With all the rain we have been having I noticed that a small amount of rain water was dripping onto my brown cars parcel shelf close to the door. Initially I suspected the windscreen had started to leak but when I looked at the A post gutter, I suspected that it could be creeping in via the metal join which is within the gutter. See the photo of the red car’s gutter. Between showers when the area had dried out I applied some black silicon sealant, see photo of brown car, and despite having many further very heavy showers I have not seen any further water entering the car.
I believe that the total length of the gutter, along the top of the roof could suffer the same sort of leak and allow water to enter the car. It could be the possible entry path for water into the boot of the car that I have not been able to trace.
The limited access will make it difficult to make a neat job and to produce a good seal but when we have a dry spell it will be something I will be attempting to achieve.
Have any other owners suffered this problem and have any suggestions of how to make a good job ?
I certainly have a similar problem, though I still think it could be the sreen rubber (which is why I'm looking for a replacement). In my case the water is comming in what I think is too far from the wing to be from the A post gutter. It might be from water running down near the fuse box, however. Also, I had that wing replaced and asked if they'd look if there was a way in from under it, and they didn't see anything - I wish I'd been able to look at that myself.
It could be leaking in below the fuse box because the lip at the front of the plate on top of the bulkhead is a bit low in that corner, and I think if there's much water it may overflow that way.
I've tried a test or two, but there's always other stuff to do when it's fine, and it's hard to do a proper test when it's raining.
Graham
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.
Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).
Hi both, the easy way to trace a water leak is to use talcum powder The water will leave a trail straight to it. Check with swmbo first that it is not her best chanel......
What he means is strip out the carpet and underlay and spread talc (or chalk lines will do as well) in the suspect areas, and wait for rain. The leak becomes immediately apparent as it washes some of the talc or chalk off.
On my Dolly I had replaced the clutch master cylinder and water exiting the drain slot from the heater plenum was getting behind the cylinder mount. I made up a thin gasket to seal the cylinder to the steel and no further problems.
Mike
(1969 MGB GTV8, 1977 Dolomite 1850HL, 1971 MGB roadster now all three on the road)
Just ran another set of tests, which will probably need double checking and doing better; however, 4 litres of water down the gap at the base of the a post and nothing into the footwell. 2 liters into the middle of the cabin air intake plenum are and nothing. 2 litres down the back of the windscreen wiper motor and there's wet in the footwell. running down the inside of the bulkhead behind the accelerator peddle.
My only concern is I didn't wait long enough between tests, and it's from one of the earlier tests, but delayed more than I expected.
Graham
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.
Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).
Are you aware that it is a known problem that the over time the bulk head adjacent to the accelerator pedal can split and Alun has had some bits made up to strengthen the area. If yours has split it could be allowing water from one of the drains to enter the car.
Richard the old one wrote: ↑Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:56 pm
Are you aware that it is a known problem that the over time the bulk head adjacent to the accelerator pedal can split and Alun has had some bits made up to strengthen the area. If yours has split it could be allowing water from one of the drains to enter the car.
There any pictures?
Graham
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.
Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).
There's a big oblong metal plate behind the wiper motor held to the plenum with 6 bolts and a whole wodge of sealant which dries out and cracks, could well be this!
Steve
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!
Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.
It is leaking from the engine bay - at least some water was draining out of the plenum and running along the rear right corner seam between cabin bay and inner wheelarch. As can be seen in the first pic, this is a bit rotten. That's the bonnet release cable running across and the side of the accelerator peddle on the left.
Some of the problem is shown in the second pic - water can just flow over the edge at the front of the plenum and run into the engine bay. I guess some of what rain gets in the plenum also ends up on the cabin floor too.
Not sure how I'm going to fix this. I may be able to glass down along the crack both sides. Maybe I can hammerite smooth the inside, then glass over that, and poor resin in the engine bay crack. My have to get another Big Boy FG kit. Not sure about fixing the gutter edge at the rear right corner of the engine bay. Looks like it needs unwelding and re-doing somehow.
Graham
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The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.
Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).
How do you stop water running out of the joint between the concertina tube to the air vent and the pipe from the back of the plenum?
Having fixed the problem with the bulkhead seam (fingers crossed), it seems clear that if the level of water in the plenum is high enough, and maybe if the angle the car's stood is enough, there's water coming through that joint.
Graham
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.
Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).
The water will leave a trail straight to it. Check with swmbo first that it is not her best chanel......
