Water...

[leggy]

Close your eyes...
Nothing here for you to see buddy!

[Slimsladie]

When I removed the carpet from my coupe I removed the centre console then removed the ducting for the blowers then the carpet pulled out from under dash

[Flying Frank]

Originally Posted by leggy

Close your eyes...
Nothing here for you to see buddy!

Have been following this with interest of course, but am surprised that its necessary to dismantle the car to dry it out. I'm sure that half the cars that get flooded are not stripped down to this extent before being offered up for sale again. Appreciate that the damp will not be conducive to electrical contacts, but unless the water had POURED in over that dashboard area, I'd be very tempted to leave it alone. Seats, carpets and sound proofing out and that should do......

If 1781cc kept the Cabrio outside, I wonder if the water was driven in between the rear of the hardtop and the body . We get rain down here ( today in fact ) which is akin to a pressure washer at times albeit not strong enough to strip paint. A combination of wind and driving rain is almost a guarantee of getting water into an Audi....mine seems to accumulate plenty of water in the boot area, particularly under the left light unit and actually inside the boot lid. Both as a result of bad fitting seals and possibly cracks in the rear wide plastic lens across the back of the car...replacement costs of that lens are ridiculous.

Car feels dampish inside too, but as we have not had a day in the past 3 months when it hasn't rained at some time or other, I'm not too surprised. ROLL ON SUMMER !!!

[1781cc]

I'm in my third year of ownership of this car and I've been through some hairy rain in it with the hardtop on and never had this issue before, so I'm not convinced that it's something I have to live with, I don't do things by halves so if it's going to be dried out I want to do it properly so condensation and other issues are sorted, I see there being positives, I can thoroughly check through all the wiring, replace any dim bulbs in the dash and switches, shampoo the carpets, regrease the runners, clean and antibac the air system, etc

If I do eventually decide to sell I will do so knowing the car is 100% and not fudged off for someone else to deal with

The only immediate thing I can think of is he windscreen appears to be delaminating at the booth and creating that milky look, maybe the seal has split and water is seeping in?

Either way, carpet has to come out if only for peace of mind and drying it properly, then I can start identifying issues.

Maybe because mine is an auto with Vado as well, there appears to be a lot of cabling and Ecu/control boxes under there, I wish it was simpler, but I will not cut the carpet!

[1781cc]

Flying Frank, have you looked into your water issue a lot? I know you mentioned the rear lights, but I resealed them completely when I bought a new rear light panel from hella, I also fitted a new brake light and outer rear indicators from TPS

[1781cc]

wow, what a load of sh*t under the scuttle panel...







I am guessing the pollen filter hasn't ever been changed!





So I checked all the seams and it doesn't appear to suffer from any of the cracks in the welds like the S2's do, but I am guessing that the motor is somehow meant to move the flap up and down and seal it off when not in use? it looks like no controls in the car make this happen, so I am guessing that the motor is f**ked





is that right? anyone know? because if thats the case, I think thats where the water is coming in.

Secondly, should there be a cover over the pollen filter or is it purely the scuttle panel when sealed correctly so that air can get into the car?

Thanks

[vorsprung durch technik]

Originally Posted by 1781cc

wow, what a load of sh*t under the scuttle panel...


I am guessing the pollen filter hasn't ever been changed!

So I checked all the seams and it doesn't appear to suffer from any of the cracks in the welds like the S2's do, but I am guessing that the motor is somehow meant to move the flap up and down and seal it off when not in use? it looks like no controls in the car make this happen, so I am guessing that the motor is f**ked


is that right? anyone know? because if thats the case, I think thats where the water is coming in.

Secondly, should there be a cover over the pollen filter or is it purely the scuttle panel when sealed correctly so that air can get into the car?

Thanks

Yep that looks like a pollen filter that hasn't been changed in years. Mine was like that until i got round to changing mine.Noticed on mine that in heavy rain one day saw a few little drops on the carpet in the passenger front later in the same year we bought it.The carpet was only slightly damp as car had been garaged all it's life. This is another source of a water problem but you have not mentioned your front passenger well being wet?? Was it?

The reason why these leak in this area is due to people not paying due care and attention to resealing the rain scuttle cover.When your take them of they need to be resealed properly and with the correct stuff from Audi.You could use the rear lamp sealing chord Audi use,i did and carefully coat the edge of the scuttle and the edge of the tray.This sorted mine out and it's been bone dry ever since.

Have you tried to operate the motor via your with inside the car?

[1781cc]

I didn't know how to get the flap working, but thinking about it, I think its because the aircon has never been used - why would you when the roof is down? so I tried just now and the red lights for the aircon and flap both flash intermittently and nothing happens - so I guess the motor flap has seized or the zircon needs regassing.

My god, this car is now doing my head in lol

[1781cc]

afterthought: can you reseal using plumbers black silicone? that should surely make a really good water seal?

BTW, yes the front footwell is soaking as well

[leggy]

I'm assuming that your first photo is under the bonnet near front windscreen?...
The 80 models do like to store up leaves in that area, as well as where the boot joins rear windscreen; I'm forever ridding those area's of leaves at this time of year.

Re white patches on your windscreen glass...
I have those too! I was told it happens due to the seals being compromised, mostly likely due to age.
You might also want to seriously consider the risks of replacing the screen, as in, most companies will replace the glass but not the seal, as such, and whilst they do use a black silicant, there's no guarantee against leaks!
As long as the white patches are only visible from the outside and not the inside, well it's not an mot failure.
I've learnt to live with mine, and to be fair, I think you've got enough to deal with atm without giving yourself more problems.