wet 'trunk'

[pavel]

Noticed a soaking wet 'trunk' area under the heavy rubber mat below the rug in the back of our 96 Disco. The spongy mat must have been holding a couple of liters of water! Wife saw a few drops coming down the side of the plastic side panels on the driver's side at the back. I tried to get more leak by carefully hosing down the back area of the roof and back door. Can't find the leak even after I removed all the panels in the back and repeated the soaking. Dealer says I have to soak for at least 2 hours to get a leak and that it is likely to be caused by the rectangular 'opera window'. Does anyone have any ideas about such a leak? Thanks for any advice, Pavel.

[01001010]

I dont have a leak yet but the weatherstripping and body do seem a bit out of shape around me "opera windows" (lol)...no too bad though

[oceanswithin]

It may be the "Opera Windows" when I bought my 96 DI the windows had some rot around them (3 small holes on the driver side) and water was entering directly into the truck. When I opened up the back I found the sponge and carpet where water logged I mean really soaked. A couple of liters is nothing compared to what I had in there.
Anyway I filled the holes and left the sponge and carpet out of the rear. And I haven't noticed any water or moisture back there since.
And we have had plenty of rain up here.
Anyway I hope you find the cause of the "unwanted water."

[pavel]

Thanks 0111010 and Oceanswithin - checked the rubber around the 'opera window' carefully and found it in better condition than the windshield rubber! The body panel is like new and the window fits snuggly, but I'll try bucketing some real volume of water onto the area tomorrow when the Disco gets a bath. Just came back from an off-road day in the mountains. Watched a guy badly scratch up one side of a brand new Range Rover....I hope he can afford it! Anyway, too tired to do anything tonight, but will report back soon. Thanks again.

[pavel]

Yabadabado! Finally figured out how water is getting into the back of our 96 Disco. When washing the truck today I happened to squirt water into the gap at the top of the rear door where the aluminum body is attached to the steel door jamb (just below the rear window washer nozzle) - bingo - water immediately dripped down the inside plastic panel holding the rear speaker. The water is not coming in through the 'opera windows' as I suspected. See pictures at
http://www.members.shaw.ca/tetracant...Rover/Leak.jpg
http://www.members.shaw.ca/tetracant...over/Leak2.jpg
The gap is big and obviously was never sealed at the factory. The question now of course is what type of sealer to use to plug up the gap. Any ideas anyone - will ordinary silicone sealer work or is there something better? Thanks.

[WhiteDisco]

Pavel,

I just finished repairing severe leaks into the rear storage area of my '95 Disco. Yes, its possible that the weatherstripping around the rear door has shifted and shrank with age. You can either replace this with a new one OR simply cut the piece in the middle-bottom section, refit the stripping to the original position and fit a 3 or 4 inch piece of weatherstripping to fill the gap.

THE REAL LEAK is found around your wheel wells. On my '95, the wheel wells on both sides of the Disco can develop cracks where water, salt and dirt can work its way in. You'll have to remove the carpet, the sponge, the side mouldings to reveal any cracks or holes. I used fiberglass to fill the holes and cracks both inside and up under the wheel well. After this, I sprayed rubberized undercoating throughout the wheel wells to fill any small cracks that can develop.

If you have lots of water in the rear, I'm sure the source is the wheel wells. Just remove one wheel and look up. You just might see a long straight crack that traces along the factory weld of the well. Most of the damage is caused by the wheels kicking up water, salt and dirt. You can also peel back the corner of your rear passenger carpet (where it meets the door) and see if fine dirt is being sifted down to the floor.

Most of my damage was just below the rear seat lock...the device that locks in the back of the sectional rear seat. Its all easy to remove but be careful of the plastic panel that aligns with the passenger door and rear window. There are some plastic tabs that can easily break. Again, I used fibreglass to repair this. Its more solid now that it originally was.

As for the rear compartment after the carpet and sponge is removed, I wire brushed out all the rust and then used a thick coat of rust paint to match the OEM colour. Don't use a spray can...it will fume up and then there's the threat of overspray. Use a paint brush and the best rust paint you can find. Besides, no one will ever look under that carpet. You should pull out all the water plugs before you paint and replace them when you finish.

If you have lots of water back there...I doubt the alpine windows cause that much trouble. I ran a bead of caulking around the edges of my alpine windows and it seems to do the job of preventing water to get in.

My next task is to tackle the driver and front passenger footwells. I suspect the mud flaps (actually the support bracket that holds the flaps) are swaying back and forth and thus causing some cracks to develop.

Regards,

JohnMc

[Serg]

Welcome and thanks for the great info!!


Serg

[John C]

Originally Posted by pavel

Noticed a soaking wet 'trunk' area under the heavy rubber mat below the rug in the back of our 96 Disco. The spongy mat must have been holding a couple of liters of water! Wife saw a few drops coming down the side of the plastic side panels on the driver's side at the back. I tried to get more leak by carefully hosing down the back area of the roof and back door. Can't find the leak even after I removed all the panels in the back and repeated the soaking. Dealer says I have to soak for at least 2 hours to get a leak and that it is likely to be caused by the rectangular 'opera window'. Does anyone have any ideas about such a leak? Thanks for any advice, Pavel.

Opera window????? I thought they were called Alpine windows...

The rust in the wheel wells is caused by the alum and steel reaction. You can patch it up or you can purchase the wheel well section.

[pavel]

Thanks for the heads-up on the potential problem with wheel wells WhiteDisco. In my case, the wet trunk area has nothing to do with the rear door weather strip or cracks in the seams of the rear wheel wells. I checked very carefully and did see a rust patch which I videoed for all to see at: http://www.members.shaw.ca/pavelb/La...elWellRust.mov
My leak is from the gap shown in my last post (#5 Aug 1, 2005) - take a look at my posted photos to see where the water is getting in. While everything is accessible, I'll rust inhibit and coat the wheel well rusty patches with BLUE STEEL. I'll get the truck 'rust checked' later this month.