Boot conversion: removed 2nd row seats and laid ute tray rubber

**tzioup** · 4th May 2020, 03:40 PM

Hi all

Extensive reader, first project poster.

I carry 3rd or 4th passengers about once every 32nd of the month, and often carry large amounts of equipment for work, therefore I decided to shed the 2nd row seat and overlay the carpet with some non-slip rubber. My '99 D2 has 3rd row seats so the occasional passenger can still ride in the very back.

I bought a large section of ute tray rubber for under $100 from Ute Gear Online. I scrubbed both sides of it with pH neutral cleaner and left it in the sun sitting on horses to allow airflow, and flipping it over every few days. After a couple of weeks you had to put your nose to it to get any rubber smell - when it came out of the wrap it was wafting from a distance.

To get it into shape I used a heavy drill non-stretch fabric which I stapled into the carpet and traced with a marker. I cut it with about 20mm of excess in the boot area and 100mm where the rubber was to slip inside the trim as a precautionary measure, and then used this as a patron to chop the rubber into shape.

The result got laid into the back of the disco and detail-trimmed to meet the edges of the rear trim, wheel arches and around the center console to remove any ridges. I created openings to be able to overlay the 3rd row seat floor catch trim. This took a fair bit of trial and error as the few mm of extra thickness made it difficult to secure the seat. I ended up having to trim the edges of the carpet so the rubber could recess into the gap around the edges of the trim.

The other tricky part was navigating the outside edges of the dip into the 2nd row seat footwell. I ended up cutting out some V shaped sections about 200mm in length pointing towards the middle. The edges of the cutouts now marry nicely and are temporarily stapled together - I plan on trying to fuse them with a soldering iron when I can track down the tool in my shed.

In hindsight I would leave more excess for that section as it would make it easier to produce a neat result. Creating those cutouts skewed the edges of the rubber and it is unfortunately not perfectly tucked into the carpet trim.

I'll be posting final photos of that section once it is completed.

For a <$100 & 2 hour job I am pretty content with the outcome. I could have used a thicker rubber to get a flatter result but this feels solid and it is not shifting around at all. Ultimately, it ain't made to be looked at and won't be seen once it's covered with my junk!

If anyone in Melbourne Metro would like to follow this process, I'd be happy to handover my fabric patron to cut out a couple of steps for you.

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Next up:

Diagnosing an undercarriage rattle and tackling roof leaks. I've stripped the headboard and tried pouring jugs of water on the side gutters, sunroof and windshield but nothing gets in. This would be great news if it wasn't raining inside at every downpour. I'll have to get someone to hose the car while I sit inside - I'm considering applying talcum powder to the ceiling to track water ingress but I haven't worked out how to achieve that without covering the rest of the interior.

Thanks for watching!

**Pedro_The_Swift** · 4th May 2020, 03:52 PM

well that will quieten things down in the back...

**V8Ian** · 4th May 2020, 03:53 PM

Where are you noticing water ingress?

**Bohica** · 5th May 2020, 08:39 AM

Neat, that looks good.

**tzioup** · 8th May 2020, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Where are you noticing water ingress?

Beading on the edges of the headliner above driver door, above steering wheel and coming down the central rear-view mirror. Also found my driver seat carpet soaked a couple of times.

I've gotten someone to hose the car out while observing from the inside. I can't find water coming in anywhere but from the sunroof, which is odd as I'd taped it up after the first time I found water inside the car, and yet water still came in a few times since. At this stage I guess it permeated the gaffer tape... Hm...

Anywho, the front drain pipes are working but the driver side one can bank up. I've tried blowing some compressed air down the hole but to no avail. I've also realised there must be either a split in the hose, or it must terminate too high, as when I was blowing compressed air through it I found water squirting out from a bolt hole in the footwell, which explains the soggy carpet. On the other hand the rear of the sunroof tray is hanging down from the roof by a significant amount due to the Disco hump, and someone bodged a patch up job by siliconing some rubber to the edges to raise them slightly. I think that when parked on an angle or going over bumps, if the drains are overwhelmed the water could splash over that edge and make its own adventure - although that would likely manifest in other places than where I've found water so far.

I feel like I've reached the end of the path in terms of steps I can safely undertake myself with no prior experience. I have a sunroof specialist coming in on Tuesday to check it out. I'm on a budget at the moment so I may consider removing the internal components of the sunroof and sealing it from the outside if the quote comes back too high. I like things to work the way they should, but I'm not excessively attached to the sunroof. A previous owner put it in.

**onebob** · 8th May 2020, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by tzioup

Beading on the edges of the headliner above driver door, above steering wheel and coming down the central rear-view mirror. Also found my driver seat carpet soaked a couple of times.

