There I was on Tuesday, sat comfortably at the wheel looking at the rain thinking how well we'd done in September weatherwise and then I started getting wet also even though the roof was shut.
Rain was running out the central roof light, over the tops of the 'A' pillar trims and down both sides of the lower dashboard side panels & into the footwells. AND over me!
So some investigation work was urgently needed as the punters pay me to stay dry as well as get them home.
So first of all, as I didnt have access to an airline I slid a length of strimmer wire (nice and soft) down each sunroof drain tube after filling the drainage channels with water.
This didnt work so a different approach was needed. The Haynes book of lies sheds no light on this subject incidentally.I recall seeing drain tubes on anther car that drained below the wheel splash panels so off they came.
It was at this point that I couldnt find any so off came the lower dashboard sidepanels, door rubbers and sill trims.
Still no joy but I did see plenty of access holes for the waxoyl substitute to access as the sills are triple skinned
which left me with a small a job to do later. Whilst the splash guard was off I also pulled out the big plug to look inside the sills too.Plenty of gunge accumulates in this area so its worth pulling the panels off and washing out as I reckon over time the wing bottoms will suffer from rot.
Its also a good place to spray into the front cavity section of the sill through the two holes.
Back to business... as off came the A pillar trim to try and trace the drain tubes( red arrowed) as the 'bottom up' effort had so far failed.
Finally we are getting there! The drain tube itself plugs into the scuttle area just below the windscreen.
This plug just pulls off. It was surprisingly gunged up when cleaning out.
Having located the drain it was apparently obvious where the fault lies. The 'plug' has a closed cross section which should allow water to pass but not to let anything upwards. However this blocks over time with grit, dust, leaf debris etc.
Up went the soft strimmer wire to double check the tube was clear.
Then 'hey presto' more water to double check that we had a good flow.
So where does the drainage eventually go too you might ask?
Well it eventually comes out just above the pollen filter area (arrowed) and then though a big hole in the scuttle near the bonnet hinge area and then down the back off the splash panels. I'd removed the pollen filter cover in search of tubing originally and also to remove the leaves etc. that usually accumulate there.
Another good idea when doing the pollen filter.
Doing the other side of the car was done in a matter of moments. Then a double check at the scuttle level to ensure a good flow of water.
All I had to do then was put it all back together after spraying into the box sections wherever I found a hole.
Dont forget these areas are double and triple skinned for strength so access isnt always made when spraying in from other points of entry.
Front sill area.
Hope this helps! Only if you have a sunroof of course.
Tony
Tony
