wet feet after replacing headlight assembly?

phalteman · Post by **phalteman** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:10 pm

Hi there,

I am the fairly new owner of a Starwagon, but have an "interesting" new problem to try to solve. I'm hoping perhaps someone here can help?

I recently (Thursday evening) replaced my passenger side headlight assembly*. Everything went well, and it was an easy swap. However, yesterday (Sunday) I went out to the van to do a couple other things, and found that the passenger side floor was soaked. Wet enough that when I opened the door, I had water dribbling out the door and into the street. We got some rain in my area on Friday night, but not that much. The previous owner said that she had never had leaking or moisture problems.

So I guess my question is two-fold: First, did I do something in swapping out the headlight assembly to cause this, or is it more likely that this was just going undetected until now? And second, either way, how do I find where the leak is coming from and stop it?

Thanks for any thoughts/help!

* - in case it helps: I replaced the headlight assembly on that side because it had cracked and had a lot of moisture in it (all before I bought it). When I took the old one out, it had a lot of caulking around the edge, I assumed to try to keep more moisture out of the headlight itself. The new one had no caulking, obviously, which maybe contributed to the ease of water getting into the front?

lrp374 · Post by **lrp374** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:07 pm

This is likely a good place to start

viewforum.php?f=99

phalteman · Post by **phalteman** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 8:03 pm

Thanks for that post - hadn't found that one. Poor searching skills I guess.

But I'm still curious about whether it might be connected to the headlight replacement. I didn't see anything in that other post that seemed like an obvious culprit, but the timing is too suspicious.

Thanks!

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:10 pm

The only thing I can think of that you might have disturbed is the fresh air intake, which is behind the passenger side headlamp.

...unless you did something unusual when changing the headlamp. The usual way is: 3 philips screws (one on the side behind the cornering lamp, two under the headlamp/above the bumper), remove cornering lamp and lower surround, three 10mm bolts (two on the side, one underneath), extract headlamp assembly, unplug connector.

I guess it *might* have been leaking all along and you just never noticed till now, but when mine was leaking it smelled musty all the time, and steamed up pretty badly when the heater was on. The floor under the carpet also had rust stains- it was pretty obvious it was leaking, though it never got to the stage where water was dribbling out the door!

Morgonzo · Post by **Morgonzo** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:14 pm

I've recently run into the Wet Foot syndrome. I lifted my carpet and found this....

: IMG_2719.JPG (126.69 KiB) Viewed 8222 times

: IMG_2720.JPG (124.33 KiB) Viewed 8222 times

: IMG_2721.JPG (132.54 KiB) Viewed 8222 times

When I get my cast off (two more weeks

) I'm taking off the quarter panels to check the seam that likes to leak. I hadn't thought of the headlights as being the source of the leak.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:53 pm

That's been leaking for a while. Gross. The headlamps aren't usually a source of leaks as they're entirely outside of the body. The only hole through the body is where the wires pass through, and that's fairly well shielded from rain runoff.

Still, if you find a new leak let us know about it and I'll update the "places things leak" post

Morgonzo · Post by **Morgonzo** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 5:07 pm

'That's been leaking for a while. Gross." Thats what I said when i saw it.

I guess the question is do you replace those rusted parts (which seems to involve taking out the steering assembly, or PORing the parts in place?

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:23 pm

Morgonzo wrote:'That's been leaking for a while. Gross." Thats what I said when i saw it.

Your restraint is commendable: I would have said something far more colourful.

I would get in there with a selection of wire brushes and clean as much up as possible, scrub down with simple green and rinse well. As long as nothing has actually rusted through, I would then prime with Brunox (or similar epoxy-based rust converter), then paint with POR15 or similar to seal it. Letting everything dry well between steps, of course- a fan heater on low or dehumidifier in the cab overnight will do the trick.

The way the paint's come off the seam sealer suggests the whole mess started with a brake or clutch fluid leak. I'd check that it's not leaking any more- no point applying new paint if it's just going to come off again. Also consider washing the carpet and underlay (or replacing the underlay): if they're soaked with brake fluid or impregnated with rust they'll just start the process again.

north54 · Post by **north54** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 3:27 pm

Morgonzo, I would pull your instrument cluster and check if your master cylinder is weeping. It was a main issue of mine for rust in the area of your photos.

Good luck

Morgonzo · Post by **Morgonzo** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 7:41 pm

Thanks for the tips and words of encouragement guys. I guess my big worry with painting a rust converter on was accidentally fusing the pieces together and being majorly boned when i actually do need to take that section apart (I don't know why i would have too...but I really try to not make more problems for myself while trying to solve the problem I DO have..tricky stuff

). I also agree that the way the paint was peeling off the metal seemed like a chemical reaction...not your normal water corrosion. I've been keeping an eye on the clutch/brake fluid res because i thought the clutch felt wonkey at times but i haven't seen it move. So it seems I have two leaks...one water (wet carpet) and one chemical. Again it'll be after April 7th before i can do anything about it

.... i'll just keep an eye on the brake/clutch fluid till then.

phalteman · Post by **phalteman** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:15 am

Growlerbearnz wrote:The only thing I can think of that you might have disturbed is the fresh air intake, which is behind the passenger side headlamp.

Just a quick update on my issue here. It turns out that the culprit is indeed the fresh air intake. I'm still not sure whether the headlamp change disturbed the seal, but the van is parked slightly downhill, meaning that the water from the top of the van and gutters runs down the front, into the headlight casing. In pulling up the carpet and poking around, I found that there is a leak in the corner of the intake duct (maybe a little hard to see in the picture). So even though it's a smallish leak, it seems like it's channelling enough water to be seriously problematic. Fortunately, no rust down there, so once I reseal that and dry it all out (and maybe drill an extra drainage hole as insurance), I should be good to go...*fingers crossed*.

Thanks for the tip, Growlerbearnz!

ynwa · Post by **ynwa** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:44 pm

north54 wrote:Morgonzo, I would pull your instrument cluster and check if your master cylinder is weeping. It was a main issue of mine for rust in the area of your photos.

Good luck

Second! :)

Morgonzo · Post by **Morgonzo** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:30 am

phalteman wrote:
Growlerbearnz wrote:The only thing I can think of that you might have disturbed is the fresh air intake, which is behind the passenger side headlamp.
Just a quick update on my issue here. It turns out that the culprit is indeed the fresh air intake. I'm still not sure whether the headlamp change disturbed the seal, but the van is parked slightly downhill, meaning that the water from the top of the van and gutters runs down the front, into the headlight casing. In pulling up the carpet and poking around, I found that there is a leak in the corner of the intake duct (maybe a little hard to see in the picture). So even though it's a smallish leak, it seems like it's channelling enough water to be seriously problematic. Fortunately, no rust down there, so once I reseal that and dry it all out (and maybe drill an extra drainage hole as insurance), I should be good to go...*fingers crossed*.

Thanks for the tip, Growlerbearnz!

Good catch! did you take off that missing nut or was it M.I.A upon inspection?

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:19 pm

That nut retains a metal plate in front of the air intake, it stops passengers from kicking the aircon tubes. You have to remove the plate to see the air intake, I'm guessing that's why the nut is absent in the photo.

phalteman · Post by **phalteman** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:25 pm

Yes, GB is right - it's missing because I took off that plate in order to poke around.