look under the backseat before you buy the car !

[grainger]

hi all

every single time !!! no matter how good it looks from underneath, take the back seat out and look through the big holes in the top, hopefully it will have waxoyl and metal in there, but if its brown at all try shoving a screwdriver through the floor !! if its soft it will cost you hundreds to repair

three times i DIDNT do it, and all of them were the same - rotten!! so if ever there was a useful tip, earned by painful experience, that can be passed on and save some one else a lot of sadness - this is mine.

cheers
grainger

[Chris Morley]

Very true Grainger - I discovered my car suffered from the dreaded wet carpet (leaking rubber) soon after I bought it. Within a month I had replaced the rubber, dried out the box section and filled it with Waxoyl as per my tip. Three years later I've found the first hole - a legacy of previous owners ignoring the leak I guess.

Edit 01.06.06.





Thanks to Onne for this image. Water typically follows the route shown:

[mrpleasant]

i have a traveller with that problem.where is the water getting in ,which rubber.?excuse my ignorance.

[Kevin]

Grainger & Chris were refering to saloons the Traveller lay out is different, where is the dampness/water and have you tried removing anything to see if you can find any signs of the leak, a telltale water mark or line. Have you checked that the side window drain holes are clear and that all the window runners and felts are OK.

[mrpleasant]

pleasant trees kevin,
yeah have checked the drainage holes in the wood and felt seems ok,is it possible that the water may be getting in past the rubber roof seal that joins the front to the back ?was thinking of replacing this anyway, seems a little brittle and inflexible.

[mrpleasant]

ahh, forgot to say,the water is under the back seat in the box with the holes

[rayofleamington]

it can get there from 3 main places
1) from rusted spring hangers (the holes can be hidden above the spring eye)
2) from wheel arches (and/or the windows) - the water leaves a trail of rot as it comes down the wheel arch, and collects under the rear seat.
3) from the rear floor pan (eg from leaky door or even run back from front of car!) If there's a lot of water, it's hard to tell if it got under the rear seat from the floorpanb, or into the floorpan from under the rear seat.

[MrA.Series]

Also, for salloons, check your rear window! If that leaks, it trickles down the back of your rear seat, rotting the wood back as it goes, and fills up the boxsection that way. That was what happened to mine! All sorted now.

[rayofleamington]

Also, for saloons, check your rear window!

Very true! I would have mentioned it if mr.P's car wasn't a travy.
I've not seen the rear seat wood rot but I have seen the water rot the rear arch seams, spring hangars and the rear floor on quite a few cars!! - On oone car the owner had spent hundreds every year having the plates replated with bigger plates year after year, and never been told to spend £50 to have the rear screen fixed... Local garages - don't you just love em

[mrpleasant]

thanx fellas, most helpful,will check all those points of possible entry.(hmmm reading that back sounds like i should have posted that on a porn site)

[Cam]

Steady!

[shymoggie]

Question from the dimwit here..... Why is this such a nightmare to repair ? I haven't looked recently but I'm concerned now

[Gareth]

I'd be difficult for me, not to mention expensive, because I can't weld... it's an expensive job, so it must be a bit tricky.

[Chris Morley]

Very tricky indeed - look at all the panels which are attached to the box section. The worst job probably being the rear spring hangers.

[Kevin]

Why is this such a nightmare to repair ? I haven't looked recently but I'm concerned now

And most of it, if not all of it can be prevented by having a good rear screen rubber.

[Chris Morley]

Jim - be afraid - be very afraid.....

[Malcolm]

What a wealth of information. Just discovered this very problem in my own 2-door saloon yesterday and got concerned. The car had been completely restored but I still found litres of water sitting in that box under the rear seat.

But speak to me of Waxoyl. What is it? Do you just clean and dry the (otherwise sound) waterlogged area and paint it on?

And has anyone tried running a thin bead of transparent silicone seal around all the rubber window seals to prevent leaks? Does it work?

What about running similar silicone seal along the left and right edges of the sloping pan under the rear seat to stop any dripping water from continuing its path and settling in the (hard to empty and clean) boxed-in area under the metal 'lid' with the holes along it - the bit the front of the rear seat sits upon?

Malcolm

[rayofleamington]

What about running similar silicone seal along the left and right edges of the sloping pan under the rear seat to stop any dripping water from continuing its path and settling in the (hard to empty and clean) boxed-in area under the metal 'lid' with the holes along it - the bit the front of the rear seat sits upon

The water can also get in there from the inner step where it continues along the wheelarch.
Normally the underseat area slowly bleeds into the floorpan throught the spotwelded joint. I've put drain holes in this area on some cars (and lots of other places too).

Waxoil comes in a few variants that can be brushed or sprayed into box sections.

[salty_monk]

I've put drain holes in this area on some cars (and lots of other places too).

What about a quick diagram or description of what you did Ray??

And has anyone tried running a thin bead of transparent silicone seal around all the rubber window seals to prevent leaks? Does it work

Yes & yes but it is really the "cheap fix" option & doesn't leave you with a great deal of confidence that it may not start to leak again...

You need clear waxoyl for cavities... spray on is easiest. Most expensive but least messy is from a can however if you want volume & to be able to get right down the chassis legs etc then you'll need to use the high pressure kit. It's all available from Halfwits (Halfords) as cheap as anywhere...

[Kevin]

Just discovered this very problem in my own 2-door saloon yesterday and got concerned. The car had been completely restored but I still found litres of water sitting in that box under the rear seat.

Malcolm 2 questions how long ago was it restored and what condition are the rear window and rear screen rubbers in as if there is any sign of perishing the rubbers need replacing as its a common fault and the modern rubbers dont seem to last as long as the originals.
If you look closely with the rear seat removed (both parts) you should be able to see a tell tale water mark trace possibly on part of the trim where its covered by the seat, if you trace this upwards you can probably find what is at fault, and the rear rubbers do not usually need sealing just installing properly, let us know how you get on, and remove / dry the water out as soon as possible or it will rust through.