Leak proofing - removing gutter plastic trim

[ozscott]

Hi all. Drying out the D2. Think I should remove the gutter trims and the A Pillar finishers (outer covers) and seal up anything that looks suspect. Anyone done this? Any tips on removing and salvaging as much of the plastic bits as possible? Anyone find reasonably inexpensive replacements for the gutter trims? Apart from tops of A Pillars (around windscreen corners), gutter cracks and alpine windows is there any other areas to look at for water ingress on driver's side footwell? The plastic cowl under the windscreen is shot but there shouldn't be leaks there...(but may be [emoji1787]). Cheers

[V8Ian]

Hi mate, I believe if the windscreen plenum is broken, it can let water in via the HVAC opening.
The AULRO shop has the gutter corners at a very reasonable cost.

[onebob]

Hi all. Drying out the D2. Think I should remove the gutter trims and the A Pillar finishers (outer covers) and seal up anything that looks suspect. Anyone done this? Any tips on removing and salvaging as much of the plastic bits as possible? Anyone find reasonably inexpensive replacements for the gutter trims? Apart from tops of A Pillars (around windscreen corners), gutter cracks and alpine windows is there any other areas to look at for water ingress on driver's side footwell? The plastic cowl under the windscreen is shot but there shouldn't be leaks there...(but may be [emoji1787]). Cheers

I had a leak in the driver side footwell and it was caused by a blocked A pillar drain hole. The hole is accessible from underneath the floor where it exits on the inboard side of the sill panel. I’ll post a photo soon…

[ozscott]

I had a leak in the driver side footwell and it was caused by a blocked A pillar drain hole. The hole is accessible from underneath the floor where it exits on the inboard side of the sill panel. I’ll post a photo soon…Thanks mate. I cleaned that hole out. Cheers

[reefmagnet]

I just went through this process on my D2. Problem turned out to be some areas of rust under the windscreen that had perforated. Cleaned the rust as best I could and sealed it with skinning butyl mastic as sold by Bunnings. Probably best considered a temporary repair, but it did seal it from the leaks. On the downside, my probing with a dental pick to find the rust must have nicked the windscreen, leading to it to start one of those cracks not long afterwards that is growing by the day. Such is life.

[ozscott]

I just went through this process on my D2. Problem turned out to be some areas of rust under the windscreen that had perforated. Cleaned the rust as best I could and sealed it with skinning butyl mastic as sold by Bunnings. Probably best considered a temporary repair, but it did seal it from the leaks. On the downside, my probing with a dental pick to find the rust must have nicked the windscreen, leading to it to start one of those cracks not long afterwards that is growing by the day. Such is life.Thanks mate. So you peeled back the windscreen rubbers? Reusable or throw away? Cheers

[reefmagnet]

Thanks mate. So you peeled back the windscreen rubbers? Reusable or throw away? Cheers

I had no need to peel them back with the butyl mastic. Just needed to cut the nozzle fine and inject it in and then massage the seal to spread the sealant. I used masking tape to help with the cleanup if the stuff that oozes out.

To answer your question though, I'd suspect throw away if they are old because they do go hard with age.

[ozscott]

I had no need to peel them back with the butyl mastic. Just needed to cut the nozzle fine and inject it in and then massage the seal to spread the sealant. I used masking tape to help with the cleanup if the stuff that oozes out.

To answer your question though, I'd suspect throw away if they are old because they do go hard with age.Thanks mate. What led to this? Did you peek under the rubbers and see the issue or just assume or work out based on other potential leak spots looking fine, that around the windscreen was where the issue had to be? Cheers

[reefmagnet]

Thanks mate. What led to this? Did you peek under the rubbers and see the issue or just assume or work out based on other potential leak spots looking fine, that around the windscreen was where the issue had to be? Cheers

Funny story. There was evidence that water has been leaking into the driver's foot well for a while, but only slightly. It wasn't dropping over anything electrical on the way so I didn't worry too much about it. And then one day, the missus borrowed the car and complained the touch screen on the radio had gone crazy. Turned out water was dripping from the top middle of the windscreen directly onto the screen, frying it's electronics. I wasn't overly surprised as I noticed a small bubble under the seal in the vicinity. Fortunately, I had a replacement screen but I needed to stop the drip.

Since the PO had used a mix of silicon and hot glue to "seal" around other areas of the screen - a dead giveaway that it's been leaking in the past - I removed the A pillar trims inside and outside and adjacent gutter trims (note: all are VERY brittle with age) and dug further. A garden sprayer was used to pinpoint more holes. Cleaned them up as much as I could and sealed. The leaks have now stopped as far as I can tell.

Hopefully in your case, it's just a sealant issue and not rust, but where I live (in the tropics) it's not uncommon for rust to occur under replaced windscreen's sealant as paint can be scratched in the process of cutting out old screens which will promote rust if not treated prior to installation of the new screen.

[ozscott]

Funny story. There was evidence that water has been leaking into the driver's foot well for a while, but only slightly. It wasn't dropping over anything electrical on the way so I didn't worry too much about it. And then one day, the missus borrowed the car and complained the touch screen on the radio had gone crazy. Turned out water was dripping from the top middle of the windscreen directly onto the screen, frying it's electronics. I wasn't overly surprised as I noticed a small bubble under the seal in the vicinity. Fortunately, I had a replacement screen but I needed to stop the drip.

