Help, water ingress, is it time to say goodbye :-(

[Funkoid]

Apologies in advance for the long post.

 

I've had my MK1 for a good 14 years I'd like to say I've kept on top of maintenance, it's always been kept standard, no mapping etc. and in general I've not driven it too hard over the years. It's still only got 116k on it now. Aside from the potential to replace one of the valves and DV because of boost not being perfect all of the time, the engine still feels solid enough for how I use it. 

 

I like everyone, have had a bit of a hard time this year and I've let things slip, leaving it on the drive without realising for close to 3-4 months, battery died so I replaced that yesterday and took it out for a decent 60-70 mile drive, the gear box was a bit clunky but everything seems to have freed up  and having gone out again today, its not far from normal. I plan to get an oil change, and either a gear box top up or change done too. 

 

The car had its MOT back in September and passed with little more than a bush needing to be replaced, so I'm blaming the recent weather and developments more than anything.

 

The main issue I have right now is water ingress and whatever damage it may have done after the massive amounts of rain we had a few weeks back. The car is full of condensation and damp in the boot and the drivers footwell after being parked up. 

 

The front doors....

I had the window regulator on the drivers side done, and I believe there is no foam panelling left between the door card and the car - I suspect this and a misaligned mud flap at the front wheel arch (after the work garages did) could be the main source there. When you open the door, the water is pooled on the sill / bottom of door and it spills over into the car, the carpet on that side up toward the fuse box area is damp too. 

 

The passenger side lock module was replaced last summer too making me think that the foam here may be missing too although I've not seen it pooling on the sill. The passenger side door sensor tripped a handful of times too, turning on the interior light and the dashboard light - the door was closed, a quick open and shut of it sorted it out each time it happened. 

 

The boot....

I can't for the life of me remember as my brains been everywhere, but for some reason I'd taken off the plastic boot panel at some juncture and left it in the boot loose - could that also be causing ingress or for condensation to be routed where it would run otherwise? 

 

Electrics / Sensors...

During the run yesterday I pulled over with the hazards on for a moment, they would switch on, after hitting the button a couple of times, they burst into life, turned them off and on we went. I then quickly realised my indicators stopped working! After pumping some heat via the air con through the vents and pressing it a few more times all was well - so I suspect it's stuck or its the damp. 

 

The future?

I know these things don't last forever but I'm between a rock and a hard place at the moment deciding on whether to get another car or whether I need one immediately anyway. I was planning on running a dehumidifier in there for a few days on and off, but I presume it'll be of little help if water is still making its way in particularly with the icy weather on its way again. I'm in need of two new rear tyres and the cambelt and water pump are due on the 4 year cycle again during 2021 too. Everything feels sortable, I'm just totally overwhelmed at the moment and I'm wondering if the damage has already been done and could even be repaired.

 

Parts wise, what would I be looking at for fixing up the interior foam, cleaning out the recess behind the mud flap and basically trying to get everything sealed again? 

 

Am I wasting my time or do I just need a bit of motivation and help :-(

Edited 7 February, 2021 by Funkoid

[mac11irl]

1)

take the door card off the driver door, id lay a wager that the membrane seal wasnt properly done and the water is getting from there - down the glass, into the door (normal) and getting out under the door card into the car. 

 

2) do you have a sunroof? if so the rear drainage channels may be blocked which iirc lets water into the boot. 

does you rear washer spray water? if not check the joint under boot carpet on the left hand side boot cubby. this would also have water firing into the boot.

 

i dont remember there being any foam in the doors tbh, just the plastic sheet membranes that were probably not fixed up properly when the work was done. 

if you can, take out the seats and the centre console, and get the carpet out to dry it and the underlay out, with the dehumidifier too.

 

 

[Funkoid]

Thanks @mac11irlI genuinely think I've no membrane on the drivers side which means I'll need one, what's best to seal it with, is it a case of getting a specific part code or film or something, you've mentioned plastic sheet membrane, any suggestions of where to buy? 

 

No sunroof thankfully, I did have a quick look behind the CD player in the boot and the pipe looks good, it pulled apart way too easy but seemed clipped in okay. 

 

Will get the dehumidifier in it tomorrow although with the cold weather this next few days I'm wondering if I should leave it for a couple of days. 

 

[mac11irl]

@Funkoid

id start trying to get the water out now before the cold weather tbh. 

 

i just used a piece of 1500gauge clear plastic sheet - the type a builder puts under the subfloors of a house. cut it big enough to go over the whole door panel, cut the holes for cables to go through then stick it on. 

i used pvc pipe jointing compound- lay a bead of it all around the frame, make sure theres no gaps then offer up the plastic. trim the excess plastic back a bit and let cure. 

i then put a layer of duct tape over the edge for peace of mind, and around the holes you had to make to strengthen them up and stop it tearing. 

