HI All,

I have a 2002 vogue.

When I bought it all of the sunroof drains were blocked and I proceeded to clear them and recover the headlining which was also soaked and knackered.

However I am still getting clear water in the spare wheel well after rain. The water is appearing from the rear cross bulkhead and the base of the boot.

I read about the tailgate leaking at the mountings so I will clean this off and seal as per others posts but I am getting about an inch of water in the boot after a night of rain, Im sure its coming from the rear sunroof drain?? as I can't see this much water getting in from the mountings??

I understand the rear drains come down the D pillar from the manual but there is no information about how to access the drain line.

Please can someone help with routing access info for the rear drains so that I can see if in reality the bottom of the drain has ended up in the car somehow.

Thanks in advance.

You are right, it could be the boot seal, mine did this few years back. I used a non harding silicon sealant in the lip all the way round boot seal which sorted it out....but, 2 month ago I had water coming in the spare wheel well again, not much but enough to wash the spare!

You'll need an assistant here using the hose pipe and soak the back of the FF while inside looking for my new leak, water was coming through the holes where the towbar/towing eye bracket bolts through the body.
You'll see the run of where water flows down....right in line of the bolt heads.

I resealed this and now all dry....If you have a towbar I'd look at that area next, it only needs a pin hole of a split in the seal and will leak water in . If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

Thanks Dragon, I have the factory removable towbar.....Ill gives it a check buy seems to be coming from above that level????

I have soaked the rear with a watering can and can't see any ingress, Ill try the hose to see if that exacerbates the leak.

Ive looked at the seal and we cannot see anywhere with a stream of incoming water, wherever the leak is it's hidden by bodywork as its coming from behind the bulkhead.

The sunroof drain on that side was really bad and Im wondering if the air pressure has caused a split or dislodged the end on the drain tube>>

I just need to see some pics of how it's routed to rule this out???

Thanks.

I also had exactly the same problem - It was caused by the rubber seal around the boot, which had perished over time.

The water coming in also knackered the sat nav in the boot following a heavy storm ( I think there's a storm coming tonight, so if you think it may be this, try and park somewhere under cover).

I'm going back about 8 years now, Land Rover replaced it - I think it was a couple of hundred quid from memory.

aja500; Thanks for your reply.

Yes I bought the car with a non working radio due to water ingress from the sunroof, which Im sure Ive fixed.

The seal looks to be in very good condition and none of the adjoining d pillar interior trims are getting wet, it's literally seeping in under the rear bulkhead, so far in reading it looks to be one of the following.

Tailgate seal - Looks good so ill remove and apply some sealant under the seal
Rear Bumper Fixings - again, Ill remove and apply some sealant
Tailgate Hinge Mounts - again, Ill remove and apply some sealant

I am still worried about the sunroof drain though, desperate for a picture of how it's routed or how to access the lower end of the tube.....

I knew I was getting into this so happy for now for this to keep being a "project" vehicle PMSL

After muchos rain last night, the diagnosis is the tailgate seal....

It looks in great condition so would it be good to remove the seal, dry and clean it and add a bead of silicon to the part that grabs the metal flange....will this work or should I be paying the £100 for a new seal??

Try it, you've 2 chances!!

The problem is that as the seal gets old, the metal inside the part that grabs the panel edge looses it's strength and the water can get underneath. Also the springiness of the rubber reduces and water can find its way in.. unfortunately to make it squashy it needs to be hollow, and eventually it stops trying to resist the squeeze and that's the start of the wheel well well  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Just been out to check mine expecting to find a pond in the wheel well but there isn't!

Can't believe there's a common fault and mine isn't suffering from it! How bizarre.

Spent ages trying to find a leak in the boot of my old Octavia RS. Changed everything and it turned out to be a tiny crack in the seam sealer under the roof rail trim! Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It was microscopic but was letting pools of water in.

Can't beat steamed up Windows and that horrible musty smell!!

^^ But you've got to ask how old is your car and have you had it from new..... There is nothing to say that a previous owner hasn't sorted the wheel well well !! Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Yep, somebody else has probably spent countless hours pulling their hair out trying to fix it before my ownership!

 Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Look closely at the upper tailgate rubber seal at the top corner on the passenger side. The seal is poorly designed to fit round tight corners and tends to splay resulting in rainwater leaking into the body cavity it's mounted on and then appearing in the boot area including around the spare wheel.

Ok so I’ve sealed it up now and so far so good. If this fails I’ll get a new seal but at least I found the problem.

Glad you sorted it, it can be such a pita to find these leeks ..... (see what I did their) 😂

I'll get my coat ........  If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

Scottish Humour