Wet Water in Wet Seat Wells

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Gaz
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Wet Water in Wet Seat Wells

Post by Gaz »

Dear all,
I had this problem last year, it went away over the summer which should explain some things. When I lift up both the back seats in my 1.9TD SX hatchback Xantia, there is a pool of water sitting on the carpet in each of the two small wells under the seats. They are both thoroughly soaked. I cannot see where the water is coming in from, the are no tell-tale signs of a path, it is just there !!.
I also have gurgling noises around my sunroof in rainy weather at speed, could these be connected via a water drain off pipe? I know that other cars use these, do ours? If so where is the top hole, I can't see it and where would it come out....Thanks in advance...Gaz
Edited by - Gaz on 16 Oct 2002 14:11:04
MW
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Post by MW »

It rings a bell. There was a discussion about leaky Xantia sunroofs here about a month ago. Haven't got time to find it right now, but have a look for it. Basically, what was said was that the sunroof is designed to let water past its seals (!?!), but that it then passes through backward-sloping drainage channels to an outlet over the rear wheels.
Two things can go wrong. One is that the water channels get blocked - and the other is that you regularly park the car facing steeply downhill so that the sloping channels simply can't work! (Quirky Citroen design - dontcha love it sometimes?)
Cheers
Mike
allmond
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Post by allmond »

Hi
Here's a reply I put on a few months ago on the Peugeot forum. My reply applies to Citroens, particularly Xantia's and BX's.
The sunroof is not designed to be watertight, it lets water through into a tray above the headlining. This then drains through usually four but sometimes six drain tubes. The normal four usually drain down the A and C pillars.
Open your sunroof fully, and you will see the tray if you look down from above. GENTLY pour some water into the tray at the four corners and look for it appearing out somewhere near the wheels. You will probably find one corner blocked. The experts will then tell you to remove your headlining etc. I have found in the past no need to do this. I just got a piece of wire (eg bicycle inner brake cable) and pushed it CAREFULLY from the bottom of the tube. There's usually a gurgle and then you can flush out the tube. It's usually a leaf or something blocking the tube.
Last week on my son's Escort, the tube wasn't blocked, someone had managed to put a trim screw through the tube, puncturing it. We did have to take the headlining out!
Hope this helps.
Jamie
Gaz
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Post by Gaz »

Thanks very much, its stoppped raining for a while so I'll get out there and start pouring, Thanks Gaz
Rich
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Post by Rich »

Hello everyone,
I have had the same trouble with my Xantia Exclusive recently. I had a good look round it today and think i found a problem. I get water under the rear offside seat which i think is coming in from above, as the corner of the headlining is wet between the maplight and the top of the rear pillar. The water then runs down that bit of plastic trim between the door and the seat and ends in a nice little pool under the seat!!<img src=icon_smile_angry.gif border=0 align=middle> I can even see where the water has run down the plastic! It does not leak when it rains, just when i wash the car. Anyway, getting back to the tale, i looked at all seals which seem to be sound (door/hatch) and while checking the door seal i found that the seal which runs along the top of both doors above the main seal has two threaded holes lurking behind it. One is covered by a round plastic sticker which appears to have been put on before the paint, but the other is not. The uncovered one seems to have a gap between the nut and the body so i think this could be the problem. I have blanked the hole with a plastic number plate bolt as the threads are the same size and it won't rust, also, i thought plastic should seal well against the steel. I have also cut the plastic bolt's length to about half so it does not "bottom out" before it tightens. If it cures the leak i'll let you know. Hope this may be of some help! Sorry for the long post too! Rich.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>
Edited by - Rich on 20 Oct 2002 22:16:26
Edited by - Rich on 20 Oct 2002 22:17:23
Gaz
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Post by Gaz »

Not quite got to the bottom of the problem yet but....
the previous post has just reminded me of something. This summer I used a new roofrack, it located in two sets of hole up in the gutter area along the top of the doors. The rack had small spikes which punctured pre-made holes in the roof which were originally covered in a sticker/plastic (all original looking). I can't remember which came first..the water leak or the roofrack. Do these holes lead to anywhere in particular? Thanks
Gaz
Rich
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Post by Rich »

Hi Gaz,
On my Xantia, the holes just seem to go into the area above the headlining but they are blocked off. But there does seem to be a gap between the threads and the body panel on my car; i think this could be where my water is getting in. I will keep you posted as i won't know for sure until i wash the car with a hose pipe.
<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>Rich.
Edited by - Rich on 22 Oct 2002 00:34:44
Gaz
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Post by Gaz »

Found the problem but need some suggestions regarding the solution.
I poured some water unto the channels with the sunroof open (there seem to be two cannels either side of the roof). When the car was on the flat, the water poured striaght out of the front of the car behind the front wheels on both sides as it should. I then parked the car on a slope (front of car highest) and did the same thing to test the rear pipes...big problem. Not a single drop came out of the rear of the car, instead, it all poured behind the headlining and plastic trim that the rear seat belts emerge from. It then poured down the plastic trim that is covered when the door is closed, onto the carpet next to the seat and then straight to the seat well. This happened to both sides. Questions: Does anyone know what the pipes look like for the rear, where do the start with respect to the roof, (I tried poking inner cable down there from the roof end but it just went straight into the gap between the roof and headling). As for the bottom end, without a single drop of water I have no idea where the end of the pipe is. Can anybody tell me where exactly should I be looking, I can't see it for staring. (anybody know where the water would drop onto the floor with respect to the rear wheel, ie 20cm behind and 10cm towards the centre of the car). This is only going to get worse over the next few weeks. Sorry for the long post, but its really getting to me. Thanks
Gaz
Fox
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Post by Fox »

Had this problem when I first got my Xantia. Lifted the seats up, and two huge puddles of water.
Dried it all out, and it hasnt happened since. While I was drying it out I found the string holding the parcel shelf up had snapped and the previous owner had just tied another peice on - meaning the slack didn't go under the shelf it just draped over it - often fouling the seal between the tailgate and the bodywork. I removed this string and the car has not been full of water since.
1994 Citroen Xantia SX 1.9 Turbo Diesel
147,500 miles
pwatson
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Post by pwatson »

Just had this exact same problem in my Xantia Exclusive while in France this week (boy did it p*ss down!!) Pool of water in footwell and under rear seats. Took car to Cit main dealer in Rennes (biggest garage you've ever seen - labour £39 per hour but thought it might be worth it). Mechanic poured water into four corners of sun roof - water drained from behind front wheels and behind drivers side rear wheel and in front of pass side rear wheel - latter was the problem. he pulled down the rubber door seal from top of door. Then he removed plastic covering rear C pillar (lifted it with a screwdriver then it un clipped by sliding up slightly then forwards) He could then pull rooflininmg down slightly and we could see that the rubber drain tube had come detached from the white plastic L-shaped thing which is fitted to sun roof drain hole. To ease access he removed grab handle and could then pull roof lining down to get his hand in and push the rubber drain tube onto plastic spigot thing and problem solved! Water now drained from behind all four wheels and over last few days the carpet etc has dried out despite yet more p*ssing rain.
By the way the charge by this main dealer for the hour we spent in there? Nothing, zero, zilch - all part of the service he said. We had to force 10 euros on him as a "tip" for his helpfulness and good humour!
Hope this helps solve your flooding problems
PhilW
Phil
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