about it for my sanity.
Then, Christmas morning 2012, the Focus Rains returned in earnest. I drove to my nearby destination surrounded by pools of water, being dripped on and drank lots of red wine as quickly as possible to rekindle the badly flagging Chritmas spirit. I didn't feel very festive that day.
Between Christmas/New Year I comandeered my parents' garage and set to work to sort the problem once and for all and dry out the insulation somehow.
What I found out was the following:
For years, possibly from new, the windscreen seal on the *driver's side* at the top corner had a gap in the sealant. Only as the exterior screen seal (which rests against the paint right at the top of the w'screen) let in tiny bits of silt and gunk, water then seeped down through the gap in the seal. But it didn't settle on the drivers side - and it never did. Due to how I have to park at home, water was entering there, running along the inside of the roof lining, and down the other side of the car, eventually settling in the rear footwell, at the opposite end of the car.
I rang a small independent windscreen guy on 27th Dec, who, understandably, didn't want to come out if he could help it, as he was in the bosom of family and children, poor chap. He kindly took 20 minutes to explain what I need do to seal the gap. He even told me how to remove bits of the inside of my car to access the point more easily. I thanked him profusely for being so kind and set to work sealing the gap which was very awkward and unsuccessful the first time as I'd not dried the area well enough. Eventually I emptied a small tube of expensive sealant into a cavity which didn't seem to fill at first and felt that it should do the trick, though I was never confident I could fix it myself.
A test a few hours later confirmed that water was not ingressing there any more so I began to dry out the interior. To do this, I removed the front passenger seat from its mountings (but didn't remove the airbag gubbins for fear of needing factory resets etc) and propped open the little hole which the heater uses with a screwdriver and directed a fan heater into the damp darkness for four and a half days or about 100 hours. Dad on the heavy power use: "You've always cost me a fortune son".
As a "belt and braces" job, I ordered a new scuttle panel and paid some attention to the drainage at the front of the car, using wire to clear a blockage on the driver side engine bay, also used sealant to ensure the gap immediately above the rear boot hinges was closed, removed the spolier and sealed the screw holes, other points of ingress I've found in various corneres of the internet.
Today is the first big test and just a few minutes ago, after an afternoon of heavy rain, the usual puddle is absent about which I am mildly ecstatic.
I love my Focus as have been looking at newer cars as a means of closure on this unhappy experience, but now it seems to be OK, I find myself surprised at how uneasy I am at the thought of getting rid of it.
A big thanks to those above who tried to help with my problem and to the HJ site which has proved invaluable as a reference tool. Hopefully this rather wordy write-up might help a poor soul in a similar situation.
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