Astra not weatherproof :-(

The windscreen seal would be my primary suspect

-- Stuart

Thanks both; looks like you have to take the wiper blades off and remove various plastic bits to get to the area below the air intakes. A job for tomorrow. As for windscreen leaks, in the old days there was just the rubber seal and if necessary you could take the screen out fairly easily. These days if I understand it correctly the screen is glued to the metal and then there is the rubber trim which is basically cosmetic. The trouble is I can see some "gaps" under this rubber which may be feeding water round to a failed seal.

the problem is you carnt see where the water is coming out because various compents are in the way . remove both A piller trims on the inside . now roll up some tissure paper tightly into a straw like shape using another person on the outside with a garden hose (set to simulate rainfall and not under high pressure)go around the inside edge of the windscreen with the tissue paper it should stay allways dry any wetness tells you its the screen- we get a local company in who remove and reseal for about £60 if the tissue stays dry then stay inside and using a mirror and torch and look upbehind the dash for other signs of wetness between bodyseams i've often had to remove dash's just to locate the water entry point ,then just use some silcane sealer to seal it up to get rid of any wetness(and smells) remove the carpets competly to dry out - use a hairdryer to get into places you carnt reach.

time wise its how much time have you got to spare,ive often took about 3/4 days to do(if dash has to out) cost wise maybe a £6 tube of sealer

Yeah, I've spent a day getting a dash in and out before. I've checked the drains from the scuttle, they are OK but I still can't tell whether water is coming down the door pillar (perhaps from the roof bars) or the inside of the footwell. I've removed as much foam as I can without taking out the dash and both sides are still damp. If I knew for sure it was the screen I would be tempted to get it re-seated. Thanks for the suggestions.

Smear some vaseline around the bottom edge of the screen then wipe off the excess - it's a good temporary way of finding out if that's where it's getting in. You have to wait for it to rain, of course :)

Si

Thus spake ford_technical_ ( snipped-for-privacy@nospam.co.uk) unto the assembled multitudes:

You could also try a powerful spotlamp - very effective in my experience at drying out wet spots on carpets.

Same here. The OP could try an indicator and water to see whether it can be seen coming in.

Not car specific, but...

- Pollen filter is right up there on the list of potential culprits - My Mondeo and Astra both had that

- check for leaves holding wet stuff in the air intakes - My M-reg Astra had that

- drain tube(s) from air intakes gunked up - My Cavalier and Carlton both had that

or windscreen seals etc. Not so common now with bonded screens AIUI.