MK2 Chassis Genis?! (Not your average water leak)

Right chaps, finally had to create a thread on this because I can't get my head around these leaks. I've practically looked and replaced everything that has the potential to leak and before I remove the dash and any other piece of interior in my car, I wanted to know if there was anything I'd missed.

I've got leaks in both n/s & o/s foot wells.

I'll just list what I've done so far, then at least that way if no one has any ideas, people with leaks can refer to this thread as a bit of guide of where to look for them in the future.

Sunroof well + drain holes are mint, spotless no traces of leaves, dirt - anything blocking the entrance!

Brand new scuttle/rain tray. The area underneath the scuttle/rain tray has also been cleaned and minted. The drains rid of water quickly, no blockages.

Grommets are in good condition and have been greased, especially the bonnet cable and clutch cable forget which one it was. Water trickles down the pedal if the grommets perished.

ECU has been removed and checked to see if the plate that it sits on is leaking and the sealant is well intact and isn't leaking. Checked from above and underneath!

The mesh air filter on the n/s is going to be replaced, it doesn't leak as far as I'm aware. A corner of the gasket doesn't sit properly though so considering how cheap it is, I'll replace it.

Finally, most common source of leaks... both door membranes have been replaced with PVC and are sealed completely with Wurth windscreen sealant. (Anyone had any problems with them inflating whilst driving due to a difference in cabin pressure?)

No interior in my car what-so-ever, except the dash. Last Saturday I got my girlfriend to stand and soak the windscreen and bonnet of the car for about 30-40 minutes whilst I lay on the floor of the car with a torch looking to see where it was coming in.

Passenger side did not leak AT ALL.
Driver's side se-eped in and weirdly so. Above the fusebox - directly, there is a plastic nut which holds the fusebox up. Looked a bit rusty, so removed it along with the second one and pulled the fusebox down. Where the nut went, slightly above it is a weld where the water seemed to be ever so slowly seeping in?!
I can't actually figure out in my head how the hell water is getting in there apart from thru the windscreen. I have a rust spot at the very bottom of the windscreen but water runs down over it and the rust hasn't gone right thru so I still can't see how it's getting in?

Anyway, I put **** loads of dum-dum over the weld and it seemed to stop leaking. Come Monday, it absolutely hammered it down for about half a day. And guess what?! Both sides are leaking again!

This car is turning into a true nightmare, I really don't want to get to a stage where the dashboard has to come out because believe it or not this is my 'mint' daily. Alternatively if I can't find the problem over the next course of a week or so I'll bite the bullet and take it to a body shop for them to take apart, examine and seal the leak! I've got no ideas left but the windscreen seal?

Cheers for your time

 

Heater matrix leaking?
Do the windows mist up when driving?

 

is it rain water or smell of coolant?
prob the windscreen seal?
does it only leak in very heavy rain...

 

easier to take the windscreen out than the dashboard. I'm guessing that if you can see rust on the outside then there's more hidden under the seal. Mine was a lot worse than expected when I replaced the screen last year, lots of missing metal!!

that said, even though I had lots of missing metal there was no leak (that I noticed anyway)

I had sopping carpets earlier this summer (what summer?) and this was traced to door membranes which I repaired with silicone (I know you've replaced all this already)

 

Its not the heater matrix.
Leaks a lot more in heavy rain, in mild rain it sometimes does, sometimes doesn't.

When I did the door membranes I used enough sealant so that water did not pool in the plastic and sit there around the entire door. I'll check the drain holes, but I'm 99% sure the water isn't leaking there as I can see the water dripping from behind the dash somewhere, just unsure where exactly.

I'm going to ram some wire down all of the drain holes tomorrow and make sure there completely free of crap, although the water flows freely enough out of them already... It could of rusted internally at some point?

How hard are windscreens to get out? Don't deal with them at work, so might have to get someone in?

 

I used to wonder why mine leaked lol

It shore dont leak now lol


Good look sortin it if that is your problem its a cnt

 

Mines not quite as bad as that, do you have any pictures of directly below the bottom of the screen?

I'm pretty sure it is the screen now, if not the screen could possibly be the wiper arm grommets!? Looking at that picture it looks directly above where I'm suspecting the leaks coming in... besides everything else has been ruled out!! I'll book it into the body shop and have the rust repaired and order a new seal at the end of the month, also got a crack in the screen I might as well have repaired.

Hopefully it cures the problem, will update the thread in a week or so either way.

Cheers for help chaps

 

When I rebuilt my car last year I had massive holes at the bottom of the A pillars which were letting the water in round the fuse box area. Difficult fix though as screen and dash have to come out as well front wings off. Hope it is not that.

 

are you alowing the heater to heat up and finding the water sqirting at pressure from tiny pin sized holes in th matrix. if yous didn't get called in for a recall back in the 80's and have the bypass valve put on the heater hoses (engine side) it's very common

 

After some digging it's 90% concluded now. The rust spots that are at the bottom of my windshield seem to be the cause. Somehow water is managing to find away through, as it seems the rust on the bottom of the windshield is lifting the seal up enough, to no longer seal anymore.

I've also found more rust underneath, hard to describe but with the help of a camera phone and removing the ECU I could see that rust has started to form in the top corner of the bulkhead within the scuttle tray.

Picture below for reference:

(Bonnet hinge in the corner, wiper arm in centre. Picture is taken on the o/s to give you an idea.)

Went to a bunch of body shops today and got advice and things to do to help it etc etc. Quotes were all over the place as per usual, and not knowing the exact depth of the damage but the prices weren't excessively bad to what I thought they would be (even to the guy that suggested me having an entire new bulkhead and scuttle panel)?!

If there are any body shops/people that anyone knows of that would undertake this type of work with reasonable cost and knowledge & ability to do it properly please, please don't hesitate to contact me or leave details. I want as many quotes and recommendations as possible!

Cheers

 

have a look @ night, 1 person under the dash inside whole anothe outsid/under bonnet with bright light, if theres any obvious holes you will see straight away & this is how I found mine in this thread http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116464

 

on my golf when you took the front o/s/f wing off where there top part of the wing meets the bottom on the window are the pipe comes down from the sun roof and you have 2 clean it up very good but there is somethimes a very little rust hole there mine use to have it so got it welded and not leaked agaion if you would like a picture of it i will send you one bud

 

Martin could you send me that picture please? I've PMed you also.

Right, just a little update really. All the rust holes around the windscreen have been sorted completely. Been in the body shop and it's all been patched up, looks mint as well.

HOWEVER... Driving home, absolutely hammering down, there it is.. another pool of water on the passenger side. Took it to my work and gave the car a blast with the jet wash and couldn't get it to reproduce, instead got a trickle down the drivers side. Just getting to point of saying **** it now and just putting everything back in as I can't for the life of me think what else there is left to do!!!!!! [:^(]

Back to the bodyshop...

 

Its leaking, dribbling down the side of the dash. Infront of the blower fan, and after the door. On both sides. Just cannot pinpoint a location. Looks like a dash out job tbh... Really really stressful!!

 

ive just noticed my carpets and deadening underneath are soaking , front and rear passenger side.. not tried drivers yet will later

my dash is currently out ... and i swapped carpets from grey to black 2 years ago

i spose doorcards are best place to start .... hope i dont have same elusive prob as
classy6