I've gotten someone to hose the car out while observing from the inside. I can't find water coming in anywhere but from the sunroof, which is odd as I'd taped it up after the first time I found water inside the car, and yet water still came in a few times since. At this stage I guess it permeated the gaffer tape... Hm...

Anywho, the front drain pipes are working but the driver side one can bank up. I've tried blowing some compressed air down the hole but to no avail. I've also realised there must be either a split in the hose, or it must terminate too high, as when I was blowing compressed air through it I found water squirting out from a bolt hole in the footwell, which explains the soggy carpet. On the other hand the rear of the sunroof tray is hanging down from the roof by a significant amount due to the Disco hump, and someone bodged a patch up job by siliconing some rubber to the edges to raise them slightly. I think that when parked on an angle or going over bumps, if the drains are overwhelmed the water could splash over that edge and make its own adventure - although that would likely manifest in other places than where I've found water so far.

I feel like I've reached the end of the path in terms of steps I can safely undertake myself with no prior experience. I have a sunroof specialist coming in on Tuesday to check it out. I'm on a budget at the moment so I may consider removing the internal components of the sunroof and sealing it from the outside if the quote comes back too high. I like things to work the way they should, but I'm not excessively attached to the sunroof. A previous owner put it in.

This time last year I had water pooling in the drivers footwell.... i found the cause and it was a blocked drain hole at the bottom of the “A” pillar. It’s likely the cause for your problem because like you i had water entering through a threaded hole in “A” pillar behind the kick panel. The water had “backed” up to the level of the hole and overflowed.....

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**tzioup** · 8th May 2020, 04:24 PM

Bang on. Just found the same hole clogged up.

Thanks a lot for the snaps, that helped me identify what I was looking for. I've been looking for the outlet but couldn't work it out. I had to wedge my phone in the undercarriage and take a photo to find the same hole so no wonder I couldn't find it before.

I'm still a bit dubious about the rear of the sunroof tray floating off the car roof and the potential for water gushing over the edge on a steep ascent/heavy downpour, but that's another story. I think the seals need some work regardless.

Out of interest, was your sunroof factory fitted or aftermarket? The one on mine is aftermarket, and the guy I bought it from told me this is why the headboard is bulging down over the section between the front and 2nd row seats, where the netting would normally be. Having said that, the sunroof was put in by the owner before him so I'm wondering if this is a case of Chinese whispers. See photos, it's unfortunately hard to capture this properly in a snap and the slight sag in the headlining doesn't help. I find it pretty unsightly. From removing the headboard I could tell there was a significant gap between the headboard and the sunroof tray, so I'm wondering whether this was just done poorly and could be resolved by getting another headboard. At the end of the day, I can live with it, but I'd rather my headboard weren't convexe.

Apologies about the crooked pic, I can't seem to get portrait photos standing up straight.

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**onebob** · 8th May 2020, 05:53 PM

No worries - I’m just glad that others can benefit from my experience.
Actually I don’t have a sunroof - my issue was that the windscreen rubber had shrunk with age, and had exposed an opening into the top of the “A” pillars. Also Disco’s had a roof sealing problem and was subject to a technical service bulletin issued in 2004 re “water ingress into headliner” and it concerns the area where the roof panel meets the top of the “A” pillars so I pulled back the rubber on both sides and applied Sikaflex over all the openings. Problem solved. Perhaps you should check yours too ....

Boot conversion: removed 2nd row seats and laid ute tray rubber

**tzioup** · 11th May 2020, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by onebob

No worries - I’m just glad that others can benefit from my experience.
Actually I don’t have a sunroof - my issue was that the windscreen rubber had shrunk with age, and had exposed an opening into the top of the “A” pillars. Also Disco’s had a roof sealing problem and was subject to a technical service bulletin issued in 2004 re “water ingress into headliner” and it concerns the area where the roof panel meets the top of the “A” pillars so I pulled back the rubber on both sides and applied Sikaflex over all the openings. Problem solved. Perhaps you should check yours too ....

Yes I'm aware of that one. I suspected they were the source of the leak since I doubted the water could come through the taped sunroof.

I removed the internal A pillar trim and drenched these sections but couldn't see any water coming in. The previous owner already sikaflexed the crap out of these, unfortunately in a way that prevents performing the maintenance stated in the bulletin you refer to since it involves removing that corner piece to seal underneath. Having said that, I can't see any water coming in through there...

I think that blocked drain is the culprit. I'm waiting for a sunroof specialist to come look at it tomorrow as there shouldn't be this much water making it past the sunroof seal in the first place, but I'm hopeful that keeping that drain clear should solve most of it.

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