Chimp newbie leaking roof advice
Discussion
Picked up my new chimp on Saturday. It’s fantastic and spent a brilliant weekend with the OH blatting through Surrey and Hampshire. However, the roof seals are not brilliant and some advice would be greatly appreciated.
Firstly, the seals along the top of both windows press against the glass at the back but come away by about ¼ “ towards the front (even when the rubber is not pinched behind the frame, as it is in pic).
Secondly, the rubbers do not even begin to seal at the bottom trailing edge of windows (pic).
Thirdly, there is water ingress at the back of the cockpit even when the car is moving around the area marked (pic). Could be from condensation from the plastic window but appears to be of a higher volume than I would expect from that.
I have spoken to the dealer about it and they are of the opinion that nothing can be done. Are they right or is there something that can be done (other than a cover!)??
Cheers,
Stu
Firstly, the seals along the top of both windows press against the glass at the back but come away by about ¼ “ towards the front (even when the rubber is not pinched behind the frame, as it is in pic).
Secondly, the rubbers do not even begin to seal at the bottom trailing edge of windows (pic).
Thirdly, there is water ingress at the back of the cockpit even when the car is moving around the area marked (pic). Could be from condensation from the plastic window but appears to be of a higher volume than I would expect from that.
I have spoken to the dealer about it and they are of the opinion that nothing can be done. Are they right or is there something that can be done (other than a cover!)??
Cheers,
Stu
My first advice would be to check that the roof material is waterproof.
Pour a glass of water on the roof - does it bead off like an oilskin? If not then it need reproofing - renovo do an excellent kit.
When I first got mine water just soaked into the canvas like a sponge and lathough there was no definate leak the back carpets were getting wet.
With regard to the window seals make sure they are in good nick. If they look perished or flat then new ones are only a few quid.
Assuming good seals the window height can be adjusted so that the fit with the seal is snug. There is a small phillips screw head half way along the door frame (under the brush draft seal) turning this screw will adjust the stop height for the window.
Goodluck
Pour a glass of water on the roof - does it bead off like an oilskin? If not then it need reproofing - renovo do an excellent kit.
When I first got mine water just soaked into the canvas like a sponge and lathough there was no definate leak the back carpets were getting wet.
With regard to the window seals make sure they are in good nick. If they look perished or flat then new ones are only a few quid.
Assuming good seals the window height can be adjusted so that the fit with the seal is snug. There is a small phillips screw head half way along the door frame (under the brush draft seal) turning this screw will adjust the stop height for the window.
Goodluck
swallet said:
My first advice would be to check that the roof material is waterproof.
Pour a glass of water on the roof - does it bead off like an oilskin? If not then it need reproofing - renovo do an excellent kit.
When I first got mine water just soaked into the canvas like a sponge and lathough there was no definate leak the back carpets were getting wet.
With regard to the window seals make sure they are in good nick. If they look perished or flat then new ones are only a few quid.
Assuming good seals the window height can be adjusted so that the fit with the seal is snug. There is a small phillips screw head half way along the door frame (under the brush draft seal) turning this screw will adjust the stop height for the window.
Goodluck
Swallet,Pour a glass of water on the roof - does it bead off like an oilskin? If not then it need reproofing - renovo do an excellent kit.
When I first got mine water just soaked into the canvas like a sponge and lathough there was no definate leak the back carpets were getting wet.
With regard to the window seals make sure they are in good nick. If they look perished or flat then new ones are only a few quid.
Assuming good seals the window height can be adjusted so that the fit with the seal is snug. There is a small phillips screw head half way along the door frame (under the brush draft seal) turning this screw will adjust the stop height for the window.
Goodluck
Thanks. Useful advice. The dealer says that because the seals touch the window glass at the back, but not at the front, that raising the window stop height is not an option i.e. it will fix the problem at the front of the window but create a new problem at the back. The seals along the top of the window are flat underneath - not good then?
Cheers.
Stupid question but is the roof on straight?
EAsy to put on a bit squiffy so that one window seems high and the other a little low. Check the gap where the roof meets the windscreen. Should be equal.
You can run some windscreen washer pipe inside the roof/window seals to bulk the seals up a bit but it will only gain you a few millimetres.
IS the pasanger window reaching the same height as the driver one (measure them) . If not then adjust, could have dropped a bit.
Also check that the rear window isn't leaking through the stitching. If it is then renovo should sort out a mild leak but if the stictching is loose it will need fixing.
