Window Trim

[John042]

I have the dreaded wet foot well damp problem. There was a half cover over the roof section which covered all the roof but stopped half way down the windscreen and side windows.The engine bay bulkhead looks sealed so I'm turning my attention to the windows. There doesn't appear to be any trim on the outside of the door frame where the window is. Would I be right in thinking that rain would be running into the door and eventually filling the bottom of the door and spilling into car footwells? Sure there must be a rubber strip fitted to the top of the door cavity. If so are they available? Thanks for any help. J C.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi John


There should be a seal along the top of the door that butts up to the glass...Its called a waist seal, there are variants used on 280i that were a chrome strip, think they were MG or Morris and the later is a Jaguar seal for the 350i...There are some threads on here as regards...Ill see if I can dig them out..

Ziga

[John042]

Thanks Mark. Windows do rattle abit over the bumps.😁 How does the rubber attach to the door frame? J C

[v8s4me]

Check that you have some sort of moisture barrier behind your door-cards. I've just been sitting in the car in torrential rain trying to spot where water is getting in. My door-cards are off the car at the moment and so I can see water running down the inside of the door moulding and then tracking across the apertures and then dropping into the sills. Gaffer tape and tough plastic sheet will solve this.

[RCK974X]

Having had a few specialist and kit cars.... the dreaded damp footwell.....

Don't just suspect the doors - it's easy to start there, but . . .

Check the door seals, as they can leak by water running down from the window glass, and then dripping out the bottom of the seal - I advise taking
the seal off, and checking if it's wet inside (inside meaning the 'U' bit which clamps over the body edge). Door cards can also be an issue, but they get damp first IMHO, so you can check that too. (my wedge never did leak from the door cards, even though there was no plastic liner...).

OTHER - remember all those holes in the firewall... the bonnet and windscreen drip down over the firewall mouldings (e.g. on my wedge the battery 'hole' was nearly always wet at the bottom after rain, and on the other side too). Check for cracks (and some idiot having drilled holes to mount stuff !)
and any broken up grommets/seals. (mine used to leak a bit down the clutch cable hole - fixed with a little 'baffle' so water didn't drip in the hole.
Even the servo to body seal can leak.
Heater inlet drain hole blocked ? Not likely but ....mine had a few leaves in it when I bought it.

Sounds nuts, but remember there is a hole for the steering column, which actually sits in the 'throwoff' for the front wheel, and this spray can also seep in...

And I'm sure there are others, but this gives you a flavour of what and where to look (everywhere !)

[RCK974X]

Just remembered - I had a Vixen for a while which leaked with wet footwell, it drove me nuts, and it took ages to find.
It had been in a front end smack (new bonnet), and the flat part of the firewall moulding (by side of pedal box) had a crack running along the 'fold' right in the
line vertical to horizontal, which had been missed in the repairs. A layer of fibreglass over the top fixed that....

[John042]

Thanks Joe/Andy for the detailed replies. Yes the bulkhead is still an area of inpection and the heater drain was partially blocked. If anything I do need to fix the window rubber strips, (Missing) at the top of the doors if only to stop the glass rattling around. Are they U shaped and glued into position? Cheers J C.

[John042]

Hi, would I be right in assuming the correct seal for the top of the door is the item U1407 as sold by TVR Parts? J C.

[350zwelgje]

Drilled a few holes in the foot wells and have some rubber carpets. Job done
Even an advantage when driving in torrential rain (always roof down), I don't mind.
Ok, the interior didn't look new when I got the wedge 15 years ago (Blackpool original, never anything done to it and old!), won't win any prizes then and now and until it is the original, what the heck, I'll just drive it like it should be.

Oops probably not helping....
But have a few rubber strips I can put on the side windows (manually and not permanent if you want to lower the windows) to close the gap to the rubber parallel to the windscreen, that is if it have to live outside for a while. So think even with a door-windscreen frame rubber in place, it is still not closed. Wasn't it MGF rubbers that were a good replacement? Could be a start, not?

Rob

[v8s4me]

THIS is the seal I've used on the door tops. It does create a good seal between the glass and the door top but the water sill pours in, streaming down the outer channels of the window frames. I've tried all sorts of strips and seals to stop this but without any success. I think we've just got to accept the crap design here and make sure there are plenty of drain holes in the bottom of the doors.

These pictures show how the water collects in the fold of the door seal...





With these new (and expensive!) seals the water sits below the top of the 'U' shaped section which stops the water seeping over the sill.

To test my theory about the access holes in the inner skin I've stretched cling film across the door. If the water stays on the outer side of the cling film then I've cracked it.

For more background on my water leak issues see HERE

[gmw9666]

v8s4me said:

THIS is the seal I've used on the door tops. It does create a good seal between the glass and the door top but the water sill pours in, streaming down the outer channels of the window frames. I've tried all sorts of strips and seals to stop this but without any success. I think we've just got to accept the crap design here and make sure there are plenty of drain holes in the bottom of the doors.

These pictures show how the water collects in the fold of the door seal...





With these new (and expensive!) seals the water sits below the top of the 'U' shaped section which stops the water seeping over the sill.

To test my theory about the access holes in the inner skin I've stretched cling film across the door. If the water stays on the outer side of the cling film then I've cracked it.

For more background on my water leak issues see HERE

Have you got a squashed bit on the seal, allows the water to drain sill side vs carpet side

[v8s4me]

No. But that looks like the damage done when the seat belt gets trapped.

[RCK974X]

Window rattles - on mine, I discovered the glass was rattling against the rear channel at the top, where it fits onto the door, as the flat plate also acts as a 'stop' for the rubber insert. so it can hit the glass when rubber is worn. I added a small piece of plastic 'U' edge protector (which I think is actually from wiring suppliers) and it stopped the rattle.

You can still see a small mark on the window glass where it used to rub/rattle....

[gmw9666]

v8s4me said:

No. But that looks like the damage done when the seat belt gets trapped.

[v8s4me]

Interesting. I'll have a look at the Chims at our next monthly meet.

[v8s4me]

v8s4me said:

.....To test my theory about the access holes in the inner skin I've stretched cling film across the door. .........

There was a lot of rain last night and the foot-wells are dry so I've ordered some of THIS to seal the inner skins properly.

v8s4me said:

......If the water stays on the outer side of the cling film then I've cracked it.....

Let's wait and see.

[John042]

Thanks for all the detailed replies. I like Robs idea, "Drill bigger holes" in the floor and fit rubber mats. Love you mad bunch. I reckon the seals that fit to the bottom of shower doors looks a likey fit? Cheap and you get yards of it. In fact any seal you can get to stay in place on the door has got to be a bonus. Cheers all. J C.

[RCK974X]

Those door seal shots are interesting - I remember there was a variant of that U-0 seal pattern where there were holes moulded in the joiner strip, which means that the water would drain out to the outside, and would fix the issues in the photos.

Or you could drill a few of your own......

Always better to keep the footwells dry rather than bigger drainholes !!

[v8s4me]

All the apertures in the inner door skin have been covered on the inside with a flap of waterproof material sealed along the top edge with black silicon goo. The apertures were then covered with Fablon (doesn't stick very well) and the edges sealed with weather-proof tape...





If the doors still leak after this then I think I'll just give up and trade it in for a boat

[sabre]

Check the battery tray, mine has worn through and leaks coming from there.