I tiger sealed the rubber boot seal in the groove and replaced it on car. And bingo no more leaks.

Any chance of a pic of that?

Any chance of a pic of that?

I can post a pic on the boot seal in place. But I can't post where I sealed it as it is now stuck solid in place.

If you pull off the seal you will see where i mean as you will see a groove in the rubber seal where it fits over the boot lip. First I just removed the lower section of the seal(up to approx where the tailgate struts are), then carefully whilst someone was holding it ran a bead of the tiger seal in the groove. Then carefully refitted it over the boot metal lip. I gave that a day to dry, then pulled off the top section of the seal and repeated what i did before. Job done and no leaks.

Don't go mad with the sealant just enough to fill in the groove, then you will not have to wipe any excess sealant off.

While I appreciate that this is an old thread, thanks to everyone who posted. I'm a new Octavia (2005) estate owner, and I've noticed some spots of water on the luggage cover. At first I thought it was the window glass seal, not the rubber boot seal - as that looked in excellent condition. But after reading this, I'm going to check the welding and the seal.

I have a leak in the boot on the LHS too, pool under the CD changer beneath carpet, with a bit of dampness on the boot carpet. Let me know whether you find the problem. I will start having a look too...

Be sure there are no split pipes for the rear washer. Known problem for these to break and come apart and leak where the CD changer is.

as above, theres a joint in the pipe right under the changer.

 

 

Just to add to the recurring theme of sieve-like Mk1 Octavia's. I too had the paddling pool under the CD changer in my 2003 Estate,  stripped all the boot panels out today dropped the headlining  to check the roof bar bolts and gave it a damn good hosing. Turns out I had 2 leaks the first being the LHS tailgate shock mount, which needed sealing and tightening up, and the 2nd was only visible once the CD changer was removed. It was the bolts that hold the CD cradle to the body, water was coming in through the bolt holes. More sealant and a tighten and its seems to have solved the issue...for now - because we know there is bound to be another one soon....!!!!