Given up: Water in drivers footwell

[MK1Elegance]

I'm still getting water in the drivers footwell.

 

I've checked the forums for tips and seem to have exhausted all the suggestions so far:

 

* Both sunroof drains are clear

 

* The drain from underneath the scuttle panel (water defection plastic trim below the windscreen) flows to the inner wing and to the floor is clear

 

* The inner wing was removed and all the debris was removed

 

* I've ran without the air conditioning on, in case it was that

 

* I'm not loosing any coolant

 

* I had the grommet off where the air conditioning drains from the firewall and it seems clear (air pulses from this when it's running)

 

* The water appears in front of the rubber heel-pad, but seems dry everywhere else

 

* No water seems to be dripping from above (steering etc.

 

* I've put some sealant around the bonnet release grommet in case it was that

 

 

Any suggestions?

 

If not, I've given in to pulling a towel in with bricks on top whenever it rains.

[StevesTruck]

Assuming your door seals look alright, I'd be saying it's time to get the carpet out and look for water traces. Not a fun job, but it sounds like you've done a decent job of exhausting all other avenues. 

[MK1Elegance]

Thanks StevesTruck,

 

 

I'm going to wait until all this wet weather has passed and I have a day off, then I'll pull out the carpet and have a better look.

 

 

👍

[KenONeill]

29 minutes ago, MK1Elegance said:

Any suggestions?

Have you checked that the driver's door drains are clear?

[Dean]

Last couple of ideas; door card with no membrane and the door seals.

 

I wonder if the underlay is probably so wet and rotten now, that it keeps making the carpet wet. When I fully stripped out the Estate, mine were falling apart.

 

Get the right tools to make your life easy (plastic interior tools). Work from the top of the a/b/c pillars and remove them first so no clips break.

[MK1Elegance]

Thanks again for the replies,

 

 

I have previously checked the membrane in the drivers door (it's intact).

 

I'll pull the card and membrane to check the drains. Plus I'll also check the door seals.

 

Hopefully on Friday or the weekend.

 

 

👌

[kentphil1]

Have you checked the access panel above the fusebox - held on by two nuts - this can leak sometimes, also i think there is a grommet by it (been a while since i;ve been near that area so working from memory here) that can become displaced.

 

when you do check for leaks eventually, put a little food dye in with the water that you pour over the car, it will aid spotting the leak, and it will clean off afterwards with little effort.

 

Also, check that water is not filling the base of the A post and running over the top of the inner sill area.

 

Hope it helps

Edited 12 January, 2022 by kentphil1

[MK1Elegance]

Thanks again, plenty more to check

[mac11irl]

double check that membrane too. a tiny hole, or gap in the adhesive can let a strangely massive amount of water through..

might be having a look around the edge of the windscreen too i seem to remember someone having water getting in and eventually discovering the windscreen adhesive had broken down in the corner and water was getting through it.

[skomaz]

2 hours ago, mac11irl said:

double check that membrane too. a tiny hole, or gap in the adhesive can let a strangely massive amount of water through..

might be having a look around the edge of the windscreen too i seem to remember someone having water getting in and eventually discovering the windscreen adhesive had broken down in the corner and water was getting through it.

 

We had that issue on our old 2007 MkII Octavia and on the 2001 rear hatch glass on the Fabia Estate we had before it - so it wouldn't surprise me if a MkI coudl suffer similarly!

[MK1Elegance]

Right, an update.

 

I tried pouring water on different parts of the card whilst I had two days of dry weather (raining again now).

 

Drivers door outside (OK)

Drivers door inner (OK and drains fine from the bottom seal)

Drivers side wing drain underneath the scuttle (OK and drains fine from the inner wing)

Drivers side wiper void (OK and drains from the inner wing)

Drivers side window, with duct tape sealing between the windscreen and the scuttle panel rubber (OK and drains via the wing drain)

 

It's rained since and seems to be 99% dry on the drivers side foot-well.

 

Seems to be the windscreen bonding / scuttle panel upper rubber seal.

 

I am too honest to break the screen and claim (the wife is also an insurance broker, so fraud is a big no-no in her eyes).

 

£500+ for a replacement seems a bit steep from Auto-glass.

 

So I'm looking to replace the scuttle panels and put some sealant around the lower window whilst they're off.

 

I can't seem to get hold of the panels, but I saw these part numbers in another post:

 

Right:  1U0 819 404 C 01C

Left:  1U2 819 415 E 01C

 

Any idea where I might get hold of these new?

 

Skoda-parts stock the left one, but not the right...... Strange.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

(I haven't tried the main stealers yet) 🤑 

 

 

[MK1Elegance]

Me again,

 

 

Skoda-parts.com have replied.

 

They don't stock the right hand side, as it's now out of production.

 

Going to try the main stealers in a mo.

[KenONeill]

1 hour ago, MK1Elegance said:

I'm looking to replace the scuttle panels and put some sealant around the lower window whilst they're off.

 

I can't seem to get hold of the panels, but I saw these part numbers in another post:

 

Right:  1U0 819 404 C 01C

Left:  1U2 819 415 E 01C

Well, if you're got the part numbers, Google.

