85 Jetta still leaking
 

I redid the plastic liners on the two rear doors on my 85 Jetta GL with
6-mil plastic and 3-M weatherstrip putty. I dried the bottoms of the door
panels with a heat gun and put duct tape on the chewed up cardboard and
closed everything back up.

I was very careful to fully seal the door openings with plastic, cutting
only small slits for the crank handle and a minimum cutout for the inside
door handle.

I thought I'd solved the problem of leaking into the rear set wells. Not so.
As nearly as I can tell, my fix accomplished nothing. The first time I drove
it in the rain, I had another half-inch of standing water in the back seat,
and soaking wet door panel bottoms.

Any idea what to try next? I live in Juneau, Alaska now, and I either have
to solve this problem or take the car to Arizona, dry it out, and sell it in
a dry climate.

BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.

Pat Moore
(85 Jetta GL Auto AC)

Do the front door too, as water runs to the rear.

"Pat Moore" > wrote in message
...
>I redid the plastic liners on the two rear doors on my 85 Jetta GL with
> 6-mil plastic and 3-M weatherstrip putty. I dried the bottoms of the door
> panels with a heat gun and put duct tape on the chewed up cardboard and
> closed everything back up.
>
> I was very careful to fully seal the door openings with plastic, cutting
> only small slits for the crank handle and a minimum cutout for the inside
> door handle.
>
> I thought I'd solved the problem of leaking into the rear set wells. Not
> so.
> As nearly as I can tell, my fix accomplished nothing. The first time I
> drove
> it in the rain, I had another half-inch of standing water in the back
> seat,
> and soaking wet door panel bottoms.
>
> Any idea what to try next? I live in Juneau, Alaska now, and I either
> have
> to solve this problem or take the car to Arizona, dry it out, and sell it
> in
> a dry climate.
>
> BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.
>
> Pat Moore
> (85 Jetta GL Auto AC)
>
>

Do the front door too, as water runs to the rear.

"Pat Moore" > wrote in message
...
>I redid the plastic liners on the two rear doors on my 85 Jetta GL with
> 6-mil plastic and 3-M weatherstrip putty. I dried the bottoms of the door
> panels with a heat gun and put duct tape on the chewed up cardboard and
> closed everything back up.
>
> I was very careful to fully seal the door openings with plastic, cutting
> only small slits for the crank handle and a minimum cutout for the inside
> door handle.
>
> I thought I'd solved the problem of leaking into the rear set wells. Not
> so.
> As nearly as I can tell, my fix accomplished nothing. The first time I
> drove
> it in the rain, I had another half-inch of standing water in the back
> seat,
> and soaking wet door panel bottoms.
>
> Any idea what to try next? I live in Juneau, Alaska now, and I either
> have
> to solve this problem or take the car to Arizona, dry it out, and sell it
> in
> a dry climate.
>
> BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.
>
> Pat Moore
> (85 Jetta GL Auto AC)
>
>

Did you clean out the drains in the doors first? Did you fill the
doors with a garden hose to see that the water is draining out? Are
the window gaskets all in ok shape? They all leak some but the little
bit of water should go out the door drains. I have had plastic
installed with masking tape and did not have leak problems. It rains
plenty in Atlanta. There is also a plastic flap around the interiour
door vent that is supposed to direct water around that vent. Biggenst
thing is water that gets in the door has to have a way to drain out.

The trunk is supposed to have drains in it also. My 84 has a drain in
the middle of the spare tire. Leaky trunk gaskets and leaky window
gaskets can cause a mess in the back.

"Pat Moore" > wrote:

>I redid the plastic liners on the two rear doors on my 85 Jetta GL with
>6-mil plastic and 3-M weatherstrip putty. I dried the bottoms of the door
>panels with a heat gun and put duct tape on the chewed up cardboard and
>closed everything back up.
>
>I was very careful to fully seal the door openings with plastic, cutting
>only small slits for the crank handle and a minimum cutout for the inside
>door handle.
>
>I thought I'd solved the problem of leaking into the rear set wells. Not so.
>As nearly as I can tell, my fix accomplished nothing. The first time I drove
>it in the rain, I had another half-inch of standing water in the back seat,
>and soaking wet door panel bottoms.
>
>Any idea what to try next? I live in Juneau, Alaska now, and I either have
>to solve this problem or take the car to Arizona, dry it out, and sell it in
>a dry climate.
>
>BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.
>
>Pat Moore
>(85 Jetta GL Auto AC)
>


Jim B.

Did you clean out the drains in the doors first? Did you fill the
doors with a garden hose to see that the water is draining out? Are
the window gaskets all in ok shape? They all leak some but the little
bit of water should go out the door drains. I have had plastic
installed with masking tape and did not have leak problems. It rains
plenty in Atlanta. There is also a plastic flap around the interiour
door vent that is supposed to direct water around that vent. Biggenst
thing is water that gets in the door has to have a way to drain out.

The trunk is supposed to have drains in it also. My 84 has a drain in
the middle of the spare tire. Leaky trunk gaskets and leaky window
gaskets can cause a mess in the back.

"Pat Moore" > wrote:

>I redid the plastic liners on the two rear doors on my 85 Jetta GL with
>6-mil plastic and 3-M weatherstrip putty. I dried the bottoms of the door
>panels with a heat gun and put duct tape on the chewed up cardboard and
>closed everything back up.
>
>I was very careful to fully seal the door openings with plastic, cutting
>only small slits for the crank handle and a minimum cutout for the inside
>door handle.
>
>I thought I'd solved the problem of leaking into the rear set wells. Not so.
>As nearly as I can tell, my fix accomplished nothing. The first time I drove
>it in the rain, I had another half-inch of standing water in the back seat,
>and soaking wet door panel bottoms.
>
>Any idea what to try next? I live in Juneau, Alaska now, and I either have
>to solve this problem or take the car to Arizona, dry it out, and sell it in
>a dry climate.
>
>BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.
>
>Pat Moore
>(85 Jetta GL Auto AC)
>


Jim B.

My 84 Jetta had water in the trunk and it came from the tail lens. Same thing
w/ the wife's 92 Taurus, leaking from the tail lenses.

WhiteDog


>From: "Pat Moore"

>BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.

My 84 Jetta had water in the trunk and it came from the tail lens. Same thing
w/ the wife's 92 Taurus, leaking from the tail lenses.

WhiteDog


>From: "Pat Moore"

>BTW, I also have a half-inch of standing water in the trunk.