You mean the perferated thing that covers the bottom of the glass for the windscreen? The bit the wipers comes out of... Seems to me that this is only secured by a few nuts, I was going to try and remove this before I took the filter housing out.

Thanks for the confirmation though, I'll get some sealant tomorrow.

(Will post up pics of my skinned knuckles as well lol)

Did you mange to do this? I did mine today, forgotten what a pig of a job it is! managed to bash my hands to bu66ery.

Managed to remove the foam seal under the pollen filter, in fact it just came off in my hands, and in one piece. Used another loads of silicon under the tray in the grooves to create the seal.

Quite fortunate to be honest, as the foam I took out was starting to soak up water - no surprise considering the rain over the last few days!

But done now, and as previously stated, the gutter was the hardest part to do, and checked, and checked again when put back in place to make sure it was ok and in line!

Anyone need any more advice on this, please ask away!

Did you mange to do this? I did mine today, forgotten what a pig of a job it is! managed to bash my hands to bu66ery.

Yeah, I did - it's in my project diary in my sig.

I've got cuts all over my hands as well! :(

That bloody gutter thing though, it really was a right pain. I really hope it's in the right place... by the time I'd got it in I was way to hot, bothered and bleeding to even double check it.

Initial impressions are good - it's rained a couple of times since then and I'm still dry... clouding over today though and I'm parked in my usual spot at work (other than the hidden sheltered place I parked last week) so I guess we'll see!

Glad you got your new one sorted, hope your hands heal!

Read the update in your signature, looking good! know what you mean about that last bolt, my trick was not to fully take it off, just loosen it enough to get the filter housing out, to get it back in and as tight as i could, i made a tool using a small spanner and a hexbolt! Pain in the a55!

...my trick was not to fully take it off, just loosen it enough to get the filter housing out...

Now you tell me!

Oh and dont forget the gutter on the top of the pollen filter, that runs under the windscreens lower edge, break that, and the whole thing will leak, it will come out, just needs some gentle persuasion.

Hope this helps.

Having just completed this job, does everyone split this gutter from the filter housing then remove the housing (as i did) or remove them complete?

The reason i ask is this gutter is IMO the most important part to refit correctly, otherwise the rain water will just pour straight through the filter and into the car!

For those who have not done this job yet and would like to, this is the housing and gutter as they are fitted in the car

and separated

Left side gutter fixing

The rear nut (by the bonnet hinge) can be undone with a 10mm (1/4" drive) socket attached to a knuckle joint and then a long extension, you may need to crack the nut loose first and nip it up later with a spanner as the knuckle joint needs to be almost at 90 degrees to the socket.

Edited 30 July, 200817 yr by Gizmo68
trying to get photo's back up

I took mine off before I removed it from the car, it was a PIG to do, and I confirm what you say about getting the gutter back in the car properly! Without this the water will just soak through the pollen filter and into the car!

Hi Guys,

Some very useful information here have saved it for the inevitable! Thanks to you all.

Cleaned my car today and found a little button on the driver B pillar nothing in the manual to say what it is, pressed it a few times expecting the seat to eject or something. Anyone know what it is for.:confused:

Regards

The B-pillar button disables the movement sensors in the car so that the alarm can be left set with life-forms in the car. Never leave any animals unattended in a car.

rotodiesel.

The B-pillar button disables the movement sensors in the car so that the alarm can be left set with life-forms in the car. Never leave any animals unattended in a car.

rotodiesel.

Life forms eh?

I pressed this the other day when I filled up with fuel. Nipped in to pay, obviously had to leave my daughter in her seat, left the windows open, etc. Alarm still went off though, so not really sure what happened.

Got in my car this morning and had a big pool of water in my passenger front foot well!!

I have read the guide on here and had a quick look at the pollen filter area today but am a little bit confused. Can anyone answer these questions for me.

Where are the drain holes near the pollen filter ?

How does the water enter the car through the pollen filter?

What part of the pollen filter housing do i need to seal and why ?

The drains under the battery, if they get blocked how does the water enter the car here?

Can the drains be modified so they don't let water into the car ?

Thanks for your help.

Can anyone answer these questions for me.

