leak in coupe

[slacky]

ok i've discovered a leak in my coupe and this is where it starts coming into the car, anyone got any ideas of where it might be coming from,before i start tearing the dashboard out??
cheers everyone

[Isimmo]

Could be...

Windscreen Rubber or corrosion around thereof
Sunroof Drain (if sunroof fitted)
Rust holes in A pillar door post.

[baron2211]

I'll second the above, worth checking drain holes for the area behind the firewall aren't blocked though.

[slacky]

cheers lads, it hasn't got a sunroof, so that ones out ,
however there is a little corrosion at the bottom of the windscreen, i'll check that out

and sorry for my naiveness where will i find the "drain holes for the area behind the firewall"

thanks again ,picture of corrosion at the bottom of windscreen

[baron2211]

the area behind the fire wall is where all the leaves and nasty things collect. I think from memory that the heater in the centre is higher than the edges with the fuse box to the car's left and the clutch resevoir to the car's left. the drains will probably be to the front of this area in the corners. If I'm wrong and the heater motor is lower, then the drains wil be in the centre, again towards the front. This area will have some brittle black plastic cover over most of it.

[Isimmo]

On Slacky's car, there will be the fuse box on the cars left, the car has a cable clutch, so no clutch res on the right... Heater intake in the centre, scuttle drains will be next to fuse box and mirror image on opposite side... Just check they are clear of leaves as 'le-Baron' says...

PS - It's coming through the windscreen seal and the rust patch at the bottom of the windscreen...

Best thing in the short term (and the purists will kill me), is to pump the area around the rust with a Silicone Sealant (like used for double glazing), this will prevent further water ingress, but come the spring/summer, you'll really need to get the screen out and have a pro look at it... It'll only rot more if you don't.

VBR
Ian

[ZermattGT]

Slacky,

I had a similar leak. The source was in the back edge of the from wheel arch. Apparently the seam sealer was marginal on that side and salty water was being thrown at the joint area between the wheel arch, foot well and firewall. These 3 come together and have a passage through them so water from the hood vents can drain down into the wheel well. I had to pull back as much of the carpet as I could without removing the dash or electronc bits, sandblast the rusted area, then weld a plate in. (Beware of fires) After that I filled the juction with tons of new seam sealer from the outside and down around the drain from above. The drain sucked, because you need to leave a passage clear, and its hard to see and to reach. made a extension hose for the caulking gun, and placed a piece of clear rubber/vinyl tubing into the juction to fill around the outside with caulking. Hateful job, but it no lonGer leaks, and drains properly.

Hope yours is simpler m8.

Here's an inside shot of the rusted "slice" from in the footwell.

[slacky]

cheers for replies guys!,
looks like i'll have to start doing some work, my immediate guess is the windscreen, as i'm pretty sure the drain holes are clear in the engine bay/firewall
i'll let you know how i get on...........

[Alfashark]

Mine had exactly the same problem... Pulled the screen out and there was a whole lot of rust in there!
Nothing about 3hrs with a grinder and a welder couldn't fix though

There were the obvious signs that all was not well on the drivers side, just like yours (leak + visible corrosion/bubbling) but it was the passenger side that had the worst rot... No external signs of anything amiss, so when you pull the screen out, have a bloody good look and poke around in the base of the pillar

[BIGGYIN]

My passenger side formed a bubble(common fault on q90,s),now there,s a crack.When weather gets warmer,I,ll have to go down to unit and sort it out.The thing is,you don,t know what will surprise you underneath??