[Funkoid]

Thanks, patience got the better of me so I've been out already and got the dehumidifier in the boot with the parcel shelf on, put my screen cover over the door with a couple of mm open on the window to feed the multi gang in there. 

 

I'm glad I did because the drivers side is soaked, got all of the mats etc out so it's got more of a chance to dry out now. 

 

Interestingly, no idea why I've not noticed before but the boot seal looked really weird on the left hand side which is where water has been gathering the most. 

 

I ended up pulling it out so it looked more like the right hand side, and it still doesn't sit 100% right in the middle, but god knows how long it's been like that for. 

 

Hoping that's what it's supposed to look like with the rubber lip sitting over the plastic not jammed under it like some of it was. Thing is it's likely to have been like that for years though so who knows. 

 

[Dean]

Check out my post of my MK1 Estate L&K (out of my 2 VRS’s and this estate) as this has been the worse for water ingress.

I did the same process on my Black VRS and added sound deadening too (no topic for this car yet). But don’t let the older cars put you off as its done well to server you 14 years. It just needs some parts renewing.

[Funkoid]

On 07/02/2021 at 20:46, DeanVRS20VT said:

Check out my post of my MK1 Estate L&K (out of my 2 VRS’s and this estate) as this has been the worse for water ingress.

I did the same process on my Black VRS and added sound deadening too (no topic for this car yet). But don’t let the older cars put you off as its done well to server you 14 years. It just needs some parts renewing.

 

Loved reading this thread @DeanVRS20VT.

 

Got things dried out and have managed to get time to strip the door down.

 

There was more of the panel film there than I thought there would be, but it was torn in two. The window regulator was swapped out last year and as you can see from some of the photos with blue arrows there is wet that's caused some of that replacement to corrode. 

 

The cable near the red cable tie with the blue arrow was wet, and to the right of it I appear to be missing a clip. I'm going to see if I can get replacements, not convinced sealing it up will make much of a difference though. 

 

Suppose the best approach would be to seal it then put a hose on the car before I reassemble the door? Only other thing I wasn't sure on was whether there should have been something in the hole toward the top of the door where the arrow is.

 

[Dean]

1 hour ago, Funkoid said:

 

Loved reading this thread @DeanVRS20VT.

 

Got things dried out and have managed to get time to strip the door down.

 

There was more of the panel film there than I thought there would be, but it was torn in two. The window regulator was swapped out last year and as you can see from some of the photos with blue arrows there is wet that's caused some of that replacement to corrode. 

 

The cable near the red cable tie with the blue arrow was wet, and to the right of it I appear to be missing a clip. I'm going to see if I can get replacements, not convinced sealing it up will make much of a difference though. 

 

Suppose the best approach would be to seal it then put a hose on the car before I reassemble the door? Only other thing I wasn't sure on was whether there should have been something in the hole toward the top of the door where the arrow is.

Thank you!

 

Depending on how far you want to go. I'd strip down the door loom and then retape it up, and then use oem tesa tape to wrap it all up.

I went through this when doing my looms (in my other thread), see here:

Well worth doing if you plan to keep the car for a while.

 

It seems that the water may have been catching on the metal and dripping on the to wire maybe?

[Funkoid]

Yeah, struggling to find the white clips local, was ideally wanting to get the red cable ties replaced with the proper fixings before trying to seal it back up. Managed to source some film, just wondering whether to use double sided 3m tape or not, what's what the guy suggested selling the film. 

 

[mac11irl]

i wouldnt trust double sided tape.. itll be hard to get a 100% continuous bond with 0 gaps, and over time the water that naturally goes through the door (it will always and forever get passed the rubber strip at the window) will breakdown the glue.

 

i used 1500gauge dampproofing builders plastic sheeting and bonded it with pvc pipe jointing compound. all designed for long term water exposure.

[Dean]

2 hours ago, mac11irl said:

i wouldnt trust double sided tape.. itll be hard to get a 100% continuous bond with 0 gaps, and over time the water that naturally goes through the door (it will always and forever get passed the rubber strip at the window) will breakdown the glue.

 

i used 1500gauge dampproofing builders plastic sheeting and bonded it with pvc pipe jointing compound. all designed for long term water exposure.

Can we get factory oem plastic door card sheets?

[mac11irl]

23 minutes ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Can we get factory oem plastic door card sheets?

 

 

no idea, but to be homest comparing the "clear" sheeting i used and the clear sheeting i took off the difference is.... the oem one is machine cut to the shape of the door, mine was stanley bladed to shape once fitted. 

 

 

i also used duct tape to reinforce it around the cable holes..

