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Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:43 pm

I just went through the car wash. The usual catching water through the skylight happened.

But this time, it also was leaking under the passenger seat. Has this happened to anyone else?

Fri Sep 13, 2013 3:25 pm

Yes, mine ended up being the antenna base leaking. Other possibilities include, window seal, wiper posts, and bad seam sealer.

Might need time to do some testing with the garden hose. :D

Edit: I see that's your passenger side. Is that coolant? If its coolant you have a leak near your heater core, maybe at your heater valve.

Fri Sep 13, 2013 5:26 pm

lol never had that one before. I had the rear hatch seal (profusely), the skylight, passenger and driver front windows and the sliding windows (usually not closed :oops: ). Once I had the bra ripped off the front. So guess what? Now I avoid automatic car wash and use a hand held pressure gun followed by a hand wipe dry.

Fri Sep 13, 2013 5:45 pm

I wouldn't dare take my VW through a car wash.

Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:04 pm

I have gotten pretty good at just using the coin operated pressure wash by hand to wash the van; an auto wash really brings to light many areas of prone leaking.

Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:09 am

if it is water my bet is that the water is getting through the wiper arm pivot - where else could it be from at that location?

Are you sure it's not coolant?

Sat Feb 08, 2014 2:35 pm

I have a leak, or ten!

I went through the car wash, the gas attendant filled it up and I warned him it burped, but he did not listen, so when he spilled gas all over the ground I complained and he gave me a free car wash. Did you guys know they cost $13!?? Wow, forget that on a regular basis! At any rate, I had to get the salt off and what's that stuff on the road that leaves white lines (2-6 parallel in a row) called, either way it needed off too? One person said it was brine (salt water) and someone else said it was Magnesium something.

At any rate, there was water drops all over both roll up windows (driver and passenger side), all over all four corners of the skylight. Nothing I saw on the floor or anywhere else. If there are other problem spots, LMK, will go check them too. Someone said the back window, will check in a minute.

Is that just b/c of the pressure of the car wash, or is it indicative or a problem to be? I saw one drop of water come from my skylight last summer, but nothing else otherwise, so I didn't put it at the top of my "to do" list, perhaps I should have!

I'm not sure I'd do it again, the blower thing bent my windshield washer arm downwards (onto the vehicle), I'm sure you can only get away with that so many times before it breaks and then costs $$$$.

tam

Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:30 pm

I was an autoglass technician for 25 years. I spent a lot of time diagnosing and repairing leaks in Vanagons in my early years at the local VW dealership. I have found some of the most common points of intrusion in a structurally sound van were the wiper pivot post seal, the top corners of the windshield seal (body side), the rear hatch wire housing, and the rear hatch hinges (usually after door replacement). In sustained rainfall the side and rear windows would also leech water up and over the pinchwelds. oddly the urethane VW used in later vanagons was not to seal the gaskets but, rather to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for windshield retention and to meet roof crush standards. a few vanagon windshields I have replaced actually had water trapped between the body and the gasket I am no longer an autoglass tech. Now as a westy owner I can relive those days whenever there is a heavy downpour.
Brad