Defender leaks!

[Four Boar]

Hi Landy Lovers,

Since purchasing my 94' defender it has had leaks, think it is around 3 years now.
I believe it is a hereditry problem and that all (most) Defenders have the leak, according to BOR, even newer one's?
It dribbles down onto the drivers excellorator foot and passengers left foot. At home I park it on a slight hill, so the back is higher than the front so it just dribbles down onto the front floor and doesn't fill up built in storage compartment in the rear. As it runs along the inner gutter where the roof joins the side pannels of the troop carrier/ pannel van, what ever you would like to call my rare Defender.

What is a good way to tell where it is coming thru?
What have you done?
What can be done?
Who did you use/ recommend?
What substance/ materials/ miricle potion?

Excuse my ignorance if there is already a massive thread on this toppic and please provide a link. I have done a search under 'Defender leak'.

I think it is coming in where the gutter is on the roof but any helpful hints etc would be great.

Cheers Cal

[dullbird]

so a water leak?

When you park the rear so its higher is the leak worse or not...if its not parked higher do I have it right that you then get a leak in the back? im finding it a little hard to understand your descritpion

a lot of leaks can be causes by the water coming from the roof gutter and down in through the door seal at the top corner near the A pillar, a bit of sikaflex just at the end of the gutter can prevent this if thats what happening...

some other leaks in to the foot well can also be holes in your firewall have you checked your firewall isn't rusted? although if your getting water in the back then not likely to be your firewall

[jx2mad]

Hi Four Boar. I fixed my series 2A leakes by filling the inside gutter with an epoxy resin. I parked on flat ground and slowly poured it in until inside gutter was full and let it set. Admittedly the vehicle had no head lining in it. This would make it very difficult to do if it has, but the problem was solved. Jim

[87County]

Most of us just wear raincoats or stubbies & thongs when it’s warm (just joking)

It's a frequently experienced & well-known problem – mostly seems to come in around the top front of the door I think, however LR has published a manual about correcting Defer water ingress. I have a copy that I can e-mail to you - if you pm your e-mail address to me.

This manual did once exist on this site but the site is so impossibly slow this morning that to even search for it or to attach it to a pm to you doesn’t seem to be practical.

HTH

[pushrod]

heres a link to the " Defender water ingress Manual" as a pdf.

http://www.mylandy.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Water_Ingress.pdf

[camel_landy]

heres a link to the " Defender water ingress Manual" as a pdf.

http://www.mylandy.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Water_Ingress.pdf

Someone beat me to it... :D

M

[08Bender]

Don't attempt to seal those leaks, those ingress points allow the water out after fording;)

[bcj]

Mate , series had it to.
If leak coming from roof I reckon u need to re-seal gutter. Any slight cracking in the gutter seal can lead to water ingress (roof racks can cause this), this can be splitting (even hairline)at rear of roof/gutter seal leading to water running to front and dripping from corner where roof joins windscreen, best fix is to remove all old sealant (pommy stuff is crap & not up to aust. cond.)& reseal (sikaflex & some masking tape to keep things neat). Also seal between windscreen and firewall doesn't seal as good as it should,dripping out below dash- series where better where u could tighten windscreen hold down bolts, defenders have no adjustment here once windscreen hinges were done away with, vent seals should be checked to if leak lower dash

As 08bender said , leave the holes in the floor, Defender & series don't float:D

Brett

110 300tdi

[Four Boar]

so a water leak?

When you park the rear so its higher is the leak worse or not...if its not parked higher do I have it right that you then get a leak in the back? im finding it a little hard to understand your descritpion

a lot of leaks can be causes by the water coming from the roof gutter and down in through the door seal at the top corner near the A pillar, a bit of sikaflex just at the end of the gutter can prevent this if thats what happening...

some other leaks in to the foot well can also be holes in your firewall have you checked your firewall isn't rusted? although if your getting water in the back then not likely to be your firewall

Hi Dullbird,

I park it so the rear is higher, this simply makes the water flow down to the front where it ends up on the floor and makes it's own way out the door eventually. Otherwise the compartments in the rear fill with water by the morning.Fire wall is rust free. Im thinking the water gets in thru the gutters somehow, and runs along the internal gutter to flood the front or rear of the car depending how its parked.

[Four Boar]

Mate , series had it to.
If leak coming from roof I reckon u need to re-seal gutter. Any slight cracking in the gutter seal can lead to water ingress (roof racks can cause this), this can be splitting (even hairline)at rear of roof/gutter seal leading to water running to front and dripping from corner where roof joins windscreen, best fix is to remove all old sealant (pommy stuff is crap & not up to aust. cond.)& reseal (sikaflex & some masking tape to keep things neat). Also seal between windscreen and firewall doesn't seal as good as it should,dripping out below dash- series where better where u could tighten windscreen hold down bolts, defenders have no adjustment here once windscreen hinges were done away with, vent seals should be checked to if leak lower dash

As 08bender said , leave the holes in the floor, Defender & series don't float:D

Brett

110 300tdi

I believe it is leaking from all of the above.
I can't silicon/ sicaflex the gutters as the roof racks will just re-expose the wound. The vent link ruined my ipod connction cord.

[Four Boar]

Hi Four Boar. I fixed my series 2A leakes by filling the inside gutter with an epoxy resin. I parked on flat ground and slowly poured it in until inside gutter was full and let it set. Admittedly the vehicle had no head lining in it. This would make it very difficult to do if it has, but the problem was solved. Jim

I like this idea, but would not fill the gutters. I would leave enough room for for the roof racks to be re installed.

[Four Boar]

Don't attempt to seal those leaks, those ingress points allow the water out after fording;)

I think I would have to seal the leaks up near the roof other wise if I wait for the water to escape thru them I may be running low on oxygen, haha :eek:

[flagg]

IME the wet foot was caused by the seat under the windscreen panel that connects it to the firewall.

After following a few points of the ingress manual my 110 didnt leak at all ( bar the rust in the firewall ;) )

[zwitter]

Hi
Mine leaks too, dont they all. I read the water ingress manual and went looking for "dum dum" just got dum looks no tape. Emailed 3M they offered to supply me a roll if i ordered minimum order quantity for $1200.
Any way point is there is some "butyl tape" on fleabay that is basically the same product. Black and sticky. I have no affiliation with seller and just kicking myself for only getting 1 roll. I am sure others will have other sources but OEM has stopped selling some time back.

I have taken 2 days off this week to pull dash and go leak hunting!

James


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Didge]

I've had my ceiling out for the last 8 months seeking the source of the internal gutter leak. After seeing a pic posted here I and then doing a good inspection with a mirror and torch I'm 99.9999% sure the gutter profile looks very similar to the attached pic I drew. The gutter is one wide piece and the roof is welded to the middle of it so all you need is one tiny gap between inside and outside and a crack in the external sealant and you've got your leak. I'd previously sealed up all joints in the roof and around the alpine windows all to no avail but when I completely sealed the entire length of gutters with sikaflex 221 (which by the way thins in turps or metho, can't remember which) my leak from the gutter ceased. The leaks onto your feet from the faulty seal at the bend in the door and behind the dash are from a multitude of sources and for a variety of reasons which will take a lot of effort to fix. Good luck :) BTW in my diagram the vertical flange with the return on top also stops at the same position as the innermost flange (one on the right) so water can easily get to the innermost gutter; it doesn't have to flood over the top of the hooked vertical flange