TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Dec 13, 2003 8:01 pm

I'm having a hell of a time locating the source of a leak in my daily driver '68 Bug. I'm ending up with standing water on the floor, in front of the battery and kick panel under the back seat. I can find no holes but all I know is the floor is slightly moist up front and gets more so as you go closer to the back seat. I'm thinking it's leaking in from the front somewhere and settling in the back, but I can't figure out where it could be coming from up front.
Anyone else have any ideas of stuff to look for?

Sat Dec 13, 2003 8:51 pm

As an experienced person in finding and repairing water leaks in all cars, first you need to determine if it is entering from above or below. Remove the floor covering to start. Does it leak whith the car sitting or only when driving? If it only leaks when sitting, use a shower head on a hose to gently rain on it (tell your neighbors you hope it will grow into something bigger if you water it). Check it every 10 to 15 minutes until you see where it is entering. Then do what you need to seal it. Then test again for several hours checking it ever 10 to 15 minutes. You may need to seal more leaks. This could take most of a day or be done in an hour or so.

If it only enters when driving you need to do the same test from under the car, but you can use more water pressure, like it sprays up from the tires and road. I have found that beetles most often leak from uner. Sometimes there is a small gap in the front or rear corner of the body/pan seal. A little butyl caulk will seal it. The other common place is for a leak into the underside of the rocker and then into the car from the seam between the bottom and side of the rocker. If you take the carpet off the inside of the rocker you would be able to see it come in here.

I hope this helps. Be sure to get it dry and keep it that way so the pan does not rust out. Good Luck :!:

Sun Dec 14, 2003 8:03 pm

Yes, start from the top and work your way down. Sounds like a window seal is failing. Just as a side comment, check out cars with the fancy high dollar paint jobs at the local shows. Then, look at the dried, cracked, and rotted rubber the cheap owner wouldn't replace. :-k

Sun Dec 14, 2003 8:55 pm

:idea: After many years working on VW's you can come across some strange things. If none of the above mentioned ideas find the problem and you find no leaks from the front nor the rear, look at the door seal and . Also check the window scraper to see if it is good condition. Your leak could be coming in from the inside of the door. The vapor liner( the plastic sheeting inside the door)could be missing or torn. If this is the case it would explain wetness in the middle by the battery area and not in the front. I hope this helps good luck. P.s. after you remove the door panel you may find signs of water tracks.

Mon Dec 15, 2003 10:36 am

Get a 1" plastic putty knife or similar tool to peel back the rubber on your side and rear window seals. Do not use a tool that will scratch the paint. Use a mag lite or similar strong flashlight to "peek" under the rubber on the window seals, especially at the corners. If you see any rust under there you are in trouble. If the rubber looks too dried up to peel back or disintegrates when you peel it back, then you found the problem. If the rust is bad you will find cancer holes in the sill under the seal and the water is running down the sides of the car to the floor.

If you find evidence of rust under the window rubber, probably best to leave things as they are until the dry season and you have enough $ to make a proper repair which will involve welding work if you have holes in the window sill.

Mon Dec 15, 2003 4:29 pm

A failing hood seal will allow water in at the corners of the cowl. This runs down inside the A pillar where it either leaks out into the interior at the bottom of the A pillar and/or it runs down inside the heater channel. Water inside the heater channel also often ends up partially inside the car because it oozes out at the spot-welded joint where the heater channel bottom plate is attached to the upper section of the heater channel.

It's wet behind the back seat because that's the low point. I don't think it means anything if the front carpets are wet too.

Check your hood seal, especially in the corners. Put a towel at the upper end of each A pillar under the hood where the defroster tubes go down. Nail the front of the car with the garden hose and look to see what happens.

Mon Dec 15, 2003 9:43 pm

Major Woody wrote: A failing hood seal will allow water in at the corners of the cowl. This runs down inside the A pillar where it either leaks out into the interior at the bottom of the A pillar and/or it runs down inside the heater channel. Water inside the heater channel also often ends up partially inside the car because it oozes out at the spot-welded joint where the heater channel bottom plate is attached to the upper section of the heater channel.

It's wet behind the back seat because that's the low point. I don't think it means anything if the front carpets are wet too.

Check your hood seal, especially in the corners. Put a towel at the upper end of each A pillar under the hood where the defroster tubes go down. Nail the front of the car with the garden hose and look to see what happens.

If this is the case, then this is a big part of my problem as I have no hood seal at the moment. I was thinking of replacing the former seal with the MexiBeetle style one, that clamps on the hood, rather than my quite rusty and disheveled clamping strip. I will look into this. Thanks everyone for all the help!

Tue Dec 16, 2003 11:32 am

Bingo! Ten points for Major Woody :P

Tue Dec 16, 2003 8:45 pm

Just as an update, I discovered the chief cause of my leaking tonight...the fresh air box under the hood was lacking any type of draining hose at the end of the drain pipe, so the water was running inside the car through the firewall...both sides of the floor were getting wet, as the water was split in direction by the tunnel, it's just that the car is usually parked with a bias towards the passenger side, so the water was settling primarily on that side. I've got a temporary plastic hose plumbed in so the interior is remaining high and dry!