Newbie Elise Owner - Roof advice

[fozzy360]

Hi,

Bought my first S2 Elise about 3 weeks ago, and whilst I love everything about the car, just having trouble with a leaky roof in this bad weather, particularly on both window seals. Now I know the roofs are prone to leaking, but is it worth having the seals replaced by my local dealer? What I don't want to do is waste money on something which probably won't make a great deal of differance, or is this something you just accept when you own an Elise?

Many Thanks in advance,

Fozzy

[kambites]

You can often resolve the problem by adjusting the windows so they fit against the seals better.

ETA: Mine has never leaked a drop.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 12th November 12:24

[SeanyD]

Mine leaks, a few drips here and there during light rain, or a small we patch during heavy rain.

Hasn't really bothered me enough to do anything about it so far, just a 'feature'

[bogie]

a dealer would adjust the windows, you can DIY - theres a manual kicking around the web somewhere - its just a couple of screws in the door that adjust the height front/rear of each side window - check you are getting a good seal between them and the cant rail rubber.

other tips- get some Fabsil or other tent proofing stuff from Millets, spray the roof liberally and let it soak in...hanging it on a washing line is better than having to wash all the crap off the car afterwards

thats usually all it needs ...sometimes some black silicone sealant run along the underside edge where the fabric joins the cant rail - that can help too

I treated mine in the first few months, it never leaked again in over 80k miles in all weathers

[fozzy360]

cheers guys, yeah just checked and the problem seems to be a small gap between the window and the rubber seal so will see if I can adjust this.

[dunxS1]

They all drip a bit depending on angle of parking/wind ect. The windows can be adjusted but i've never done it,
you could pop along to the next http://forum.nyloc.org/ meeting for practical advice.
Dunx.

[kambites]

dunxS1 said:

They all drip a bit depending on angle of parking/wind ect.

S2s (at least short-tail ones) don't seem to. Whilst mine lives in a garage at night, it's seen plenty of evil weather during the day and I've never found a drip of water inside.

[SeanyD]

Mine's S2 longtail, and it leaks a bit. I'm not too bothered about it though, its only a bit, and doesnt do any harm, a few drips on the sill guards from time to time, no damage and no harm done.

[kambites]

SeanyD said:

Mine's S2 longtail, and it leaks a bit. I'm not too bothered about it though, its only a bit, and doesnt do any harm, a few drips on the sill guards from time to time, no damage and no harm done.

Until your resistor pack goes and you have no interior fans. Then you worry about every little bit of water getting into the car because otherwise you can't see where you're going.

[austin2ndcity]

well my 2003 111s S2 leaks like a bar steward! ive adjusted windows, waterproofed roof read all the advice i can find. It leaks in the corner where the seal and window meet at the front on the join, water then drips onto the sill then seat !!

Now its garaged and only comes out in dry till i can find a hardtop for it for reasonable dollar

[bogie]

austin2ndcity said:

well my 2003 111s S2 leaks like a bar steward! ive adjusted windows, waterproofed roof read all the advice i can find. It leaks in the corner where the seal and window meet at the front on the join, water then drips onto the sill then seat !!

Now its garaged and only comes out in dry till i can find a hardtop for it for reasonable dollar

hardtops still leak too if the windows are not adjusted to suit them ...it can be a real pain as if the soft top and hard top dont fit exactly the same you have to adjust the windows each time you fit it if you want it watertight

I sold mine in the end, never used it - too much hassle !

[kambites]

austin2ndcity said:

well my 2003 111s S2 leaks like a bar steward! ive adjusted windows, waterproofed roof read all the advice i can find. It leaks in the corner where the seal and window meet at the front on the join, water then drips onto the sill then seat !!

Now its garaged and only comes out in dry till i can find a hardtop for it for reasonable dollar

Odd. Does your car have the funny little rubber cups fused into the end of the window seal at the top of the windscreen pillar? It's designed to catch the drips you describe and route them down the outside of the seal. I know my (MY04) car does and that a friend's (MY02) car doesn't; I had assumed it came in with the short roof.

[Loudman]

Personally i'd recommend a hardtop for the winter if you use it regularly, my S2 111S is an everydayer, the softtop leaks a bit but not bothered to fiddle with it, I've just put my hardtop on for the winter and that doesn't leak at all although it whistles at high speed due to it being raised slightly (only 2-3mm) at the back, but generally much better bet in the winter, feels nice and snug.

[austin2ndcity]

no little cups you mention? i really need to sort this problem as im rarely using the car at the moment with the stty wet weather, i love driving it and everything about it except the damn leaking!

Luckily i can garage it at my parents house very local to me but its a pain driving to theirs moving cars and vans around to take it out and drop it back

I may have to move to a house with a garage than carry on like this or hardtop !!

[kambites]

You can get a "shower cap" which sits over the whole glasshouse of the car when you're not driving it. Takes 30 seconds to put on and keeps it completely watertight. That wont stop it leaking while you're driving it though.

ETA: To see what I mean about the windscreen pillar, look at the one in this picture (by the end of the handbrake). If yours looks like that, it probably shouldn't leak:

Edited by kambites on Saturday 15th November 11:54

[austin2ndcity]

THATS WHAT I NEED !!! WHERE DO I GET THEM FROM , Christmas has come early for me !! Please those will make me a happy man indeed, exactly where mine leaks from

[kambites]

austin2ndcity said:

THATS WHAT I NEED !!! WHERE DO I GET THEM FROM , Christmas has come early for me !! Please those will make me a happy man indeed, exactly where mine leaks from

They were standard fit on later S2s, maybe on all the short-roof ones? I don't know if they're retrofittable.

I'll have a look at my car when I drive home this evening and see if I can see how they're fitted.

Edited by kambites on Monday 17th November 15:05

[austin2ndcity]

mines short roof S2 111s 2003 ? definately doesn't have those cups, i can see why they put them on because mine leaks exactly there

[kambites]

Ah, mine's an early MY04 car and does have them, so that gives us a pretty good idea of when they were introduced.

It looks like the cup bit is molded into the rubber seal that runs all down the windscreen pillar so I'd guess you'll have to replace the whole thing. I have no idea how it comes off though...

[austin2ndcity]

thanks for taking the time to look for me, ive taken photos of mine so you can see the difference and ill post them once i can find the lead that connects my nokia to the laptop