L300 water leak around front pillar?

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kyre
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by kyre »

I have water trickling down the inside pillar when it rains getting the floor slightly damp. I traced it to the spots in the photos. I though it was the windshield gasket but had a pro come by and he checked for rust and said everything was clean, tight and didnt need replacing so he left.

I cleaned the moonroof and made sure it was draining properly so its not that either.

Could the front door weatherstrip be toast, allowing water to trickle in?

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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by Growlerbearnz »

You've seen the leaks thread in the TRL? http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=9793

If it was the door seals I would think the water would drip from the door frame, I don't see how it could get onto that pillar trim unless it fell upwards.

From the picture it really does look like the windscreen seal. They can shrink with age and start to leak, even though they're clean and there's no rust. I would remove that that pillar trim (remove the grab handles with a #3 Phillips screwdriver, loosen the door weatherstrip, and gently pull the trim out from under the windscreen seal) and then hit the windscreen with a hose and see where the water comes from.

The ends of the gutters above the windscreen can also leak, though that water tends to go inside the pillar and emerge lower down.
Nothing says "poor workmanship" more than wrinkles in the duct tape.
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kyre
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by kyre »

Thanks Growlerbearnz, yes I did see that thread. Looks like I'll have to remove the pillar trim and see where its coming in like you mentioned.

When you say the end of the gutters can leak, do you mean the weld/body can crack and let water in? Just not sure how those could leak. Water is definitely coming in from the pillar area and dripping down the inside body to the floor. Way above the seams from behind the body panel.
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Lapprentis
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by Lapprentis »

Check the comments about the Gutter area : http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.ph ... ter#p63077

Lapprentis :M
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kyre
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by kyre »

The rain gutter is a potential but I'm still not sure where people are sealing these? If I put a glob of silicone in front of the gutter wouldnt that block the water from draining out of the gutter? Is that the point?

The right hand side (the side that's really leaking) has the trim and a little black cap but i couldnt see how that would stop water. Was there another cap besides the one on the trim? My left side has no trim or cap and doesn't leak onto the floor.

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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by Growlerbearnz »

The gutter is really just an external flange so they had some place to weld the roof panel to the A-pillar and cant rail. Where the gutter ends in the corner of the windscreen all those panels come together and are sealed with seam sealer. The sealer eventually dries out and cracks (I can see some cracks in the sealer in your gutter) and water wicks its way into the pillar.

Here's a clear picture of what the area looks like taken from my very sad parts van:
20171118_091820 copy.JPG
20171118_091820 copy.JPG (57.59 KiB) Viewed 5966 times
I see in your photo that the rubber windscreen seal already has some kind of sealant under it in the top corner. You may need to add more sealant further down the pillar.

The correct way to fix it would be to remove the windscreen, clean the windscreen aperture, dig out the dried up sealant in the A-pillar area (including under the gutter where the A-pillar meets it, and along the top of the gutter for about 6" back), re-seal it with polyurethane sealant, and paint it. While the windscreen is out I'd also re-seal the lower corner joins and the troublesome seam behind the removable corner panels.

Once the paint is dry, clean all the old sealant off the windscreen rubber (rags and turpentine should work) and reinstall the glass, using a bead of non-hardening mastic style windscreen sealant between the two rubber flaps. The windscreen seal is designed to allow water to escape, putting sealant anywhere else can trap water behind the seal. Ask me how I know this... :-(
seals.JPG
seals.JPG (42.31 KiB) Viewed 5966 times

If I wasn't removing the windscreen I would dig out as much seam sealer as I could, clean any sealer from under the windscreen rubber with rags and turpentine, re-seal the body seams with polyurethane, wait for it to set, then squirt some non-hardening windscreen sealant under the rubber seal all the way across the top of the seal and down the pillars.

Avoid silicone sealants, as they will interfere with adhesion of any paint or filler in future.
Nothing says "poor workmanship" more than wrinkles in the duct tape.
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kyre
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by kyre »

Thanks for the great info!

I thought it was weird the paint was cracking like that within the gutter. Didn’t know there was sealant under the paint.

I put the sealer under the corner of the windscreen gasket but not the entire window gasket. Will try that too.

When I had the pro window guy check it out he said the gasket on there now was held in under pressure (with no sealant) said the window would most likely break if he took it out but had van wagon windscreens for $90.

Think I’ll try the sealer first. Might take the front quarters off and do that gasket while I’m at it.
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feetforbrains
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by feetforbrains »

Sure it's not condensation?

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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by murdermitten »

I had this same exact issue and racked my brain for the longest time until I noticed the separation at the gutter. A couple of applications of silicone solved it immediately.

One thing I recommend is pulling back the carpet in your footwells now to let any water dry up. It had nbeen happening for a while, and I ended up removing the sound deadening, grinding the surface rust our and repainting the floor there to stop any serious rust.

Good luck!
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by weelsey »

I have resorted to my old chewing gum trick. Chew, press into place over seam. I get my passengers to chew gum since I'm not a big gum fan.
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kyre
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by kyre »

I cleaned up the gutter area and put sealant where the cracks were. Now there’s no rain in sight. We’ll see if it works next time it rains. I’ve already pulled the carpet back to let it dry out. No rust at all under there.
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L300 water leak around front pillar?

Post by Morganizer »

Pull up your floor mats and feel if the carpet's wet. You may have the dreaded...Wet Foot Syndrome...

See my thread on the fix: http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 53#p118571

...but scroll down to the bit about leaking pop-out side windows, and do that first, cuz it's a lot easier.
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