Since the PO had used a mix of silicon and hot glue to "seal" around other areas of the screen - a dead giveaway that it's been leaking in the past - I removed the A pillar trims inside and outside and adjacent gutter trims (note: all are VERY brittle with age) and dug further. A garden sprayer was used to pinpoint more holes. Cleaned them up as much as I could and sealed. The leaks have now stopped as far as I can tell.

Hopefully in your case, it's just a sealant issue and not rust, but where I live (in the tropics) it's not uncommon for rust to occur under replaced windscreen's sealant as paint can be scratched in the process of cutting out old screens which will promote rust if not treated prior to installation of the new screen.Many thanks mate. Very helpful. I am the original owner and screen is original (I have heard a few times that the UK Pilkington glass was thicker than our local versions. Cheers

[onebob]

Hi all. Drying out the D2. Think I should remove the gutter trims and the A Pillar finishers (outer covers) and seal up anything that looks suspect. Anyone done this? Any tips on removing and salvaging as much of the plastic bits as possible? Anyone find reasonably inexpensive replacements for the gutter trims? Apart from tops of A Pillars (around windscreen corners), gutter cracks and alpine windows is there any other areas to look at for water ingress on driver's side footwell? The plastic cowl under the windscreen is shot but there shouldn't be leaks there...(but may be [emoji1787]). Cheers

Look for rust at the bottom of the A pillar just above and behind the lower end of the A pillar trim - you need to be a contortionist to eyeball it - the phone camera is a help…. Zoom in on the pic.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220605/19a347f65f12b7fc671a4e7c7900feda.jpg

[ozscott]

Look for rust at the bottom of the A pillar just above and behind the lower end of the A pillar trim - you need to be a contortionist to eyeball it - the phone camera is a help…. Zoom in on the pic.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220605/19a347f65f12b7fc671a4e7c7900feda.jpgCheers mate. Will.do. Thanks

[Grahame Roberts]

Trims can be ordered through MR Automotive in Redcliffe. New cowling from The Landy Nut. Cheers.
If you have windscreen issues get it covered through your car insurance policy … new one each year. Cheers

[peter51]

Some helpful hints to sorting out water leaks.
Causes
1. Blockage of A pillar drain - A pillar fills up and water exits the threaded hole below the wiring loom grommet - floor pan rusts see image 1 - A pillar, 2 - Screwdriver marking A pillar drain hole, and 3 - A pillar drain hole itself.
2. Loss of seal around the fresh intake surround(image 4) - remove plenum cover( LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 2 PLENUM AIR INTAKE MOULDING. PART- JAK000010PMALR) see this video from atlantic british on removing what they mistakenly call the "centre air intake moulding" Atlantic British Presents: Installing Center Air Intake Moulding - Discovery Series II - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaN3R36EDV0) Then reseal both the fresh intake cowling and the wiper motor cover - in heavy tropical rain you can observe that the water level inside the intake plenum is very very high and almost breaches the lip of the fresh air intake - see image below. If parked nose down in torrential rain - then water would flood into the fresh air intake - see image 5 with marked plimsol lines.
3. Broken/cracked plenum cover overhead the fresh intake allowing water to drip into the fresh air intake.
4. The sill area around the A pillar drain is very prone to corrosion due to accumulation of mud etc - keep this area spotlessly clean and coat with tectl wax/lanoline coating etc when dry.
5. While you have the plenum air intake moulding off - clean all the dirt in the channel and inspect for cracking in the body sealant - see image attached. If so clean thoroughly, gouge out the crack area and reseal - otherwise your firewall will rust out - the death of many D1/D2 and RRC.

[peter51]

The image of the actual water level on the fresh intake cowl is not clear in the photo - but I flooded the plenum with a hose on lowish pressure which would be equivalent to some of the tropical storms we have here in queensland australia. The red lines mark the water level during this experiment. My hose pressure is already quite low and I could see how easy it would be to get a flood of water into the fresh air intake when the plenum is flooded and when the car is accelerating.

[RobMichelle]

Thanks for that, a job I’ve been meaning to do but still haven’t, I like seeing what grows from the carpet on drivers side. It will get done this summer 🥃hopefully.
So pic 3 is drain that appears to point strait down, pic 2 looks like the screen driver is on the side, I’m thinking it’s just the picture or is the drain on the side?

[peter51]

Yes image 3 is the circular A pillar drain hole - often clogged and causes rust and water ingress to footwell.
First image with the screwdriver points to the tapered bottom of the A pillar just aft of the door hinges. Second image with the screw driver illustrates the hidden position of the A pillar drain hole how difficult it is to locate the drain hole.
Hope it helps - get onto yr leaks cause with the foam under the carpet staying wet and bit of salt from wet beach feet , you will lose a floor pan very quickly

[greeny3003]

Cleaned the rust as best I could and sealed it with skinning butyl mastic as sold by Bunnings.
That Butyl Mastic around the windscreen was a PITA to remove cheers. The rust holes have all been welded up and sealed over, so she's looking a lot better now and not leaking.