[Funkoid]

6 minutes ago, mac11irl said:

 

 

no idea, but to be homest comparing the "clear" sheeting i used and the clear sheeting i took off the difference is.... the oem one is machine cut to the shape of the door, mine was stanley bladed to shape once fitted. 

 

 

i also used duct tape to reinforce it around the cable holes..

 

Take it you've not got any project pictures would be massively helpful for a numpty like me! 

 

[mac11irl]

i dont... it was just a lock mech replacement i was doing so didnt bother as there was plenty of them done already.

 

sorry about that :(

 

[Dean]

Ideally I want the foam version for the front doors. I shall have to look into it!

[Funkoid]

1 hour ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Ideally I want the foam version for the front doors. I shall have to look into it!

 

Yeah if I ever get mine sealed I'm a little worried about the additional noise but needs must at the moment. Think I'm going to attempt it next weekend. Have the rear door to do by the looks of it too. 

[mac11irl]

8 hours ago, DeanVRS20VT said:

Ideally I want the foam version for the front doors. I shall have to look into it!

 

mine was a back door, but i didnt think the fronts were different? or is there an "uprated" foam version for the front doors???

[Dean]

18 hours ago, mac11irl said:

 

mine was a back door, but i didnt think the fronts were different? or is there an "uprated" foam version for the front doors???

Yup, in my project link above.

Both my 54 and 55 plate have foam coverings.

[sirlancelotksa]

A few years ago I bought an Octavia MK1, to find out a few days later that there was water ingress showing in the rear passenger footwell, left-hand side.

 

Its origin: the rear left door. At some point the window elevator was replaced and not only the plastic film was missing, but a bubble wrap green plastic had been left inside the door for no apparent reason (with the skoda logo and all), directing water to where it shouldn't be.

 

I cleaned the inside of the door, bought an original plastic film, used an hair dryer to get rid of all the moist and it has been fine for around 5 years.

 

The rest of the doors were also inspected later, only to find out that all the protective films were missing or damaged, probably because these cars are prone to window elevator malfunctions.

 

I replaced the foam films in both front doors (16€ each), and the plastic film in the remaining rear door (7€).

 

Part numbers for the protective films (In Portugal, LHD):
1U4 868 395 F - protective foil for front left door        
1U4 868 396 F - protective foil for front right door
1U4 868 399   - protective foil for rear left door            
1U4 868 400   - protective foil for rear right door

 

@Funkoid If the plastic film in the boot lid is not there doing its job, it may be the culprit for the water ingress. I have also tried to buy that one, but it was discontinued by Skoda.

 

Part number:
1U9 867 141 - boot lid protective film

[Dean]

Cheers!

 

Indeed they do relate to the RHD after checking. And as bonus, these are the foam version as I believe they don’t do the original plastic sheeting and change over to these quite a few years go.

 

 

1U4 868 395 F nsf

1U4 868 396 F osf

1U4 868 399 nsr

1U4 868 400 osr

 

Looks like I’ll be putting in an order for these next month.

Edited 22 March, 2021 by DeanVRS20VT

[Funkoid]

Seems like a much better option if I can get hold of any. Did contact one supplier a few weeks ago and was told they'd stopped making them. This is the stuff I've already had on mine too so I can only assume it's the fact it's been disturbed or perished that's the cause of at least my front drivers side. £16 a pop for getting into the door is a bit annoying too, lost count of the number of times I've been in for locks, window regulator etc. 

[Dean]

Unless I’m being thick I still don’t understand how this stops water?

 

The cover is only there to protect the internals. Even with the foam or plastic sheeting, water will still trickle over it and sit on the bottom door seals... The only way to stop it coming in at all is with new inner and outer rubber sills.
 

This is why over never understood why people say about the door cars letting water in when it has to go past the rubber door seals first. 😕

[Funkoid]

I was under the impression that was by design? 

 

Are there part numbers available for the seals or are we now stuck with third party OEM ones?

[Dean]

18 minutes ago, Funkoid said:

I was under the impression that was by design? 

 

Are there part numbers available for the seals or are we now stuck with third party OEM ones?

Seals are still around, they cost about £38 each I believe. I did have the part numbers as I was helping someone else the other day. I’ll grab them later...

 

Right, for 1 inner door seal (1U4 867 365 E) is priced at £30/£38 each. You’d need to double check with TPS as they might be a back order and prices may have changed.

[ColinD]

For general, I have a 1litre bag of absorbing pellets. Keep it on the parcel shelf or the boot. 
 

won’t help with lots of ingress, but does help with the odd bit of condensation.

 

certainly noticed it when I’d find all the windows down a crack... sitting on the key fob really is a pain. Or after a damp weekends camping... just pulls the last bit out... or not, it could be a con.