Xantia Est - water under rear seats

S Kelly · Post by **S Kelly** » 24 Dec 2002, 14:50

My Xantia Estate gathers water under the rear seats. The car was previously owned by my father who also experienced similar problems. He is certain that the water is not coming in from underneath the car as he has ensured that all holes are sealed. He is adamant that the water is coming in from the rear door area. The seals all appear fine. There is also dampness underneath the boot carpet which would seem to suggest that the water is running underneath and gathering in the well under the back seats.
Apparently a garage has also attended to this in the past but obviously been unable to solve it. Anyone had similar problems; and how have you solved it?
Thanks for reading.
S M Kelly

allmond · Post by **allmond** » 24 Dec 2002, 15:07

Hi
Do a search on sunroof postings if your car has one. I know from personal experience that the water gets to all sorts of strange places. It's always a good starting point.
Jamie

S Kelly · Post by **S Kelly** » 24 Dec 2002, 15:18

Thanks for swift response. Unfortunately there is no sunroof. The problem lies elewhere.
S M Kelly

alexx · Post by **alexx** » 24 Dec 2002, 15:37

Did you check the rear doors? As I know, some estates had problems with bad welded rear door hinges and rear door leak. You can get more info at the Xantia Don't Bother site. Maybe it will be of some help.
Alex

Rich · Post by **Rich** » 24 Dec 2002, 17:17

Hi,
Check out the "shower curtain" inside the tailgate behind the trim panel, i believe this often becomes detached from the door but just requires sticking back into place.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to everyone!!
Rich.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

wheeler · Post by **wheeler** » 24 Dec 2002, 17:26

also check the seals on the rear lights,sometimes the wires for the light clusters get trapped in the seal and hold it open after a bulb has been changed.I think that the tailgate shower curtain is your best bet though.

S Kelly · Post by **S Kelly** » 24 Dec 2002, 21:48

Cheers Guys, I'll report back after festivities.
S M Kelly

civvie · Post by **civvie** » 27 Dec 2002, 00:33

I once had a problem with wet under the mat on my estate, I took it to the local cit garage and they said it it was some kind of mastic seal that had broken down on the tailgate, I think it was something to do with the rear window area where two metals were joined?
Anyway they redone the seal and everything was then ok, cost a bit though as they had to take out all the lining etc from the tailgate. You know one pound for the mastic and one hundred for the labour.
Its just an idea, no doubt someone with a more intimate knowledge of the tailgate could elaborate.
Good luck,
Steve

alexg · Post by **alexg** » 28 Dec 2002, 20:37

Rich and Civvie's posts above looks like a good bet to me - the plastic membrane behind the tailgate trim on estates has to be completely sealed - the lock lets water in when it rains, and it is supposed to run away outside the rubber trim onto the bumper through some holes in the bottom of the plastic tailgate. If the membrane isn't sealed it runs inside the car, soaks the foam under the load area mat and ends up under the rear seats. Took me several tries to find something that would stick it back sucessfully - ususal tape / silicon sealant didn't last very long.
Found 'bolted panel sealant' on a roll at a local car paint shop (http://www.leonardbrooks.demon.co.uk), this worked fine and is still in place several years on.. Drying out the foam is a real problem - took about a week to dry in the summer...weighs a ton when saturated
Rgds Alex G
Edited by - alexg on 28 Dec 2002 15:39:21

S Kelly · Post by **S Kelly** » 31 Dec 2002, 17:02

Thanks for the help - it looks like the "shower curtain"/membrane. Thanks also for the link alexg.
S M Kelly

Les Finnie · Post by **Les Finnie** » 06 Feb 2003, 01:59

I had the same problem with my Xantia estate. I checked out all the problem areas and found none of them applied to my car. The problem seemed to be water filling up on top of the bumper under the tailgate, on my old BX this water escaped down holes in the corner of the bumper, no such thing on a Xantia. On closer examination I found the rubber sticks down between the bumper and the body of the car thus blocking the only escape route for the water. Answer!!! drill holes along the length of the bumper near the edge of the rubber; result the excess water drains down through the holes and not over the rubber into the boot.