Defender footwell

[keith5]

Have water in the footwell was wandering if anyone knows where it comes from.

[PTC]

Here is a link to the Land Rover Defender Water Ingress Manual. It is 35 pages of all the spots where your defender will leak from and how to fix some of them.

From what i have been told this can still apply for the new Puma's too. Not too the same extent though

Water Ingress Manual (http://jeepolog.com/upload/landrover%20manuals/LandRover%20Defender%20Water%20Ingress%20Manual.pd f)

[Greyfox]

The old Defender water in the footwell trick,
Use the search function and you will see a plethora of threads on this issue.
Have fun :confused:

[BigBlackDog]

I traced my footwell getting wet to strong westerly downpours!

[phibbzy]

I've found the best solution for water ingress on my defender is a good drainage system.

[superquag]

If you wait long enough, the water will make its own drain...:p

- Add some salt if you're getting impatient.:twisted:

[BilboBoggles]

Water Ingress manual is good.

I have had a water leak int he footwell, due to

1 - The fake hinges one the windscreen, the rubber gasket under these is crap and lets water seep in through the bolts. Remove, refit with new gasket and a touch of sealant. Be careful easy to chip or take a big chunk of paint off when you undo them.

2 - the rubber driver door seal, where it kinks around near the windscreen hinges. The orginal seal kinked badly so funneled the water in, the replacement still leaked, but was seeping behind the seal. Some Butyl Mastic fixed that.

3 - The Crack in the Roof. Famous Land Rover issue, the crack between the two halves of the roof breaks, and lets water in. The sealant is butyl mastic, but very hard to get it to reseal reliably. Mine is solved by using a strip of 3m weather sealing tape on the outside.

4 - Crack in the gutter where it joins up near the windscreen above the A Pillar. This is the latest leak on mine - looks like the sealant has cracked and I now get water leaking in through the roof just above the driver's right knee. My tube of Butly Mastic has gone, so need to get some more.

To keep the rust worm at bay - I've sprayed the inside floors with Lanolin, and injected Inox into the bulkhead itself. I've also found a Kilo of Silica Gel under the passenger mats keeps the inside bone dry. A Kilo of Silica gel will absorb about 60% of it's weight in water, so I just pick it up occasionally and when it's over about 1.5 kilo's, you just bake it in the oven at 120C for a couple of hours to recharge it. I get about 3 months out of a Kilo before it needs recharging.

[Gerokent]

Air con drain pipe blocked. It's a bugga to get to, above the front of the gear box somewhere.

[Leyland1980]

you can modify the AC to have an additional drain in a better place than the original (i believe the original drain is suited to the unit being mounted at a different angle and therefore there is always a pool of water sloshing about) there are posts on line about folk who have done this.

[schuy1]

Its an advantage owning a Defender where it does not rain much! :D When my feet are wet at least Im happy :) Not so good at the moment though, feet very dry :(
Cheers Scott

[discojools]

Here is a link to the Land Rover Defender Water Ingress Manual. It is 35 pages of all the spots where your defender will leak from and how to fix some of them.

My 2102 puma is going to dealer to have the leak investigated. John the service manager reckons the Water Ingress Manual is about the size of the Workshop Manual so it might take'em a while!!
Don't mind the leak that much but the rust it causes ****es me off...

[Greyfox]

At least when my feet are wet I know that it is raining,
Another great Land Rover invention, that the other car manufactures did not take up on :D

[Felix]

Another spot many people (including dealers) forget about is the door membraine. If this isn't sealed properly, water drains down the door and comes in through the check strap, drips onto your right foot and then accumulates on the floor.

Also if your door is rusty that doesn't help! I've just accepted that it's a defender and it leaks water. So when it rains I take the floor mats out, dry the floor and put them back in again.

[ProjectDirector]

Mine is 2013 model and had same problem. The dealer spend a bit of time sealing it and it stopped, BUT it came back on the left footwell. I have a couple of other little things to fix under warranty so I will be getting them to reseal that too.
I am used to it now :)

[BilboBoggles]

Is it dripping through the heater suction vent in the fire wall on the passenger side. IF it is then there are a few possible causes -

There is a foam gasket between
the heater and the firewall. That might not be seated correctly.
The Heater Fan box itself might not be sealed correctly, there is a seam that might be leaking - that needs a new box.

[ProjectDirector]

Is it dripping through the heater suction vent in the fire wall on the passenger side. IF it is then there are a few possible causes -

There is a foam gasket between
the heater and the firewall. That might not be seated correctly.
The Heater Fan box itself might not be sealed correctly, there is a seam that might be leaking - that needs a new box.


If you are referring to mine, the dealer did replace the seal on the heater and silicon just about everywhere, replaced both front door seals too.
this could be ongoing but next visit to the dealer will attend to it again.

Anyway, been busy doing other things to it, just replaced the oil on its first 6000km with Magnatec professional 5w-40 and installed new reversing camera.

Projects keep coming......

Cheers

[jimr1]

Keith , have you considered a good pair of Gum Boots , now they want stop the leaks , but they will keep your feet dry !!..:D

[ProjectDirector]

Is it dripping through the heater suction vent in the fire wall on the passenger side. IF it is then there are a few possible causes -



There is a foam gasket between

the heater and the firewall. That might not be seated correctly.

