water on floorboards

andycraft512 · Post by **andycraft512** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:05 pm

I have an 84 Rabbit Convertible and everytime we have a decent downpour the floorboards are soaked and usually has a few inches of standing water. What causes this and how do I correct it? Please email any suggestions to andycraft512@yahoo.com Thanks!

PDX Cabby · Post by **PDX Cabby** » Fri May 19, 2006 6:18 pm

there are a number of things that you can check out...

the first is the obvious one:
is the top leaking?

the rest of the possibilities:
under the hood, check out the raintray. if this is full of leaves/pine needles/etc, it will not drain properly and water will rise up and come in through the heater and other areas

behind the door panels:
check to make sure the plastic sheets (vapor barriers) are still intact. these are prone to rotting out. they can easily be replaced with plastic and 3M Super 77 to hold them on.

the windshield:
this can be one of the hardest things to check, but the windshield seal may be leaking. quick fix is to lay a bead of silicone around all the edges. a more permanat fix is to replace the windshield seal.

Post by **Calimus** » Fri May 19, 2006 11:55 pm

Another thing you can check is how well the side windows are matching up to the seals. Many times, you find a small gap that will let rain in. However, your door panels would be soaked as well as your floorboards in that case.

So, my guess is the usual suspects that PDX has mentioned. Raintray & top being the big one's you want to check. I have had the windsheild seal on my rocco leak, but so far have not delt we that on the cabby. If you do attempt to seal the windsheild, get clear silicone and try to pull the edge of the seal up and inject the silicone that way. Be mindfull of how much you inject as it will squish out when you press the seal back down. Use too much and you get a nice gloppy mess.

montmil · Post by **montmil** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:50 am

Have you checked your cabrio's trunk? My '86 Wolfsburg, aka "Wolfster", took in water that wet the trunk mat and then proceeded to drip into the spare tire rim. Having decided not to get in the trunk and have my wife spray the hose, I lightly dusted the suspected areas with baby powder then hit it with the hose. It worked by showing a "track" where water ran in. Fixed a seal and now the Wolfster trunk smells like a new baby's butt.

gull · Post by **gull** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:00 pm

I get water in the trunk in heavy downpours. I think the culprit might be the gaps where the rear tension cable tucks in, behind the rear windows. I'm not sure how to seal them, though. That gap seems to be part of the design.