Fabia Door Carrier seal repair - illustrated

[DRJ]

I've detected a minimal leak through my rear nearside door recently. Not nearly as bad as the problems I had on the offside documented in Autumn 2010 - literally standing water then - but concerning. The carpet wasn't really wet but there was condensation on the underside of the floor mat. It seemed to get worse last Tuesday so today was the day to mend it. There was evidence of a little trickle looking at the base of the door:

Regulars here are familiar with the video for doing this - but I've taken an alternative photographic record of the steps you need to take. Owing to an apparent limit of 20 photos per post I've had to split it into separate postings.

[DRJ]

Disassembly:

Open the rear door and remove the window winder - to do this hold the lever and push the collar behind it away from the handle until it clicks - then it will easily pull off:

Then carefully unclip the front part of the top of the armrest - I found the back inner clip the hardest to get off - needed precise levering with a screw driver:

The back part of the top of the armrest will then easily slide off forwards:

... to reveal two cross-head fixing screws which you need to remove - but leave the armrest attached to the door:

There is then a third screw hidden behind the tweeter - and the latter's rather difficult to get out without marking it. In theory you can insert something in the small recess to release the clip:

... but I found it easier to VERY carefully lever the front edge backwards to release the two clips there - you can see the arrangement here:

Then you need a T20 Star driver to remove the upper screw - it's only small so don't lose it:

You then need to release - which probably means break - the door clips. There's seven of these whose locations are best illustrated by a picture from 2004 of my previous card when it was being retrimmed:

You need something soft to avoid scratching the paint - I used a plastic spreader:

This can be carefully inserted - I found the top rear was the easiest way in - and then slid along to the first clip position. At that point you need more force than you might expect to lever out/break the clip:

Then proceed around the door releasing all seven clips - this becomes progressively easier since you can use the door card itself to lever them apart. Once all are unclipped you can then pivot the card up and hold it up with a convenient prop - you don't need to take it off completely:

You can see that one clip holder actually came away from the door card rather than the clip release/break:

Only the base of the door card gets wet - though in my case the moisture was sufficient to saturate a map left in the door pocket:

I found that this side - unlike the offside I'd repaired in 2010 - hadn't had a previous attempt at a repair. On the offside I'd found the leak was coming through the screw holes formed when someone had added self-tapping screws to better compress the seal. They'd then sealed everything EXCEPT those screws!

The problem here was obvious - and potentially illustrates why some cars are less prone to this problem than others. The two crucial rivets holding the door carrier in were not fitted properly! Hence the carrier could be pushed in about 1mm - clearly this situation wasn't compressing the seal properly:

You need to remove the remains of the clips - a screwdriver seemed the best method since I couldn't get a pliers to grip properly:

One did in fact unclip without breaking (it might never have been fully home in the first place?) and the one that pulled the clip holder off the door also broke when I extracted it:

[DRJ]

Repair:

So off to Blade Skoda, Gloucester for 6 clips - which turned out to have DOUBLED in price (see HERE) to £3.60 - and onwards to Toolstation for a tube of Plumbers Gold - £6.22.

In order to get a decent recess for the sealant to fill, I decided to dig out the old neoprene seal with a screwdriver. Then an initial application of sealant:

... which was well smoothed into the gap using a plastic spoon:

... followed by more sealant. You only need the base and a little way up the sides. Remember to take care to also protect all rivets and other fixings penetrating the carrier - but of course not the holes for the door clips.

I then slid the new clips into the holders, put some contact adhesive on the detached holder, and then carefully pushed the door card back on ensuring all the clips ended up in their relevant holes. I'd actually put some copper grease onto the clips to facilitate this and it certainly went on very easily.

Then replace the fixings and trim in the reverse order - being VERY careful not to drop the tweeter fixing screw into the door (I didn't!).

Hopefully that's now sorted for life!

Edited 27 January, 2012 by DRJ

[DRJ]

And remember to check the drainage holes on the base of the door itself are clear - mine were.

[MoggyTech]

Nice write up, very handy

[del-gti]

Good write up.

I did this 2 weeks ago - except it didn't work. It was too cold for the sealant to 'cook off' and even though I'd squeezed and squeezed the carrier to get all the water out, taped up the bottom of the window prior to doing it and dried everything thoroughly, water from somewhere ran down breaching the sealant.

I then found out that my front passenger door is leaking badly too from the carrier. So that needs sorted too.

I'm going to try another technique tomorrow to sort it. Will take some pics and report back if I'm successful.

[DRJ]

The sealant I've used should not be affected by water hence why I use it:

High-tech sealant and adhesive that offers outstanding adhesion to all sanitary, bathroom, wetroom, kitchen and plumbing materials. Can be applied to wet surfaces, will even work underwater, and contains Microban anti-bacterial solution, preventing black mould and discolouration for 10 years.

Edited 27 January, 2012 by DRJ

[del-gti]

Sounds like Plumbers Gold?

I should have tried that.

[vindaloo]

Raised from....

 

Just had a look at my rear doors spurred on by the blatantly dry weather - <phew>. Took ages to "BREAK" most of the clips off. Will be replacing them covered in grease in the hope of less future breakage... if it becomes necessary.

 

Also took a minute or two to marvel at the complete cack job the dealership did repairing my passenger side door a few years ago. I know silicone can creep but honestly, looks like it's NEVER been resealed in some places.

 

Off to the interweb or local shops for roofing selaant and/or trim clips... ho-hum.