[MK1Elegance]

Tried, but no go.

 

Emailed the main stealers, waiting to hear back.

 

If not I'll try some sticky backed rubber seal from Amazon.

 

 

[MK1Elegance]

The main dealer told me exactly the same thing as Skoda-part.com said; LHS (one left), but no RHS in stock anymore.

 

After ringing around several breakers I've managed to find a pair (£20 for both).

 

I've got some sealing strip coming today too.

 

So the plan is to remove mine, hopefully see where it's leaking, seal it, fit the scuttle panels I'm picking up and seal on top with strip.

 

Fingers crossed🤞

[Deathbymilk]

On 12/01/2022 at 09:50, MK1Elegance said:

I'm still getting water in the drivers footwell.

 

I've checked the forums for tips and seem to have exhausted all the suggestions so far:

 

* Both sunroof drains are clear

 

* The drain from underneath the scuttle panel (water defection plastic trim below the windscreen) flows to the inner wing and to the floor is clear

 

...

My man, not to hijack your post;

 

I don't suppose I could bother you to share what I'm looking for in regards to the drain from underneath the scuttle panel? My passenger footwell was filling with water prior to purchase and the sunroof drain line *looks* to still be in situ. Hoping to just locate any drains that *might* lead into the cabin. I know the sunroof leaks around the edge but the water only seems to collect in the passenger footwell. 🤷‍♀️

[mac11irl]

good morning @Deathbymilk

there numerous places to check for water getting in -

 

sunroof drains - there are 4, the front 2 running down each A pillar. run a length of thin wire down each of them the whole way to the ground to make sure they are clear.

 

behind wheel arch liners - where the windscreen scuttle drains out - fills up with crud and blocks the outflow point. the space then fills fills up with water until it reaches the level of the bonnet release cable grommet in the fire wall and it runs on through to the cabin.

 

door membranes - really common. if any work has been done on a door lock, speaker, window regulator etc (which at the age of even the youngest mk1 is a 90% likelihood, its a miracle if there hasnt been!) then the plastic membrane has been removed for access. Then theres a good chance it was replaced and a small gap in the sealant lets an astounding amount of water in. look for signs of water at the bottom of the door card where it meets the metal frame.

 

door seals - if a door has shifted it might not be making full contact. rub some chalk along the seal, close the door and pour water down from the top of the door, it will wash off the chalk anywhere its getting through.

 

[MK1Elegance]

Yes, all of the above are the best places to check.

 

The sunroof drain was the sunroof drain was my passenger foot well causing to become wet.

 

When I took out the inner wheel arch there was about 2 pints of mud and mulch each side.

 

---------------------

 

Well, after removing the old scuttle panels, running some sealant around the base of the screen, refitting the scuttles with some more sealant around the top rubber seal, and then fitting another sealing strip I bought off Amazon, we'll see if it keeps the water out.

 

 

[MK1Elegance]

I'll post some pics of where the drains are located for the scuttle panels in a couple of hours

[KenONeill]

5 hours ago, Deathbymilk said:

My passenger footwell was filling with water prior to purchase and the sunroof drain line *looks* to still be in situ.

See other posts between here and yours, with the note that issues are more common on the LHS because it's nearer the kerb/gutter on an RHD car, and also because the standard SMIC is on the RHS and tends to dry out the RH arch (based on actual observation of actual cars, not theorising about heat soak).

[Deathbymilk]

22 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

See other posts between here and yours, with the note that issues are more common on the LHS because it's nearer the kerb/gutter on an RHD car, and also because the standard SMIC is on the RHS and tends to dry out the RH arch (based on actual observation of actual cars, not theorising about heat soak).

There's probably something to that actually. Maybe I'll put a second SMIC on the left hand side like the 2.5TDI's have 😂

 

[MK1Elegance]

The RHS drain is under the scuttle panel. It's a smallish oblong hole.

 

You can just about see it if you pull the scuttle up, even better if it's off.

 

 

The LHS is essentially the same.

 

 

Just to clarify, they are BELOW the oblong holes in the picture and go to the wing.

 

 

The best thing to do is to removed the scuttle panels and clean out any rubbish that's in there.

 

Also remove the inner wheel arch liners, as they will be full of debris too.

 

The pour some water to make sure that it drains.

 

 

I seem to be leak-free at the mo. It did take months of trying and testing 🙂

 

 

Edited 6 February, 2022 by MK1Elegance
Added info

[Deathbymilk]

I spent an afternoon with a 500ml oil drain syringe filled with water pouring it over the windshield and into the sunroof drains to try and replicate a leak and couldn't 😂 I did find that the part of the scuttle that fits into the pinch rail is cracked JUST above the cabin filter though.

 

So I've run a bead of silicone under the lip of the rubber that interfaces against the windshield. Now I've just got to leave it in the rain and hope for the worst/best 😂

[MK1Elegance]

If water gets to the cabin filter, I'll make the footwell wet

[Deathbymilk]

4 hours ago, MK1Elegance said:

If water gets to the cabin filter, I'll make the footwell wet

That's what I'm hoping it is. Then I can finally move on to replacing the window regulators and then drive the bloody thing 😂