Thread: Leaks and more leaks

Two things to check:
Vent seals under windscreen are in good nick and vents close properly
Door seals are properly in place and not even slightly loose in any of top half

Also take the blocks off the bottom of the windscreen and sicaflex behind them to provide a seal.
Otherwise check against ingress manual.

The Water Ingress Manual is in the Files area of this forum.

I had an epiphany walking the dog this am and my feet were getting wet.

The so called leaks are actually a complex design feature to allow the carrying of LPG in the Defender and to ensure adequate ventilation, evacuation of gases occur automatically.

I would be exploring the 3m and Dow Corning automotive range for a better than factory fix.

On a Puma 110 only the front doors seal

But the bottom rear corners of the back doors on the other hand. Not to mention the body work near there too...

That being said, I still would not swap my 110 for anything else.

Originally Posted by FeatherWeightDriver

On a Puma 110 only the front doors seal

But the bottom rear corners of the back doors on the other hand. Not to mention the body work near there too...

That being said, I still would not swap my 110 for anything else.

Need someone to drop into Clark Rubber and check out their range for a secondary dust seal for the 3 rear doors.

But the bottom rear corners of the back doors on the other hand. Not to mention the body work near there too...


Many moons ago when I bought a new Puma, I had the same problem. I got the dealer to change out the bottom strip of rubber on both rear doors for one that sealed properly. Originally it had a 3" gap you could see daylight through. After the rubber was changed over, it never leaked.

Originally Posted by cinders

Yeah, well it's an 02 110. Leaked from new and when I told the dealership that no longer exists in FTG, they said " What do you expect for $47,000." I said that my 1960 S2 leaked less and told them to shove their business.
So I'm thinking of pulling the roof off, then the middle section and silicone it all back together. Sound like a plan methinks.

I bought my 03 td5 from that same dealer in FTG, and I had the same conversation with them about water leaks, including them telling me that Defenders are a Piece of **** (direct quote) and why would I buy one. There was a south african service manager there who was particularly obnoxious. I remember having a drawn out argument with him because they put several dents into my (then new) defender. I was ****ed off, and he became aggressive saying that I should expect that.


I changed dealers... The next dealer stripped it down and siliconed the crap out it, I was not overjoyed at the mess, but it stayed dry for a few years. But it is leaking again, know that it's coming in through the seam in the roof as that has split quite badly now. I tried some 3m all wether tape that stopped the water - but appears I got a bad batch and it's stuffed up badly. SO I need to clean it off and put some mastic into the crack.

From what I have heard the south african assembled Defenders were the worst for these sorts of issues, and mine was out of the batch they imported for a couple of years back in 03.

I went for an alternative approach - Rust proofed the bulkhead and now keep a kilo of silica gel under each mat. Those keep the floors bone dry under the mats, and only need recycling every month or two. (20mins in the microwave does the trick)



So some memorable water leaks I've fixed.

1 - Windscreen hinges and bolts. Difficult to seal, but when leaking jsut make the mats wet underneath. This one tends to stay hidden
2 - Door seals - There is usually a kink - that lets water drip in on your legs, you can sometimes fix if not kinked too badly by removing and relaying the seal.
3 - Clutch pedal box and other engine side holes.
4 - The latest was a bad crack in the gutter above the A pillar. Actually it was quite small and hard to see - but because it was in the gutter it let water in very well..

I'm not sure were your's isn't leaking from , one no two of my leaks were coming from the the blocks that hold the windscreen on . I took them off and found that the gasket on the firewall had shrank , allowing water to follow the bolts and run into the inside , then drip/pour onto my led . It was an easy fix , I made a gasket's out of cornflake packet ,with a bit of sellastic that stopped them !!.. Jim