Water ingress under floor mat

[AndyP68]

Apologies if this has been asked before but in a slight flap, I’ve discovered the cab floor lining is damp and stinks like an old sock, I’m removing the upstand for the bulkhead and found it’s damp right behind the passenger bench seat, hopefully I will have attached a photo, any ideas?

 

[DaveD]

Apologies if this has been asked before but in a slight flap, I’ve discovered the cab floor lining is damp and stinks like an old sock, I’m removing the upstand for the bulkhead and found it’s damp right behind the passenger bench seat, hopefully I will have attached a photo, any ideas?
View attachment 132612

I'm afraid I can't offer much advice but a quick search shows others have had similar problems;

Water ingress

Just been out to the van and it appears that I have a leak Opened the drivers door and the wheel arch lump by the accelerator pedal was wet, looks to be dripping out from behind the dash, putting my head up behind the obd port and it’s wet up there. Seems to be coming out of here where the...

www.t6forum.com

Have a read;

Search results for query: water ingress

www.t6forum.com

 

[Skyliner33]

Most likely coming in through the holes in the roof for the roof rails.

 

[VanDamMan]

Check the roof bolts…if leaking water can run down the B pillar Or could be drain plug for aircon blocked ..

 

[AndyP68]

Thanks for the replies, I’ll be checking the roof bolts.

 

[Cuiken]

Coincidentally, I was carpet lining this weekend and found exactly the same issue in our van (except on the driver's side). Damp under the drivers seat causing water to pool under the cab lining.

Sorry to hijack the thread but, if it's not the roof rail bolts are there any other likely things to check? Since I had the roof lining out and it was peeing down with rain, I was able to check whether anything was coming in around the bolts and/or down the B pillars it all seemed dry. Being a paranoid sort of chap I removed the roof bars to double check that all the seals were in the correct locations and not degraded too. All seemed fine.

I've had a trawl through the usual threads and it seems sunroofs are often an issue (don't have one) as are the dreaded sliding windows (ours are not currently leaking).

I've heard tell of blocked drain holes etc but can't seem to figure out where they are in order to check them.

 

[VanDamMan]

The Possible if all is dry ( door seals/ roof bolts/sunroof) is the Condensate drain plug (see pic) if blocked the water can back up under the lower dash and leak….failing that are all the floor bungs in place …water can be thrown up….or if cables have been added Via the bulkhead and not sealed…Water can travel….sometimes you can track the water/stain back too the source by looking under the carpet….


picture was borrowed..

 

[DXX]

After all of the easy checks are done check inside the scuttle (below windscreen) for mud and leaves, the inlet for ventilation is just above the drain level.
On UK models the inlet is on the LH side, on the RH side there is a blanking cover.
If you are going to go to the effort of cleaning this area you may want to sound deaden it, have a search on the Forum, well worth doing.

 

[Cuiken]

Thanks. Sounds like two of the possible issues would be the aircon and the ventilation inlet but both of these are on the passenger side. Useful for the OP (apologies again for hijacking the thread) but, I guess, less likely to be the case in my case since the water seems to be exclusively under the driver's seat.

I'll probably remove the roof rails (for a second time) and use some tiger seal to be abs sure and then take a poke about behind the scuttle just in case. To get the scuttle off I'm going to need a puller for the windscreen wipers right?

 

[VanDamMan]

If you remove the seal ( Y) and remove the clips ( R) you should have enough room to lift the front edge up just enough to look inside…without removing the wipers…..but if need better access..Wipers off ( which are a pain )

Not my van.. way to dirty

 

[Skyliner33]

Thanks. Sounds like two of the possible issues would be the aircon and the ventilation inlet but both of these are on the passenger side. Useful for the OP (apologies again for hijacking the thread) but, I guess, less likely to be the case in my case since the water seems to be exclusively under the driver's seat.

I'll probably remove the roof rails (for a second time) and use some tiger seal to be abs sure and then take a poke about behind the scuttle just in case. To get the scuttle off I'm going to need a puller for the windscreen wipers right?

Tiger seal might be a bit permanent, I would be tempted to use silicone.

 

[Cuiken]

Tiger seal might be a bit permanent, I would be tempted to use silicone.

I get your concern but, contrarily, I've seen other posts on this where people berate silicone as too temporary a fix....

I'm tempted to try the silicone adhesive that I've used for leadwork roof repairs.

 

[DXX]

Thanks. Sounds like two of the possible issues would be the aircon and the ventilation inlet but both of these are on the passenger side. Useful for the OP (apologies again for hijacking the thread) but, I guess, less likely to be the case in my case since the water seems to be exclusively under the driver's seat.

I'll probably remove the roof rails (for a second time) and use some tiger seal to be abs sure and then take a poke about behind the scuttle just in case. To get the scuttle off I'm going to need a puller for the windscreen wipers right?

There is a blanking plug on the drivers side, like I said earlier check the scuttle after checking the easier paths in.
Yes a wiper puller is required, easy job and the pullers are cheap. Tip: put some masking tape on the windscreen to mark the resting point of the blades, this will aid correct re-fitting first time.

 

[Cuiken]

Tiger seal might be a bit permanent, I would be tempted to use silicone.

Just occurred to me, are you thinking I'd be using the tigerseal to effectively glue the bars on (like across the whole of surface that meets the van roof) ? I was only thinking of adding it to the bolt holes to improve the seal there. It's not so strong that the bolts would become permanently stuck is it?

 

[AndyP68]

Thanks. Sounds like two of the possible issues would be the aircon and the ventilation inlet but both of these are on the passenger side. Useful for the OP (apologies again for hijacking the thread) but, I guess, less likely to be the case in my case since the water seems to be exclusively under the driver's seat.

I'll probably remove the roof rails (for a second time) and use some tiger seal to be abs sure and then take a poke about behind the scuttle just in case. To get the scuttle off I'm going to need a puller for the windscreen wipers right?

No worries on the high jack

 

[Skyliner33]

Just occurred to me, are you thinking I'd be using the tigerseal to effectively glue the bars on (like across the whole of surface that meets the van roof) ? I was only thinking of adding it to the bolt holes to improve the seal there. It's not so strong that the bolts would become permanently stuck is it?

I was thinking you would be putting it in the holes only. If you haven’t had a look at them yet I suggest you do. Tigerseal might be really hard even impossible to get out if ever you needed.

 

[Cuiken]

Well, I took the rails off and filled the bolt holes with silicon. Renewed the foam rubber washers for good measure and re-installed the bars.

We then went off on holiday to Wales for a week where it rained constantly.

Checked under the seat when we got home.

Bone dry!

Not that I doubted the original advice to check the rails but it seemed to easy a fix too be true. Turns out, Occam's razor and all that.....