L300 footwell leaks: the complete guide.
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:02 pm
Having chased pesky leaks for about a year I have finally banished the wet dog smell from the Delica. No more damp carpets! Woohoo!
The forums are a wealth of information, but, having experienced every single possible cause* of water ingress into the footwell, I though I should put them all in one post, in order of severity:
Front panel seams- Remove the front quarter panels above the headlamps, strip out the old, crusty sealant in the major seam there, paint, and replace sealant with new flexible body sealant. Fixed 80% of the issue on my Deli.
http://www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12646
Windscreen seal- I removed the screen, cleaned up the surface rust on the windscreen flange, and replaced the screen using a bead of non-hardening windscreen sealant. It's important to apply the sealant only between the two soft flaps on the windscreen seal- the seal is designed to drain water away, if you clog up the other channels you might make the leaks/rust worse. (The screen aperture can rust through, which is nasty to fix). While you have the screen out, pay attention to the front corners of the gutter- the sealant there can crack too. Another 10% down. Antenna mount- the antenna plinth can crack if it's overtightened, which distorts the rubber seal and lets water in. Remove the screws, lift the antenna away from the pillar, clean the pillar, antenna plinth, and seal, and reinstall with a smear of urethane sealant taking care not to overtighten the screws.
Gutters- The roof of my Deli seems to have had a few low clearance parking building incidents, and the seam where the roof is spot welded to the gutter had opened up. Water leaking through the gutter seam came down the inside of the A-pillar and emerged mysteriously behind the washer reservoir and accelerator pedals- a very frustrating leak to track down. Scraping the old sealant out of the gutters (remove the plastic trim first!), repainting the seam, and sealing with Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer fixed this delightful leak.
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2198
Gutters at rear- on the roof at the back are a couple of plastic panels, when re-sealing the gutters dont forget to remove the panels (2 screws, 1 clip) and seal the seams under there. I think this is where water gets into the jack/tool/rear washer reservoir compartments, though that seems to be the one place I didn't have an issue.
Screen washer jets- They're out on big stalks, and get used as handles when the kids are climbing up the front bullbar. But just the one time. Grrr. The washer stalks felt a bit loose and, lo and behold, water was coming inside. I actually removed the dashboard to get at these, straightened the wee metal clips that hold them in, and sealed them to the front panel with Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer. While I was there:
Wiper spindles- remove the wiper arms (lift plastic cover, undo 12mm nut, rock wiper arm on spindle until the taper comes free), lift off the rubber dust cover, and check the big retaining nut is tight. Or for extra points use a little adhesive seam sealer between the front panel and the spindle before tightening.
Plastic grille clips- the saga continues. The grey plastic trim that runs between the headlamps is held in by 10 (I think?) plastic clips, a bit like the door lining cards. These are sealed with thin foam washers, and the first time this panel is removed all the foam washers disintegrate. Either replace the foam washers or seal each one with a smear of (wait for it...) Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer.
Air intake box seal- Finally! I suspect this one was my own fault, having removed the dashboard and half the aircon system, I think I had damaged the foam seal where the plastic air intake seals to the back of the passenger headlamp housing. A tiny dribble of water from here happened only when driving in heavy rain, but a hefty squirt of seam sealer and bolting it back on nice and tight has fixed it just lovely. (Three nuts pictured, I can't recall if there was a fourth).
Hope my frustration helps someone else!
Update: Konadog points out that the aircon drain tube can easily be kicked loose, which fills the passenger footwell with water VERY quickly! Be sure to check this first before dismantling your Deli... See the picture in the post below (its the rubber tube that comes from the aircon box and *should* exit to outside through a wee grommet in the floor). Thanks!
*Future me here: Oh, the hubris!
The forums are a wealth of information, but, having experienced every single possible cause* of water ingress into the footwell, I though I should put them all in one post, in order of severity:
Front panel seams- Remove the front quarter panels above the headlamps, strip out the old, crusty sealant in the major seam there, paint, and replace sealant with new flexible body sealant. Fixed 80% of the issue on my Deli.
http://www.mdocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12646
Windscreen seal- I removed the screen, cleaned up the surface rust on the windscreen flange, and replaced the screen using a bead of non-hardening windscreen sealant. It's important to apply the sealant only between the two soft flaps on the windscreen seal- the seal is designed to drain water away, if you clog up the other channels you might make the leaks/rust worse. (The screen aperture can rust through, which is nasty to fix). While you have the screen out, pay attention to the front corners of the gutter- the sealant there can crack too. Another 10% down. Antenna mount- the antenna plinth can crack if it's overtightened, which distorts the rubber seal and lets water in. Remove the screws, lift the antenna away from the pillar, clean the pillar, antenna plinth, and seal, and reinstall with a smear of urethane sealant taking care not to overtighten the screws.
Gutters- The roof of my Deli seems to have had a few low clearance parking building incidents, and the seam where the roof is spot welded to the gutter had opened up. Water leaking through the gutter seam came down the inside of the A-pillar and emerged mysteriously behind the washer reservoir and accelerator pedals- a very frustrating leak to track down. Scraping the old sealant out of the gutters (remove the plastic trim first!), repainting the seam, and sealing with Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer fixed this delightful leak.
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2198
Gutters at rear- on the roof at the back are a couple of plastic panels, when re-sealing the gutters dont forget to remove the panels (2 screws, 1 clip) and seal the seams under there. I think this is where water gets into the jack/tool/rear washer reservoir compartments, though that seems to be the one place I didn't have an issue.
Screen washer jets- They're out on big stalks, and get used as handles when the kids are climbing up the front bullbar. But just the one time. Grrr. The washer stalks felt a bit loose and, lo and behold, water was coming inside. I actually removed the dashboard to get at these, straightened the wee metal clips that hold them in, and sealed them to the front panel with Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer. While I was there:
Wiper spindles- remove the wiper arms (lift plastic cover, undo 12mm nut, rock wiper arm on spindle until the taper comes free), lift off the rubber dust cover, and check the big retaining nut is tight. Or for extra points use a little adhesive seam sealer between the front panel and the spindle before tightening.
Plastic grille clips- the saga continues. The grey plastic trim that runs between the headlamps is held in by 10 (I think?) plastic clips, a bit like the door lining cards. These are sealed with thin foam washers, and the first time this panel is removed all the foam washers disintegrate. Either replace the foam washers or seal each one with a smear of (wait for it...) Sikaflex adhesive seam sealer.
Air intake box seal- Finally! I suspect this one was my own fault, having removed the dashboard and half the aircon system, I think I had damaged the foam seal where the plastic air intake seals to the back of the passenger headlamp housing. A tiny dribble of water from here happened only when driving in heavy rain, but a hefty squirt of seam sealer and bolting it back on nice and tight has fixed it just lovely. (Three nuts pictured, I can't recall if there was a fourth).
Hope my frustration helps someone else!
Update: Konadog points out that the aircon drain tube can easily be kicked loose, which fills the passenger footwell with water VERY quickly! Be sure to check this first before dismantling your Deli... See the picture in the post below (its the rubber tube that comes from the aircon box and *should* exit to outside through a wee grommet in the floor). Thanks!
*Future me here: Oh, the hubris!