Where are the drain holes near the pollen filter ? They are not really near the filter, but under the battery & under the servo

How does the water enter the car through the pollen filter? The drain holes get blocked up with leaves and muck, i assume the water then eventually gets to the point where it is higher than the filter

What part of the pollen filter housing do i need to seal and why ? Remove the filter housing (3 nuts) remove the inner seal that is right next to the hole into the car, clean and dry the housing and the bulkhead around the hole, this is because the OEM seal doesn't seal very well

The drains under the battery, if they get blocked how does the water enter the car here? It doesn't but the water level will rise to a point where it can enter the car

Can the drains be modified so they don't let water into the car ? The drain grommets can be removed from the car, leaving a nice big hole for the water to drain through

Thanks for your help.

As i stated in my post above the 'gutter' that runs across the top of the pollen filter MUST be re-fitted correctly, otherwise any water will run off the windscreen straight through the filter.

Edited 30 July, 200817 yr by Gizmo68
photo's returned

I garage mine, seems to do the trick.

How does the water enter the car through the pollen filter? The drain holes get blocked up with leaves and muck, i assume the water then eventually gets to the point where it is higher than the filter

I would also assume this is correct - although it seems as though my water ingress problem was related to poor sealing of the pollen filter housing. My drains were clear (enough to drain correctly).

My fix just involved sealing the pollen filter to the bulkhead - see my project diary below for photos.

Agreed, mine were pretty clear also, yet the seal was pretty damp on removal, but still doing its job - JUST!

Its also worth cleaning the bulkhead thoroughly around the back of the filter so the water can run down to the drain holes correctly.

This is the bit that you need to seal (i used white sealant, as that was what i had left over from my bathroom)

You cant really put too much sealant on here as it will squeeze out when you bolt every thing back together, the housing will also *never* need to come off again. As you can see there is also another foam seal that sits inside the bulkhead hole, this can be left on.

thank you everyone for your help. Will the pollen filter housing come out complete with the gutter attached or does that need to be removed first ?

Also i still can't find the drain holes people are mentioning that when get blocked water rises above the pollen filter and enters the car, can anyone point me in the right direction please ?

thanks again

I removed the gutter first (not sure it will even come out if its still attached) A lot of gentle persuasion is needed with the gutter, make sure you don't break it - could be a problem if its done in the winter when it gets really cold?

The drains are circled below.

I am personally not 100% convinced the water would rise up that high, but one thing it would do is rot the bottom of the servo pretty quickly if its left sitting in water. i think the main reason for the ingress is the seal around the pollen filter housing not being up to the job.

A full walk through can be found on weirdlittlebiscuit.com

ok thanks for your help. So am i right in thinking that there are no actual drain holes near the pollen filter just the drain bungs under the servo and battery ?

Water goes into the car through the foam seal that isn't very good ?

yep, spot on.

i have had another look today after a nights rain and from what i can see water runs under the pollen tray filter between that and the bodywork and is pooling on the front edge closest to the engine. I was thinking if i remove the pollen filter tray completely, use some sealant in place of the foam seal and then create a seal using sealant between the filter tray and bodywork, do you reckon that should work ?

Also had a look under the passenger carpet and there are traces of water but there isn't pools and pools of water. I have found that the comfort control module is in a black plastic box which appears to have a rubber seal between the box and lid and a rubber boot around the wire that goes into the box. What i want to know is how does the water get into the comfort control module ? Does that much water really go down there and rise above the box ?

Would it be worth putting the box inside a plastic bag to protect it even more ? My original pool of water was on top the carpet and it doesn't appear as wet underneath the carpet, is it possible water runs down on top the carpet instead of underneath it ?

thanks

Don't put your CCM box in a plastic bag.

Although VAG obviously don't know it, there are only two ways to protect electronics from a damp environment. The first is a hermetically sealed box with Military spec. connectors. This is not affordable for a consumer product. The second is to protect the electronics from direct water contact (simple box, conformal coating on the electronics, back-sealed connectors) but to make absolutely sure there is are multiple drain paths for water which enters through leakage, splash or condensation.

It's just not possible at consumer goods' prices to keep water out, so you must always ensure it can get out before damage occurs. The major Japanese makers know all about this - VAG are pretty hopeless and don't seem to be learning from their mistakes.

rotodiesel.

ah i see, if i did put it in a plastic bag then i guess there is a chance of condensation which isn't good either!!

Is the pollen filter housing the only area i should be worried about water entering ?

Also i still don't quite understand what the plenum chambers are ?

thanks

Edited 1 August, 200817 yr by chappers849

Sorry what are the plenum chambers ?

The area under the windscreen wiper spindles, where the wiper mechanism is. Check the drain holes there and the fitting of the pollen filter.

thank you for answering that. Are these plenum drain holes different to the ones under the battery and brake servo or am i just getting confused now ?