boot seal

[tvrgit]

Does anybody have a photo of the rubber boot seal that goes around the edge?

I have a problem with water pouring into the boot in wet weather (had a lot of that lately!) - I have removed and flushed out the two drainage hoses but it's still pouring in somewhere.

I put some oil on the seal tonight and it only touches the boot lid along its front edge and the back two corners - otherwise the boot seems to fit INSIDE the seal but not touching it along the sides and the back edge.

Is it just a simple U-shaped seal (mine is) or should it have a collapsible inner seal that sits against the recess in the inside of the boot lid?

[GreenV8S]

Don't see how the rain can get past the seal without climbing up hill. Any chance it is coming in anywhere else - filler cap, lights, aerial etc?

[tvrgit]

It only seems to happen if the car is parked on a slope (it was really bad when I had the front on axle stands while the wheels were away being done) hence my initial attempts at cleaning out the drain hoses - I thought the channel was filling with water and it was running over.

Both sides get wet so its not just the filler or aerial - although it could be that on one side I suppose!

I can chuck water over the back of the car and it seems to be ok - but in rain the boot gets soaked. I just don't get it.

[amyzoe]

I had a similar problem but the boot was only getting wet one side.Turned out to be the seal of the drain holes sleeve was leaking.Just cleared out some of the fibreglass around,pushed the sleeve up,Clear silicone around and pushed it back in.Been okay since that.

[HarryW]

Are you really sure the drain holes are clear , only say that as mine seem to let the water through when tested but it wasn't until I put a pipe cleaner head on the end of a piece of wire did it properly clean it out. IMHE the holes should flow enough water to let a hose pipe run on the boot without overflowing into the boot.
The other possibilty is that the connections between the drain holes and the flexi tubing through the boot is leaking at the joints or is holed . Another minor one is the outlet under the car is caked up too much, but the pipe cleaner jobbie should clear that too.

Harry

[tvrgit]

No the hoses are definitely clear - I took them off altogether and flushed them through, and cleaned the outside as well so i could see they were clear.

[HarryW]

tvrgit said:

No the hoses are definitely clear - I took them off altogether and flushed them through, and cleaned the outside as well so i could see they were clear.

Did you clean out the bits that actually go through the top and bottom of the boot that connect to the pipe , bottom bit can get blocked easily simple test is to run a watering can into the boot chanel and see if it drains out easily, which it should IMHE.

Harry

[GreenV8S]

So, with the boot lid open if you poor water into the gutter you will be able to see it draining down the tubes and under the car - have you tried this?

[mikeo]

Have been trying to solve this very same problem myself over the last couple of days. Pipes are clear but the boot still gets very wet whenever water is poured over it.

[Johan G]

I beleive it is possible for the water to "climb" over the seal. Atleast it does that sometimes on my S3C when I wash it. The fit of the boot lid is not the best, so I beleive that the seal does not have contact all the way around the lid.

My drain pipes are also clear, but cannot cope with large amounts of water, so the water rises around the seal and can get over it into the boot.

I have the boot lock located at the middle-rear of the boot. I have seen others where the lock is positioned at the right hand side of the boot where the boot strut is. That is a better position to prevent the boot lid being slightly skewed by the strut, which I beleive is the main reason why my boot lid is not water tight.

\ Johan

[M@H]

..another option is that water seeps under the seal (popular on the corners). The seal is a push fit onto a fiberglass edge and if the "clip" part of the seal that goes onto it becomes a loose fit (by knocking things against the rubber seal whilst moving stuff in and out of the boot for example) then water can work its way between the fiberlgass lip and the inside edge of the seal.. not as high to climb as over the top of the seal either.

This can be fixed by removing the seal, putting a bead of silicone into the "clip" section of the seal, then refitting it.

Cheers
Matt.

[tvrgaas]

I also found it leaks in at the bolt holes (in the gutter!!!) for the bit of bent metal for holding up the boot lid - but I think you S2/3 guys have Gas-Strut thing so the mounting may be different.

[HarryW]

On the same vein as the boot seal bits and bobs, it sounds silly but make sure the seal join is at the top, towards the hood that is .

Harry