Sorry that's all I can think of.
EAsy to put on a bit squiffy so that one window seems high and the other a little low. Check the gap where the roof meets the windscreen. Should be equal.
You can run some windscreen washer pipe inside the roof/window seals to bulk the seals up a bit but it will only gain you a few millimetres.
IS the pasanger window reaching the same height as the driver one (measure them) . If not then adjust, could have dropped a bit.
Also check that the rear window isn't leaking through the stitching. If it is then renovo should sort out a mild leak but if the stictching is loose it will need fixing.
Sorry that's all I can think of.
swallet said:
Stupid question but is the roof on straight?
EAsy to put on a bit squiffy so that one window seems high and the other a little low. Check the gap where the roof meets the windscreen. Should be equal.
You can run some windscreen washer pipe inside the roof/window seals to bulk the seals up a bit but it will only gain you a few millimetres.
IS the pasanger window reaching the same height as the driver one (measure them) . If not then adjust, could have dropped a bit.
Also check that the rear window isn't leaking through the stitching. If it is then renovo should sort out a mild leak but if the stictching is loose it will need fixing.
Sorry that's all I can think of.
No, that's brilliant advice sir! If you adjust the panel slightly you can sometimes get one side to sit right but the other side will have a bigger gap, and vice versa. You can never get both sides sealed. I'll take a look at the other points you mention.EAsy to put on a bit squiffy so that one window seems high and the other a little low. Check the gap where the roof meets the windscreen. Should be equal.
You can run some windscreen washer pipe inside the roof/window seals to bulk the seals up a bit but it will only gain you a few millimetres.
IS the pasanger window reaching the same height as the driver one (measure them) . If not then adjust, could have dropped a bit.
Also check that the rear window isn't leaking through the stitching. If it is then renovo should sort out a mild leak but if the stictching is loose it will need fixing.
Sorry that's all I can think of.
Thanks again.
With regards to the rear window it might all look in tact but make sure you look very closely at the stitching. Mine had perished in places and i'd found a big damp patch on the rear shelf. It took me AGES to figure out what it was because on first look the rear screen looks fine. Try this and then i imagine this renovo will work - i'm going to try some !
With regards to the windows, i'll be interested to see if you find a cure as mine are the same. It doesn't leak for me though so i've just left as is. I get the feeling that it might be that the whole door has dropped a bit and thus not lining up to the roof correctly...don't know if anyone can correct me or verify this ??
AJ
With regards to the windows, i'll be interested to see if you find a cure as mine are the same. It doesn't leak for me though so i've just left as is. I get the feeling that it might be that the whole door has dropped a bit and thus not lining up to the roof correctly...don't know if anyone can correct me or verify this ??
AJ
AJV8 said:
With regards to the windows, i'll be interested to see if you find a cure as mine are the same. It doesn't leak for me though so i've just left as is. I get the feeling that it might be that the whole door has dropped a bit and thus not lining up to the roof correctly...don't know if anyone can correct me or verify this ??
AJ
Cheers.
stuarte said:
Thanks AJ. The dealer fitted a new back window prior to pickup. I'll check the quality of the stitching! Could be that the doors have dropped. I had read somewhere that they (the doors) can be adjusted by I have not checked this myself yet.
Cheers.
Doors can definitely be adjusted but it's a pain the the arse apparently. I know Darren on here adjusted his and i think ended up making them worse. I'm just not sure whtether this would make an impact on the leaking issue you're having. Cheers.
Does your actually leak water through the points you noted ? I have exactly the same "holes" and i get no water coming in other than the rear screen, even when the car is parked outside in the rain. In fact, believe it or not this holds the water out better than my old Mx5
It was OK in the light rain over the long weekend but having been subjected to a prolonged downpour this morning there is definitely water in the cabin. Footwells are dry as a bone and there doesn't appear to be any water ingress from the top of the windows (good news) but behind both seats and up to the seat belt rollers is very damp. Not sure if it is coming from the areas I photo'd TBH, but it's getting in somewhere! Looking at the state of the carpets behind the seats, I would say it's not the first time it's leaked there!
I had exactly the same on the parcel shelf carpet. go to the back of the car and look along the boot and up to the edge where the body meets the hood. My water was getting underneath the hood in the same gap between the body. I gentley applied some silicon sealant between the underside of the hood and the body and the leak on the back carpet stopped. I think the water was running down the plastic screen at the back and running underneath the back edge of the hood. 
