Hello everyone,
After my 1985 Golf sat out in a heavy rain, the floor under the driver-side dash was wet and upon depressing the clutch pedal, a stream of water came down on my foot. Is this indicative of a leak in the lower windshield seal, or is it a classic symptom of a leak somewhere else? I couldn't see anything obvious under the hood (around the wiper shafts, etc.). Thanks for any opinions.
Denny Two '85 Diesel Golfs
On my 90 jetta diesel there was a plastic "U" shaped piece around the glass. The glue they hold the windshields in with was holding the plastic strip and not the glass. The water was leaking between the plastic "U" thing and the glass. I put some kind of glue in there and it was fine till some idiot in a chevy blazer ran a stop sign and t boned the car totalling it and messing up my wife's knees.
JoBo
Watch your electrical box... we had to sell our 91 Golf because the electrics got screwed up from water leakage from around the windsheild...
My '87 GTi is developing a small leak around the windshield also, and I need to fix it before winter brings rain here. How do you remove the trim around the windshield, and can the trim be be re-used? Mine is the black rubber-like kind with no chrome inserts.
check for leaves in the area near the wiper motor. I have seen this area fill up with water and come inside of the car through the heating system or elsewhere! Then slowly the water would drain away. Or the windshield or sunroof drains clogged.
later, dave
I shot some clear silicone sealant in the gaps in the corners around the seal when the car was new. Had to redo after about ten years. No problems.
Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I did the silicone thing on the windshield seal--we'll see how it does in the next rain storm.
D.
The windscreen (on my 1990 German production model) has a "dry-fit" seal that can be re-used until it perishes or is damaged by gorillas. There's no glue or sealant to be used at all. It may well damage the seal. Make sure that the frame is clean and free of rust and that there's no crud on the glass or the sealing rubber before re-fitting.
My two penn'orth. On mine, the water came in by running onto the heater intake grill, under the plastic (very thin) sheet. This is in the "plenum chamber" or the "scuttle" that goes along the width of the car in front of the dashboard in the engine compartment. The built up sides of this grill need sealing where they touch the floor of the chamber. Check that the drain hole, a big 'un, is not gummed up with detritus and gunge.
-- Derek Wealleans snipped-for-privacy@clara.dot.co.uk Remember:- remove the anti spam
The American cars used a glue-in windshield. There's no need to preserve the original seal, a new windshield comes with another one. I had to do this to my '89 GTI, somehow that glue seal had gotten compromised and the whole metal lip where the windshield was glued was surface rusting, allowing more leaks, etc. etc.
also as other posters have said the OP should also check the cowl drains under the hood.
nate
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.