 

Also, found WD40 useful in completely removing the door cards. spray along the top of the card especially near the glazing bar. Pull upwards from the rear-top of the door card to remove.

[Breezy_Pete]

Very nice write up David, and nice clear pics.

 

I would recommend that people spend an extra two minutes and 20-pence worth of sealant and carry on sealing further up the rear edge of the carrier.

 

Water running down the rear edge of the window will tend to follow the vertical 'divider-bit' between the fixed and movable glass, which happens to end just above the bracket which holds the lock mechanism to the carrier (black thing, top left in this pic).  So the water is diverted from falling harmlessly to the bottom of the door, hits this plastic bracket and runs down the inside face of the carrier instead.  The point on the carrier vertically below where this 'stream' starts is quite a long way up the rear edge.  Here's a pic of the 'backside' of an offside rear carrier, watermarked evidence of this problem clear to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 18 August, 2017 by Wino

[BB78]

I took advantage of the heatwave and sealed my doors, appears to have stopped the leaks and the door cards are no longer getting wet but the doors are still holding water. When I open the doors a load of water trickles out, I've checked the drain holes and they aren't blocked but every time I stick something in them more water trickles out, it's like there's an air lock or something, the water isn't getting in to the car... yet but my fear is when we inevitably get more rain the cumulative effect will see the water breach the seal and what I'm desperately trying to get away from is the horrendous condensation and a windscreen frozen on the inside in the winter.

Anyone else experienced this? Know what the problem is? and most importantly how to fix it?

[xman]

Best solution is to remove door carrier and clean out the bottom of the door/check the drainage with a hose. Granted that its lots of hassle if you have to drill the rivets out, but it will allow you to address the drainage and seal the carrier properly.

 

Alternatively drill another drain hole(s) (close to the outer door skin) - though this risks rust formation if its not painted etc.

 

One tip - use a neutral cure sealant, not the normal bathroom sealants that use acetic acid (vinegar) - they are friendlier to metal - http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p13716, actually require some moisture to aid curing.

Edited 3 August, 2013 by xman

[Harry1212]

A job for the morning!

 

Found a little puddle on top of my front passenger floor mat today after just an hour of rain

 

I fixed the rears and they have been fine, will find out for sure after the winter though

[Jaspire]

Lifesaver!  Or rather Fabia VRS Saver.

 

Mrs Jass is on the verge of asking me to get rid as the fixer upper bit is taking more time and money than first thought.  The flooded rear end after getting it valeted wasn't working te wee cars favour, however this seems to have cured it.

 

Cheers

 

 

Jass

Edited 1 March, 2014 by Jaspire

[fabialousvrs]

Mine also had some mould on the rear carpet, & wet foam seals. So far, so good with some guttering sealant, carpet cleaner when the weather warms a bit.

[jifster]

This problem with leaking doors has almost ruined my car. Mold on the seats and carpets etc. Had it covered with tarp during that awful weather and now in the process of ordering plumbers gold and figuring out which door clips I need from ebay. I'm not very practical but hoping this is doable for me.

 

I've also been using moisture traps in the car so hopefully drying out a bit now.

 

I know my car is ten years old but this has kind of put me off buying Skoda again.

[jifster]

Getting there at last now the weather is being kind to me. Has anyone had to fix the fronts also as I'm sure I've got the problem there also but as the doors are different (with the added controls) how difficult is it to strip them down, does anyone know.

[Tech1e]

I have detailed how the front doors come apart elsewhere in a how to for the front carrier.

 

They leak just the same, quite often if its wet in the back it is due to the front doors.

[jifster]

Thanks for the pointer. I'll have a search for  it.

[svenedin]

Thank you for the how to. I've just had the rear o/s door card off on my 04 Fabia vRS. My car had the seals "fixed" by Skoda years ago when it was in warranty. It appears that Skoda used a black mastic (similar to Plumber's Mait) rather than silicone. They did a tidy job and even though it must have been done 8 years ago it was not leaking around the door carrier. I just pushed the (still flexible) mastic all around to make sure it was still doing the job. After doing this I tested it by pouring water into the door. No leaks from the carrier seal but water leaked from the rivets and also from the screw holes where the door handle screws on. I sealed these with mastic. I didn't want to use silicone because it is so difficult to redo in the future. Mastic is easy to work with and it has been used for generations in plumbing. I also replaced the inner window brush that is attached to the top of the door card (when it is worn the window can rattle) and I found that several of the clips were not actually pushed home to start with so water had been leaking there. Whilst I was at it I fitted some stick on sound deadening to the door carrier. It stops panels resonating and the doors sound less tinny when shut. 

[SKYHAWK]

what sealer did you guys use got a link plzzz

[DRJ]

I used Plumbers Gold as I noted above

[DRJ]

http://www.everbuild.co.uk/plumbers-gold

[SteveB84]

Thanks for the guide David, and other info in this thread guys. I've had to complete this repair this week. The door cards were a lot harder to remove than on my mk4 Polo, hopefully it's a sign of improved build quality, although it could just be the clips. I managed to not brake a few of the clips but one of the holders came off the inside of the card which I've yet to stick back on. I'm going to leave the door cards off for a few days and see if my sealing holds under heavy rain, or get the hosepipe out at the weekend.

[ianthebadger]

Another big thanks for this guide, I thought I was going to be effing and blinding all through doing this but it was a pretty straight forward job.