Leaking Defender

[Primalanton]

Hi all. My 2004 Defender leaks - I think through the front vents when it rains which leaves big puddles of water under the pedals. I have tried a temporary fix by taping around the vents but this has not worked. Has anyone else had this problem and how have they fixed it?

[incisor]

check the windscreen hinges.....

and check to see if there is damp in the roof support channels up the side of the truck ...

there is a water proofing the defender manual in the files section of the site i believe.

[Pacemaker]

Remove the windscreen hinges and silicone them up. Also the round black plugs in the fire wall under the vents need sealing with sikaflex.

Hose the front of the car and check for leaks. If its still leaking check the foam strip between the baulk head and windscreen frame. Sometimes they leak in the corners.

Another one is door seals

Cheers
Michael

[dromader driver]

Leaks on the firewall are pretty common around the various grommets,seal with sikaflex or silastic. Top of the pedal box is also common. Fortunately it also runs out the door.

[MLD]

I had to laugh at the question "Has anyone else had this problem and how have they fixed it?". It's probably the most complained about characteristic of a defender on this forum.

Further to other replies: some defenders have water ingress on the top of the windscreen where the roof (in particular the gutter) is sealed to the bulkhead/windscreen. off-road driving and flex can separate the silicon allowing water to run down the A column onto your feet.

with winter approaching, best buy a comfy set of wellies and learn to drive with oversized paddles on the peddles.

MLD

[simmo]

wear shorts and sandals :)

[Drover]

Isn't this why they have so many gaps in the panel work to allow the water to flow back out....just say'n

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Wot, you mean that Defenders actually have seals? :confused:

I always thought that the rubber thingos were to reduce the friction between metal panels! (like doors) ;)

[jimr1]

Hi all. My 2004 Defender leaks - I think through the front vents when it rains which leaves big puddles of water under the pedals. I have tried a temporary fix by taping around the vents but this has not worked. Has anyone else had this problem and how have they fixed it?
You should have got an Orange mastic gun , plus a tube of sealer with It , It should be in the tool kit when you brought It . If I were you I'd go back and ask were It is !!..Jim :D:D

[Primalanton]

Well there you go! I just bought the Defender & had not heard about the leaking bit.
Thanks all for the advice (and humour) - I will try the various suggestions and by the sound of it I can remove the water proof tape from the vents.
The leak occurs with only light rain so I assume there is a big gap somewhere.:)

[JDNSW]

It won't be always the same thing on every vehicle, but my experience is the major ingress point was the windscreen hinges. On yours these are not hinges but are brackets, with screws into them from inside. They are sealed by a rubber gasket that is easily damaged, or the screws may be loose.

John

[Pocket Rocket]

Both our Defenders leak when left in the rain. One is an MY14 and the other is an MY15. Same spot too - passengers footwell.

[jimr1]

Hi all. My 2004 Defender leaks - I think through the front vents when it rains which leaves big puddles of water under the pedals. I have tried a temporary fix by taping around the vents but this has not worked. Has anyone else had this problem and how have they fixed it?
The vent seals can and do shrink , or go hard or even peal back . There an easy fix , take the flap off scrape the old seal off put stick the new one on . As for the next place to look as been mentioned the cast blocks that hold the screen to the firewall . The gasket that forms the seal shrinks letting the water track through . I made a gasket out of a cornflake box , "only temporary " that was quite a few years ago now , plus a bit of selastic . Give It a go , It's a cheep fix . Then test with a hose . good luck !!.. Jim..:)

[Didge]

Well there you go! ............
The leak occurs with only light rain so I assume there is a big gap somewhere.:)
You obviously hadn't heard about the comparison test between BMW & Land Rover where both claimed there were no gaps in their seals and their cars were air and water tight.
They both put cats in their respective cars, a BMW 750iL from memory and a standard Defender.
A few days later they checked the cars - the cats in the BMW were dead obviously from asphyxiation and LR couldn't find the cats
TRUE STORY!
:D

[87County]

You could always put your raincoat on (back to front), like DC-3 (Dakota) pilots used to do when it rained :)

[flagg]

As inc said, read through the water ingress manual - if you follow it you can stop all leaks. Where they mention 'dum dum' I used 3M strip caulk. Purchased it from eBay and It is really useful stuff. I had a leak as toy described and fixed it with strip calk by pressing some into the gap between the roof and windscreen panels.

I sealed up a lot of gaps with sikaflex - it is great stuff not doubt but once it is dry it is pretty much permanent so it is not always practical and can turn a future 5 min job into a day of bad language.. Strip caulk remains malleable :)

[Primalanton]

Leak/s found. After much mucking around, pouring water over the most likely place for a leak and finding nothing, I was about to give up when I found a leak in the seal between the driver front door and windscreen pillar - the water ran along the bottom of the dash & dropped of over the clutch pedal thus disguising the leak!:)

[Pickles2]

Well done!!,...So how did you fix it?
Pickles.

[Primalanton]

Give me time! :) I have only just found it and yet to think about how to fix it!
Me thinks it will probably be with brute force & a little bit of door adjustment.

[Primalanton]

The leaking now seems to have stopped! Thanks everyone for your help (& humour).
I slackened off the window brackets, injected silicone in & then re- tightened, injected silicone into & under the windscreen rubber where there were minor splits. Most importantly, the door rubber, on the body, near where the window meets the panel, when pulled up, had worn/ torn under the rubber surface.
I silicone into this area, shut the door & let it set.
Now all good! I used blavk Dowel Corning black silicone & cleaned the residue of with detergent - wouldn't know it was there!

[Didge]

Not to be a wet blanket but I think the operative word here is "SEEMS" - I have my fingers crossed for you.
I once met a bloke who asked me if my rear sliding windows leaked - ???? "No, what makes you ask that?". Next time it rained I was like "How did he know?" check everywhere and expect to be surprised.
:D

[Primalanton]

Yes, having read all of the leak stories I deliberately used the word "seems"!:)