Xantia front n/s footwell water leaks

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alex
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Xantia front n/s footwell water leaks

Post by alex »

97 Xantia LXTD estate. I went to hoover the floor - found lots of water. Took a long time to strip out the carpets. Looks like the water is coming down at the left hand corner of the footwell It got dark before I could
find out where it was coming from.. has anybody else had this problem / got a fix pls??
Chris Peddie
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Post by Chris Peddie »

Hi all,
My '96TD does exactly the same thing when parked at some angles - which I think has been caused by having a replacement windscreen fitted at some time in the cars life and the plastic scuttle plate at the base of the windscreen not being properly re-sealed. This allows water to run under the plate and into the vent down to the blower which then runs down the back of the carpet.
I ran a layer of silicone sealant around the top of the plate which solved the problem for about a year before the seal broke again (although I think this was caused by the windscreen moving as it doesn't appear to be fitted properly anyway!!).
Hope this helps,
Chris
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Post by allmond »

Hi
In my experience, water leaks are nearly always connected to the sunroof. The sunroof is designed to let in water through to a tray in the headlining. This tray is then drained by four tubes which exit from each corner. The tubes exit behind each wheel arch.
Try opening the sunroof, then carefully pour water into the tray you will see there. Depending on the angle the car is parked at, you should see the water draining freely from each corner. If it doesn't then try unblocking the tube. Compressed air works, but I have had success by poking up from below with a cycle brake inner wire, CAREFULLY, with the tray full of water.
Hope this helps.
Jamie Allmond
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Post by civvie »

I had the same problem as well, finally found it was caused by the windscreen fitter. The sealer they used was missing from a very small area of glass. The answer Chris gave also makes sense as I also looked in this area and mine was not sealed properly either.
Think the fitter wore spurs!!!!
civvie
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Post by civvie »

Also check behind the passenger seat in the footwell of the rear passengers, Mine was as wet as the front as the water travelled back there.
Steve
alex
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Post by alex »

Thanks guys, strangely enough the windscreen was replaced last year... I'll look at how it's sealed (or not).. it was a Yee-hah windscreen fitter as I recall..
It's not the sunroof (I don't have one), and yes, the water travelled to the back footwell too. I still haven't got the carpets dry after 3 days inside
Alex
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Post by alex »

Quick update - the plastic shroud at the bottom of the windscreen was not sealed to the screen - water just ran down, into the heater air intake and onto the floor...
Thanks to the guys at Yee-ha windscreens...
Stuck it down with silcone sealant. See how it goes...
Alex
Ernest
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Post by Ernest »

This is a well known problem with Xantias that had replacement windscreens. It is almost always due to a bad seal with the plastic part that laps onto the bottom of the screen. I too had this problem and my local Citroen garage told me to use the same sealer/bonder thet use to bond in replacement screens, not having this I used a clear sealant from a builders suppliers, it was NOT a silicone one. That was two years ago and it is still OK. By the way it took a few weeks to dry out the water that had accumulated in a bend in the air intake and the windows steamed up badly util this was fully dried out.
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Post by D.Slatford »

There's another cause.. above each wheelarch, beneath the windscreen, there's a hole I think roughly one inch wide on either side, for drainage. I've had the misfortune of having a flooded footwell after washing the car a while back, one of these drainage holes had become blocked with lots of rotting leaves, causing the whole area beneath the windscreen to flood and eventually spill inside underneath the windscreen, finding it's way somehow right down the back of the dash in literally torrents. This was three months ago now, the underlay beneath the carpet is *still* soaked like a sponge :(
alex
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Post by alex »

Well it's still leaking despite the new sealant - I'll have to peel it off and have another look
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Post by Xantia »

Had the same leak on my 99 1.9TD.Spoke to main dealer and they tested the windscreen for leaks.Cause was the bond between glass and bodywork had failed.I had already tried the standard silicon sealer but it didn't work.Although the car was 2 1/2 yrs old at the time,Citroen agreed to fix under goodwill claim.I asked the service manager what was the cause of the leak and he confirmed that the bond between the screen and bodywork was broken at the top of the screen.After the resealing I had to leave the car for 1 day so as the bond could cure(this apparently is most important)
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