Xantia Estate Smelly with swimming pool under rear seats!

[ecohouse1]

I had a search on the forum for this and the consensus seems to be Rear Boot door inner membrane, becoming unstuck? Noticed that the floor of the boot was damp under the foam carpet backing. I was fitting my towbar on and also had the rear light clusters off - can that encourage leaks?

Main rubber door seal looks a bit tatty with hols in the "tubing" - can this be a culprit as well?

I wondered why the car smelled musty and doggy after being left a few days - especially now the weather has warmed up. Under the rear seats was really soaking!

Cheers
Alan

[CitroJim]

Alan, it'll be more likely the tailgate. Have you seen this on how to reseal the membrane?

Do you have a sunroof? That can be a cause and if you do I'll put some words together on it...

[ecohouse1]

Thanks Jim

No sunroof thankfully - I generally avoid any car over 10 years with a sunroof unless its perfect in every respect!

I am planning on removing the boot trim at the weekend.

Can I take out the carpets aft of the rear foot well without disturbing the ones in the front?

I can hang them in the greenhouse to dry out!

[CitroJim]

Can I take out the carpets aft of the rear foot well without disturbing the ones in the front?

Yes, you can but the rear seats and seat belts will need to come out. The centre console will also need to be lifted at the back...

Greenhouse will be ideal.

[VertVega]

... I am planning on removing the boot trim at the weekend.
Can I take out the carpets aft of the rear foot well without disturbing the ones in the front?...

Estate boot carpet is one piece and easy to remove. Mine was soaked for a looong time that the only solution was to wash it and let it dry overnight and day
This was caused by the tailgate membrane.
I cleaned the old seal material completely and sealed it again as seen in pic below:



Second flooding was at the foot well. The pool was developed by the leaking seal above the rear door.
Removing carpet was too difficult (for me) and the whole process would have taken long time.
So I removed rear seats and dried by old towels most of the "sponge" material under the carpets.
There is a rubber plug under the car body. I removed it to get most of the water out of the car.
Plug's location is like somewhere rear passenger's feet are. Placed some thin wooden bars to keep
the air circulation under the carpet. I noticed the pool the almost the next day. No smell issues

[Old-Guy]

Been there, done that X 3. Our estate, daughter's, ours again after fitting replacement tailgate. The key point is that it's essential to completely seal the tailgate from the car interior. This isn't just a matter of stopping drips and trickles as with a door membrane, when the tailgate is lifted it is in effect turned upside down; in wet weather, there can be a substantial amount of water trapped in the bottom of the tailgate which gets tipped to the top. The mebrane has to be completely watertight as do all the smaller openings for the lights. Fortunately, the seal between membrane and tailgate is hidden, so 'over-enthusiasm with sealer doesn't matter.

The nylon membrane often gets stretched by being pulled away from the old sealant and gets a wavey edge. My solution was to stick it back as well as possible using the old sealant to hold it in place, degrease around the edge of the nylon and the tailgate moulding, then run a generous bead of silicone bath/kitchen sealer right around the join making sure it overlapped well. Leave to set before refitting the trim. I also made sure the seals for all the lights were working properly and gave the mating faces on the moulding a good polish with silicon wax to make them water repellent. This may seem obsessive, but it pays dividends in dry floors and carpets. As the drive slopes down to the house, I also make a point of reversing in so the gravity is working for me, not against!