Well I had my roof rails off, and there was no sign at all of a path in. But my car leaks pretty well!
75ZT Community
A social community of enthusiasts, owners, appreciators and collectors. With expert knowledge of all things from MG to Rover and beyond.
STILL leaking!!!!! by TyphoonTT (Page 2 of 3)
- Related topics: Leaking rad problem, leaking roof, Fuel Leaking from Injector
Duncan.. Remove piller trim on inside so you can pull back the roof lining, and shows the box section in the pic i posted .. set up hose on roof climb in to car, and watch for water... you will see it within a min...Then dry off outside and gaffer tape over the end of the roof rail , and tailgate shut , and retest , if like mine and others, you will find it then stops , which means you have a leak on the body joints in the tailgate shuts like mine and TyphoonTT.
pics...I removed roof rail , and taped up , and water tested "no leaks"... so it proved it was body seams ... 
There was also a small leak from the thick sealer on the roof rail at the back edge.. you wont see it by just looking , it only needs to be the size of a pin head to let water in ..
There was also a small leak from the thick sealer on the roof rail at the back edge.. you wont see it by just looking , it only needs to be the size of a pin head to let water in ..
JohnDotCom wrote:Check the black bolt holes/covers on the black running rails on roof where rack can be fitted.
Seams can leak or if covers aren't correct can leak.
All the other normals are the side vents in load area, side trims on car very common, opening rear window seals.
Looks like a check at the Nano, and a stripping job with some five litre water containers.
I think this mght well be the source of the leak. My gaskets to the rear of the roof bars have perished and the section that covers the bolts has come away.
Mike
I have finally found it. And it explains why your tape worked.
I'll post a photo later, but it's actually inside the hole where the hinges sit. I spent ages playing with a gallon container of water and seeing where it let water in, where not. Believe it or not, the water is going slightly uphill to get in. I won't try to describe it, I'll wait for the photos.
I didn't believe it myself, so to prove it I sprayed some nice blue coloured liquid*, only in the area I suspected. Sure enough a cloth on the inside turned blue!
Bear with me while I upload it and post.
(*No, not that. De-icer. Still cold enough to need it some mornings)
I'll post a photo later, but it's actually inside the hole where the hinges sit. I spent ages playing with a gallon container of water and seeing where it let water in, where not. Believe it or not, the water is going slightly uphill to get in. I won't try to describe it, I'll wait for the photos.
I didn't believe it myself, so to prove it I sprayed some nice blue coloured liquid*, only in the area I suspected. Sure enough a cloth on the inside turned blue!
Bear with me while I upload it and post.
(*No, not that. De-icer. Still cold enough to need it some mornings)
OK here's a picture:
I found water as described above in that hole above the roof lining after pouring water on the roof. I dried it out and tried water on areas a b and c. Nothing. Only when I poured it so it ran as in the photo did water pour in again. The water kind of 'sticks' to the edge and runs behind one of the panels, where D is pointing. The photo shows it as best as you will see without doing it yourself.
I sprayed a very blue de-icer into area D being careful it went nowhere else. Sure enough it appeared on the inside.
There's also a minor leak through the rubber, but that is tiny in comparison, and goes nowhere near the expensive satnav kit. My recent mk4 upgrade made me determined to find this once and for all.
Tomorrow is deciding how to seal it, and doing so! Oh and then rebuilding the blooming car!
I found water as described above in that hole above the roof lining after pouring water on the roof. I dried it out and tried water on areas a b and c. Nothing. Only when I poured it so it ran as in the photo did water pour in again. The water kind of 'sticks' to the edge and runs behind one of the panels, where D is pointing. The photo shows it as best as you will see without doing it yourself.
I sprayed a very blue de-icer into area D being careful it went nowhere else. Sure enough it appeared on the inside.
There's also a minor leak through the rubber, but that is tiny in comparison, and goes nowhere near the expensive satnav kit. My recent mk4 upgrade made me determined to find this once and for all.
Tomorrow is deciding how to seal it, and doing so! Oh and then rebuilding the blooming car!
Top work as always Mr D 
Photobucket = Tossers
Dave....
Dave....
OK, so there's another path in the same area. To cut a lot of mucking about short, I used seam sealer on the gap shown above. The leak did reduce a lot, but there was still something getting in. Ripped off the roof rail again, poured water there, dry. So I had another look in the area and found another:
I've added an arrow to the second place that leaks. Put on seam sealer, added two gallons of water, and now no sign of the leak. So, only rain will tell but I'm quietly confident.
I've added an arrow to the second place that leaks. Put on seam sealer, added two gallons of water, and now no sign of the leak. So, only rain will tell but I'm quietly confident.
[quote="Rover418275"]This may help to illustrate where the water leaks from the internal trim onto the load cover.
If you look closely you can see a droplet of water, this shows that the water mustbe leaking in from the hinge area.
Hi Duncan,
Looks like you may have solved this problem, do you think the water that leaks onto the load cover, as shown above, has it's source at the points illustrated in your photographs?
Cheers
Mike
If you look closely you can see a droplet of water, this shows that the water mustbe leaking in from the hinge area.
Hi Duncan,
Looks like you may have solved this problem, do you think the water that leaks onto the load cover, as shown above, has it's source at the points illustrated in your photographs?
Cheers
Mike
It certainly could be. On mine it used to drip on the loadspace, but later seemed to prefer the satnav. There's certainly a clear path from where mine was leaking to that part of the D pillar.
yep the same places as mine . also had a leak on the roof rail seam, right on the back end.
1gp wrote:yep the same places as mine . also had a leak on the roof rail seam, right on the back end.
OK. Sorry I'd misunderstood. My roof rail was fine, and I thought that was the only leak you said you had.
Anyhow, it has more ratholes than a London sewer!
OK, update. The satnav is bone dry after best part of 24 hours of rain, so that's good.
The load cover still had water marks on the left side, coming through in a similar place to Mikes photos. Played with the seal and it moved to the right, played again and been dry all afternoon. It's an almost new seal, so I think it's a fitment problem. The flange on the body is a bit shallow so I reckon it may be going inside the seal. The old one had some goo inside it which I didn't replace when I fitted the new seal, so this is my next step. I WILL have a dry car by the end of this.
The load cover still had water marks on the left side, coming through in a similar place to Mikes photos. Played with the seal and it moved to the right, played again and been dry all afternoon. It's an almost new seal, so I think it's a fitment problem. The flange on the body is a bit shallow so I reckon it may be going inside the seal. The old one had some goo inside it which I didn't replace when I fitted the new seal, so this is my next step. I WILL have a dry car by the end of this.
Have you got a dry car yet Duncan?
Cheers
Mike
Cheers
Mike
The satnav remained dry throughout the heavy rain, but I was still getting the odd drip on the loadspace cover. Playing with the tailgate seal seemed to make this move, so I put some caravan mastic in the seal and replaced it. It hasn't rained since so I don't know if it made any difference. It seems I will find out this week.
Any further leaks Duncan?
Cheers
Mike
Cheers
Mike
No sign of any so far. In the heaviest rain, the car was parked the wrong way to get the usual coverage. But it got pretty well rained on last week without any marks on the load cover. However until I've seen it straight after a prolonged heavy downpour, I'm not going to claim victor.
Sadly I seem to have lost some of the pictures, however on the ZT-T project, we did find water was dripping down from the fuel filler neck! What I wasn't able to establish however, was whether or not it was coming in from the fuel flap or from above the neck and dripping down.
We did discover however the following:
Upon cleaning up, we discovered the clips that house the top trim were sat proud due to the broken seals:
We did discover however the following:
Upon cleaning up, we discovered the clips that house the top trim were sat proud due to the broken seals:
Yes, I had broken O rings so replaced them and also used sealant. That was last year and it didn't make any difference to mine.
I think where the water ends up lower down depends on circumstances. The water seems to run along the wiring to the lowest point before dripping off, and the lowest point will depend on the slope the car is parked on and the run of the wiring. So it could be the filler neck, but it could still be coming from higher up.
I think where the water ends up lower down depends on circumstances. The water seems to run along the wiring to the lowest point before dripping off, and the lowest point will depend on the slope the car is parked on and the run of the wiring. So it could be the filler neck, but it could still be coming from higher up.
JakeWilson wrote:Sadly I seem to have lost some of the pictures, however on the ZT-T project, we did find water was dripping down from the fuel filler neck! What I wasn't able to establish however, was whether or not it was coming in from the fuel flap or from above the neck and dripping down.
We did discover however the following:
Upon cleaning up, we discovered the clips that house the top trim were sat proud due to the broken seals:
yes also thought my fuel flap was leaking , but it is from above.. after lying in there with a spot light waiting for it to leak spotted it , it runs along a small channel.