Engine compartment full of water - should it drain?

Totten · Samba Member Joined: August 10, 2007 Posts: 2

We just purchased a beautifully restored 1963 VW sedan. After its first bath we opened the engine compartment and water poured out! Apparently wash water went into the engine compartment from the top of the lid and filled up the apron area (where the latch is) The water was trapped there by the lid gasket. Should there be a drain hole somewhere? Or should we have somesort of sealing gasket all around the engine lid?

rusty57 · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:28 am Post subject:

There should be a little hole(or two) on the engine lid, at the very bottom of it. Don"t think there should be any holes on the apron itself< but i don"t know much about 63's.
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Mr. Loaf · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:53 am Post subject: Water

The lid does not have a gasket but it should have 2 or 3 holes in it along the bottom edge below the handle. There should also be a seal on the body where the engine lid closes. Look above and to the left and right of your fire wall. Do you see a pipe there on either side? It is about 2 inches long and a half inch wide. There should be a rubber hose attached to each pipe. The hoses go straight down the outside of the firewall and should come out slightly under the car. My 58 was like this and I think that yours should be too.
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bill may · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 4:15 am Post subject: Re: Water

Totten · Samba Member Joined: August 10, 2007 Posts: 2

Thanks for your replies. After reading Bill's suggestion, I called Wolfsburg West and they said that the one piece seal under the engine lid needed to be slit, just like on the front lid. We did that with a razor and all is well!!!

KTPhil · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:34 pm Post subject:

I'm wondering if earlier careless bodywork on the lid left the holes filled.

bill may · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 11:00 pm Post subject:

Fitch · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:41 am Post subject:

Sorry for asking again, but should I cut my decklid seal in the middle for the water can go down?

Because I just raised my lid and 0.5 gallons of rain water wet my shoes Confused

The rubber I have is 1 piece.
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bill may · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:23 am Post subject:

Fitch · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:43 am Post subject:

How long?
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bill may · Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 12:02 pm Post subject:

90volts · Samba Member Joined: August 10, 2005 Posts: 2637

hows the water getting in? the lid on standoffs? i have a 63 and water doesn't get in. i spray a little when washingit up at the vents above the lid, but when i open the lid right afterward to detail the engine it is now wet other than maybe a drop or two. same in the rain. open to check the oil at a gas stop and no water. maybe there is an issue where water is getting in where it should not be?

Dangermouse · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:31 pm Post subject:

<bump>

So, should my decklid have any drain holes in the bottom lip, or no?

I had some restoration work carried out recently which involved some rusty metal replacement along the bottom edge of a W lid. Got caught in a rain shower last week and when I next went to open the engine bay a good amount of water had collected in the lip along the bottom of the decklid. This is obviously not a place I'd want water pooling and I can't remember if the lid originally had any drain holes or not. I think the water entered at the top of the seal and just ran down the lip. I know the front hood has a small drain hole at the tip, should there also be one in the decklid?

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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hemifalcon · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:55 pm Post subject:

I would also not spend too much time spraying water in the vents above the decklid.. Just my .02, but how could you get so much water in there like that??
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Dangermouse · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:02 pm Post subject:

Sorry, OP is from back in 2007 - I was just trying to avoid starting a new thread for a straightforward question about decklid drainage. Presumably original poster has by now stopped filling the engine bay with water...
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AlteWagen · Troll Joined: February 23, 2007 Posts: 8702 Location: PNW

Dangermouse · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:32 pm Post subject:

In this case I'm not talking about water ingress through the vents; I have the two rubber hoses mentioned and the engine bay itself is staying dry. I'm specifically asking about the lip around the bottom of the decklid itself which seems to be retaining pooled water.

Here's a pic from before the repair work and there doesn't seem to be a drain hole even though before the repairs were effected it seemed to stay dry (although it was pretty rusty inside so water must have been collecting from somewhere). At least water didn't drip out when it was opened...

AlteWagen · Troll Joined: February 23, 2007 Posts: 8702 Location: PNW

Here is another pic of the support for an early decklid. You can see the hole and the "spout" recess at the bottom.

On the W decklid the spout pressing is covered so the hole was added but partially covered as well. You will barely see the hole when installed. They get clogged real easy. Most early lids get reworked and have bondo covering up the tiny hole and water is trapped.
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Dangermouse · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:46 pm Post subject:

Ahh, I think I see it here in this other shot of the support pre-repair.

May be the easiest solution would be to pop a small drain hole in there. I guess the purpose of the hole in the support piece is to allow drainage of any water caught behind it into the rim of the lid and out through the spout; I'll have another look and see if that hole has been retained through the repair. The spout might be more difficult to reproduce without reworking and repainting the metal which I'd rather avoid so a small hole akin to that in the front hood might have to do there.

Thanks for your help and the pics Very Happy

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62ItalianRagtop

Anyone with a picture of OG engine lid seal ?
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