Mark
Mark
To adjust the window height to get it level where it meets the roof the mechanism inside the door where the bottom of the glass meets the metal frame of the lifting mechanism. You can loosen off two bolts on the bracket that holds the glass, then fiddle till the window levels up correctly and then tighten up bolts,then fine tune using the phillips head adjuster. This does mean you'll need to strip the door cards etc, fiddly but doable.
blaze_away said:
To adjust the window height to get it level where it meets the roof the mechanism inside the door where the bottom of the glass meets the metal frame of the lifting mechanism. You can loosen off two bolts on the bracket that holds the glass, then fiddle till the window levels up correctly and then tighten up bolts,then fine tune using the phillips head adjuster. This does mean you'll need to strip the door cards etc, fiddly but doable.
Excellent Blaze Away, thanks. Do I take it to mean then that the window can be adjusted to be slightly hihger/lower towards back or front in addition to adjusting the overall height (with the philips screw) at which the window stops?stuarte said:
Excellent Blaze Away, thanks. Do I take it to mean then that the window can be adjusted to be slightly hihger/lower towards back or front in addition to adjusting the overall height (with the philips screw) at which the window stops?
Yes the glass sits in a channel with a metal plate fixed to it at the bottom which has nuts and bolts through it that are used the clamp the plate in place, which in turn means the glass is clamped in place. These nuts and bolts can be loosened and then the glass can be titled clockwise or anti-clockwise until the top of the glass is parallel (sp ?) with the roof seal line. Once thats done you can do any fine adjustment of the stop height using the screw on the INSIDE of the glass under the brush on the door top. Its not an easy job, its fiddly and get the level right is trial and error, but with lots of swearwords it can be done.Edited by blaze_away on Friday 8th June 14:58
I had the same problem with the window seals. I tried to adjust the window hight but it didn't work. You can put a small tube or wire in the hole of the hardtop rubber at both sites, at the place where the window not touch the seal. Maybe you can close the cap. (I used some TVR washer jet tube)
I hope you understand what I mean. Sorry for my bat English, please reply in Dutch ;-)
I hope you understand what I mean. Sorry for my bat English, please reply in Dutch ;-)
Bit of practical advice from experience.
I had to adjust the height of mine and found it near on impossible to find the screw adjuster beneath the 'brush'.
So got a piece of lead roof flashing about 6 inches wide by a foot long. I bent this to shape so it held the brush out of the way so I could get a torch into the gap to find the adjuster. Which on mine was a flat head and not phillips version. Anticlockwise adjusts the window UP, clockwise takes it down.
Hope that helps.
I had to adjust the height of mine and found it near on impossible to find the screw adjuster beneath the 'brush'.
So got a piece of lead roof flashing about 6 inches wide by a foot long. I bent this to shape so it held the brush out of the way so I could get a torch into the gap to find the adjuster. Which on mine was a flat head and not phillips version. Anticlockwise adjusts the window UP, clockwise takes it down.
Hope that helps.
Bit of practical advice from experience.
I had to adjust the height of mine and found it near on impossible to find the screw adjuster beneath the 'brush'.
So got a piece of lead roof flashing about 6 inches wide by a foot long. I bent this to shape so it held the brush out of the way so I could get a torch into the gap to find the adjuster. Which on mine was a flat head and not phillips version. Anticlockwise adjusts the window UP, clockwise takes it down.
Hope that helps.
I had to adjust the height of mine and found it near on impossible to find the screw adjuster beneath the 'brush'.
So got a piece of lead roof flashing about 6 inches wide by a foot long. I bent this to shape so it held the brush out of the way so I could get a torch into the gap to find the adjuster. Which on mine was a flat head and not phillips version. Anticlockwise adjusts the window UP, clockwise takes it down.
Hope that helps.
Forgive me if I am teaching grannie to suck eggs, but make sure you are tensioning the roof properly. I have seen many Chimaera owners who get this wrong, and it does lead to water ingress.
You need to put the rear section up, but before you lock out the struts get the fabric as tight as you can and attach the velcro strip, then pop the struts. You should feel resistance, which means the rear section is being properly tensioned.
Just like a tent, loose canvas and creases will cause leaks.
You need to put the rear section up, but before you lock out the struts get the fabric as tight as you can and attach the velcro strip, then pop the struts. You should feel resistance, which means the rear section is being properly tensioned.
Just like a tent, loose canvas and creases will cause leaks.
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff