Leaky LV

TripleJ85 · 06-03-2021, 01:23 PM

My wife drives a 2010 LV II LX Manual that we've had from new. On the whole, it has been a great little commuter car and still has plenty of life left in it (hasn't hit 100k km yet).

About 3 years back the driver's footwell got saturated and the car got very stinky.
A local mechanic had a look and found that the gutter under the windscreen wipers was full of schmutz and the drain was blocked - he cleared out the drain hose but didn't find anything else wrong. This mostly fixed it - in that it could handle moderate amounts of rain or hand washing... but being out in heavy rain or automated carwashing would make it a bit wet and the stink would return. Not a huge amount of water though so fairly easy to dry out again.
It has mostly been parked inside and we haven't had a lot of rain since then so had let it be.
We took it to an autoglass place who hit it with a firehose and couldn't see any leaks (but the next day it got stinky and wet under the carpet).

We've had a few storms lately so it is back on the to-fix list...

It was in for a service last week and the mechanic tried a smoke test - but couldn't find anything. He suggested the next step would be to pull the dash out to try to find the leak (but found it hard to recommend this on a car that's not worth much).

So I thought I'd put some feelers out here - from what I can gather on other forums, it's fairly common to have a leak somewhere on the bulkhead. Do you guys have any tips on how to find where it might be? Or who would be best to help us find it (panel beaters?). Has anyone else been down the same path?

It would be a shame to give up on the car over something this minor - but it is really driving her nuts!

Franco Cozzo · 06-03-2021, 08:40 PM

My car leaks from the rear taillights and both rear quarter glass into the boot - everything in the boot gets saturated when you go through a auto car wash or drive it in heavy rain, it started doing it shortly out of warranty period.

You'd wash it and the seals behind the quarter glass would deteroriate and leave black streaks down the side of the car, until they completely deteriorated and there's nothing to leave black streaks down the car anymore.

I never bothered to get it fixed cause its in the boot

Water leaks are a real pain in the *** to find, the only way is the garden hose, huge volume of water and get yourself into the footwell to see where its coming from, if you can't see it then its a dash out job and given what it would cost its not economical to do.

If you take the dash out, then replace the heater core while you're there as its a common failure on LV that they also leak.

If the A pillars are rusty thats another cause of water leaks causing the driver side carpet to get absolutely saturated - it gets in then goes down the inside of the A pillar into the carpet - windscreen out job to check, is cheaper than pulling the dash.

bb_zetec · 07-03-2021, 04:01 PM

Two Cars ive had water leaks in were the below causes:

FG Ute - Windscreen. It was replaced and there was a small pocket that had not been filled with the urethane and caused a leak. It only happened in heavy rain and took a while to build up inside under the carpet. The leak was only visible after i removed the entire seats/carpet and centre console and hosed around the windscreen and watched it to see where it dribbled down from.

With the carpet inside id never see it.

Got the windscreen removed and resealed and it fixed it.

PH Courier - A wiring grommet was torn in the firewall and the water would wick its way down the wiring loom and then into the interior under the carpet. Bit of silastic fixed that.

My suggestion would be to remove the seats and carpet and put the seats back in so you can still use the car.

The carpet will be mouldy underneath now so its good to take it out and give it a good airing. Some of the insulation will be so wet it will have to be thrown away. Its burlap type crap that soaks up and never dries.

You can always get the windscreen removed and resealed...although there is a risk the screen will get broken in the process. Try the hose around the windscreen after the carpet is removed and see how you go.

Put the hose on low and dribble it around the entire edge...it might take a while for the leak to show up.

Rs31markie · 08-03-2021, 08:18 AM

Hi, just a thought I’ve had a similar fault with my LT focus. Drivers footwell soaking wet, traced my problem to blocked air con drain tube, it filled the whole heater box up with water until it ran out where the heater matrix is fitted. Not saying this is ur problem but it very easy to check.

TripleJ85 · 15-03-2021, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

If the A pillars are rusty thats another cause of water leaks causing the driver side carpet to get absolutely saturated - it gets in then goes down the inside of the A pillar into the carpet - windscreen out job to check, is cheaper than pulling the dash.

.... I think you might have cracked it.

Had a closer look up the top of the A pillar and found this rusty section with a channel right next to it. Wouldn't be surprised if the bastard's running down the A pillar from there?

https://imgur.com/gallery/brni5Rr
https://imgur.com/gallery/0D35ilb

290v · 29-04-2021, 07:14 PM

check the wiring position on the rear tail lights had my daughters leaking into the boot ended up being the wires on the tail light not sitting right behind the light water was running down the cables and into the boot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

My car leaks from the rear taillights and both rear quarter glass into the boot - everything in the boot gets saturated when you go through a auto car wash or drive it in heavy rain, it started doing it shortly out of warranty period.

You'd wash it and the seals behind the quarter glass would deteroriate and leave black streaks down the side of the car, until they completely deteriorated and there's nothing to leave black streaks down the car anymore.

I never bothered to get it fixed cause its in the boot

Water leaks are a real pain in the *** to find, the only way is the garden hose, huge volume of water and get yourself into the footwell to see where its coming from, if you can't see it then its a dash out job and given what it would cost its not economical to do.

If you take the dash out, then replace the heater core while you're there as its a common failure on LV that they also leak.

If the A pillars are rusty thats another cause of water leaks causing the driver side carpet to get absolutely saturated - it gets in then goes down the inside of the A pillar into the carpet - windscreen out job to check, is cheaper than pulling the dash.

TripleJ85 · 29-04-2021, 11:00 PM

Thanks for the thought - it is solved now..

100% certain the factory leak was never fixed, the dealer covered it up with sealant, eventually that failed -> slow leak and rust.

Had it ground back, treated with rust converter, painted, new windscreen fitted, no more leaks.

Gutted that we had this ongoing trouble because of some cut corners.

foxtrot3 · 08-03-2021, 08:50 AM

Hi. I remember finding a leak on a TE cortina above the B pillar where the roof panel wasn't fitted properly and not sealed there. hoseing the screen and firewall did nothing to find the leak but a little water on the roof would flood the drivers footwell. It pays to look everywhere above the leak, not just near it. Cheers MD

TripleJ85 · 14-03-2021, 11:04 PM

Thanks for the input all

99% sure it's not air con or the heater matrix (been around those loops a few times) - but certainly worth a mention.

It has gotten a bit worse - which in a way is good because we can see drips now which might help track them down -> https://imgur.com/gallery/qsriDAN

I took it to a smash repair place last week and they reckon there's a good chance it's the windscreen. The windscreen did leak from new and it took ford 2 goes to sort it out, so I wouldn't be surprised if they bodged something way back then and never really got it right.

Sounds like a sensible path is to remove some trim around the A pillar and see if we can notice any source now that it has gotten worse, then maybe look at pulling the windscreen, inspecting and re-fitting.

marg99 · 15-03-2021, 11:52 AM

One of my cars had windscreen replaced and they scratched the paint so it rusted just at the edge of the sealant and eventually a hole in the pillar

TripleJ85 · 15-03-2021, 12:02 PM

I pulled back some of the trim in that area and there's a ****load of sikaflex all over it that isn't on the other side. Looks like when Ford 'fixed' the leaky screen when it was new, they bodged it, and eventually it rusted.

bb_zetec · 15-03-2021, 02:14 PM

Unfortunately those LV's were South African Built.

Ours was so poorly built we ended up trading it in and getting rid of it.

Ford couldnt fix anything properly and i even had to get Ford CRC involved as the dealer tried to remove responsibility under warranty.

As ive said ours was built on a public holiday long weekend during Octoberfest if you get what i mean...

TripleJ85 · 15-03-2021, 03:43 PM

Honestly, we've had hardly any issues with it... leaky tail light fixed under warranty, and this leaky screen and that's about it. Certainly never left us stranded, and just needed the usual maintenance along the way.

Here's a little show and tell - https://imgur.com/a/LRuxceK

Basically they ran Sikaflex right the way up the driver's side edge (where it was leaking) then put a big dollop in the channel at the top. That causes water to pool, hence the rust.
I'm livid... this is not an appropriate fix for what was a brand new car - and I have spent way too much time trying to hunt this down over the years.

Fast Eddie · 16-03-2021, 01:47 PM

The MkI's had issues with the panel between the base of the windscreen and bonnet where the Pollen Filter is located. When you replaced the filter and don't correctly seal the panel you'll get water in the footwell. And this is the German-built Focus.

TripleJ85 · 14-04-2021, 05:01 PM

For those playing along at home - it's all a lot more clear now that the windscreen is out.

The top corner is rusted pretty badly, sealant was applied inside and out all over, fairly clear that the windscreen has never been out.

Basically, the dealer bodged it up, it was never fixed properly - so no wonder it continued to give us grief down the track.

https://imgur.com/a/mgBd4ME

290v · 29-04-2021, 07:16 PM

check the wiring position on the rear tail lights had my daughters leaking into the boot ended up being the wires on the tail light not sitting right behind the light water was running down the cables and into the boot

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripleJ85

My wife drives a 2010 LV II LX Manual that we've had from new. On the whole, it has been a great little commuter car and still has plenty of life left in it (hasn't hit 100k km yet).

About 3 years back the driver's footwell got saturated and the car got very stinky.
A local mechanic had a look and found that the gutter under the windscreen wipers was full of schmutz and the drain was blocked - he cleared out the drain hose but didn't find anything else wrong. This mostly fixed it - in that it could handle moderate amounts of rain or hand washing... but being out in heavy rain or automated carwashing would make it a bit wet and the stink would return. Not a huge amount of water though so fairly easy to dry out again.
It has mostly been parked inside and we haven't had a lot of rain since then so had let it be.
We took it to an autoglass place who hit it with a firehose and couldn't see any leaks (but the next day it got stinky and wet under the carpet).

We've had a few storms lately so it is back on the to-fix list...

It was in for a service last week and the mechanic tried a smoke test - but couldn't find anything. He suggested the next step would be to pull the dash out to try to find the leak (but found it hard to recommend this on a car that's not worth much).

So I thought I'd put some feelers out here - from what I can gather on other forums, it's fairly common to have a leak somewhere on the bulkhead. Do you guys have any tips on how to find where it might be? Or who would be best to help us find it (panel beaters?). Has anyone else been down the same path?

It would be a shame to give up on the car over something this minor - but it is really driving her nuts!