The Heater Fan box itself might not be sealed correctly, there is a seam that might be leaking - that needs a new box.




I asked my wife to use my gum boots yesterday. After 5 days of rain here in Melbourne the defender finally gave in and started leaking again in the left footwell :) :)
The dealer fixed the problem previously with heater seals replacement and sealant, replaced the door seals twice but now the source is different. It comes from the door hinge attachment on the inside part of vehicle not on door. The water simply collects on the rubber mat.
I suppose it will be a good couple of days at LR workshop next month when I do the first service.

I suppose this is the result of a car that was originally designed to spent all it's life out in paddock. :)

[PTC]

i can't find how to edit my original post. So here is an update of the link to the manual. As the original no longer works.

http://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Land_Rover_Defender_Water_Ingress_Manual.pdf

[ProjectDirector]

i can't find how to edit my original post. So here is an update of the link to the manual. As the original no longer works.

http://www.landroverweb.com/Pdf-files/Manuals/Land_Rover_Defender_Water_Ingress_Manual.pdf


Thanks for the link, I did have this doc for a while but whilst the car is under warrantee I won't lift a finger to fix it, they can do it.
It seems to be the only issue I had with the defender.
It is just annoying though getting your feet showered when it rains :)

[CowsGoMoo]

My water in the footwell issues seems to be windscreen seal related. When I knew there was a good chance of rain I gaffa taped all around the windscreen seal as a test. Not a drop of water found on the floor. Pulled the tape off and hey presto - water again. (Don't leave tape on too long and take care removing it. I left mine on about 2-3 days and it came off without issues)

The dealer sealed it up with a bead of sealant under the windscreen rubber. Had a reasonable amount of rain since and it seems to be holding up so far.

The Water Ingress Manual seems to have been superseded by "Water Leak Diagnostic Procedure" in the Workshop Manual. The dealer provided me with a Tech Bulletin which then referred to section 501-25C in the workshop manual.

[rangietragic]

Raining again,feet getting wet.One day i'll seal something and purely by accident fix it:D.Have'nt in the last five years though:(

[ezyrama]

The Tardis has been leaking quite badly in both foot-wells with all the rain we have been getting up here lately. Called up the dealers and told them what was going on and he asked me if I took up the cascading water feature option when I purchased the car. I told him, mate my 64 2a soft top is leaking less than this thing at the moment. They had it for 2 days, they said they re-sealed the gasket between the screen and the bulkhead, but I reckon they bent the door tops in as well as it takes a bit more to close them now. As cyclone Ita isn't coming this way, i will just have to wait until the next downpour (probably Easter as we are camping) to see if it's fixed. I also noticed a bit of corrosion under the paint around the alpine windows in the roof. I'm not very impressed to have corrosion on a 2 year old car, but said it would be fixed without question, they had to get permission from LandRover to repair it (he said he had seen it before). They need the car for a week so have offered me a loaner for the duration, have to see what I can get, D4, Rangie Sport:), Freelander (wife's choice):). Probably end up with a bloody Evoque or a traded in Diahatsu Charade:(.
Cheers Ian

[Simon]

By the gasket between windscreen and bulkhead do you mean the visible seal that the 2 "hinges" sit across? I was chatting to my dealer yesterday and he mentioned thats the commonest one for leaks that drip into the footwell - and that they dig them out and put sealant in there (assuming thats what yours has done?); said they normally get no problems after that

[CowsGoMoo]

A Defender driver was visiting here the other week. His 90 had sealant in the bulkhead to window frame join, around the tub and the windscreen rubber. His leaks have stopped.

[ezyrama]

By the gasket between windscreen and bulkhead do you mean the visible seal that the 2 "hinges" sit across? I was chatting to my dealer yesterday and he mentioned thats the commonest one for leaks that drip into the footwell - and that they dig them out and put sealant in there (assuming thats what yours has done?); said they normally get no problems after that

Hi Simon
Thats the one they said they sealed. Doesnt look like they have done a thing on the outside but when I was inside the cab i could smell the Silastic sealant. The smell has gone now though.

[jonnovet]

After 3 years of chasing the footwell leaks, I have resorted to gumboots, thick socks and loads of lanolin spray. I have used enough filler, sealant and seals to build 3 submarines but she still leaks. Unfortunately I am smitten by the most problematic and expensive mistress I have ever owned and despite the leaks will continue the relationship for another 300 000km.

[ezyrama]

After 3 years of chasing the footwell leaks, I have resorted to gumboots, thick socks and loads of lanolin spray. I have used enough filler, sealant and seals to build 3 submarines but she still leaks. Unfortunately I am smitten by the most problematic and expensive mistress I have ever owned and despite the leaks will continue the relationship for another 300 000km.

I agree wholeheartedly with you. I love my truck and wouldnt swap it for anything. It just got to the point, when you have a constant drip going through your runners whilst driving, something had to be done but as yet we have had bugger all rain to test out the repair.

[Trundle]

I'm just jealous of you guys with 'proven' leaks. I'm sure mine does, something about visible holes and me leaving the windows down, and vents open, I just haven't seen any rain to prove that she does. It's to dry down here at the moment....touch wood.
Cheers

[VladTepes]

Have water in the footwell was wandering if anyone knows where it comes from.

Rain. From the sky.