HELP! Leak From Hood Seal

TaffZee

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Wonder if anyone has any ideas? I have a leak into the boot, the water is leaking down the bulkhead inside the boot just where the battery cables go through, I have run a hose down the hood and the water is coming in from where the hood seals against the body, I have removed the rubber seal and this seems fine..I have also checked the hood as it fastens to the bodywork thinking it may have a tear but all seems fine.

My plan is to first clean down the rubber seal, then introduce a small bead of sealer direct to the hood as it attaches to the bodywork, and then to apply sealer to the rubber. any better ideas on how to stop the leak without removing the hood?
 

TaffZee

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Yes Gary, the Butyl sealer has given up, and is causing a leak into the roof well, this is then leaking through to the boot, I have ordered some new Butyl sealer, but was hoping to get some guidance on how to remove the Tack Strip (and the Sealing Strip If Needed as apparently this can be damaged easily) which is accessed from the inside of the car roof well. Mine is leaking badly right in the corner (where the Butyl Sealant is circled on the picture below) The Tack Strip is the top trim and the Sealing Frame is under this strip, I am hoping to remove the Tack Strip clean off all the old sealer, trace the leak from the sealing frame and repair the leak without removing the frame and then re-seal the Tack Strip with Butyl.. Really funny how the leak has come as the car has always been 100% water tight, It may have been due to the recent hot weather which has allowed the sealer to melt and then fail, not sure but cant think of any thing else which could have caused it? As you can see a big gap exists between the two bolts as it goes around the corner so this would appear to be a weak spot for the seal.

tack strip.JPG
 
B

badman gee

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When they changed my hood, they put two thick strips of sealant.

If not it will leak
 
B

badman gee

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Bought plenty of sealant so intend to make sure it is well sealed taking extra care and adding more sealer a it goes around the corners...
That should do it, it's such a pain to get to.

Hope you get it sorted jim
 

GazHyde

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Ah, I see now. So rather than being channeled to the drains, it's just pouring through a gap!

Does this video help? Scan forward to about 9 minutes in. He seems to have had little problem removing the bolts and seal behind, but then he is removing the whole hood with it. It may just give you a bit of confidence that it's not quite as brittle as you've heard?


...and here is the refitting. Skip to about 2:30 and he starts looking at removing the old sealant and adding some new 3M window caulking.

 

TaffZee

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Ah, I see now. So rather than being channeled to the drains, it's just pouring through a gap!

Does this video help? Scan forward to about 9 minutes in. He seems to have had little problem removing the bolts and seal behind, but then he is removing the whole hood with it. It may just give you a bit of confidence that it's not quite as brittle as you've heard?


...and here is the refitting. Skip to about 2:30 and he starts looking at removing the old sealant and adding some new 3M window caulking.



Brilliant Gary Bit more up to speed now, wasn't sure what I would find once the strip was removed, doesn't seem to bad a job...
 

GazHyde

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Brilliant Gary Bit more up to speed now, wasn't sure what I would find once the strip was removed, doesn't seem to bad a job...
Certainly seems worthwhile if you can remove the whole strip and then reseal the entire frame. Should be good for another 15 years then ;)

Take plenty of pictures, I can feel a wiki article in the making!
 

TaffZee

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Certainly seems worthwhile if you can remove the whole strip and then reseal the entire frame. Should be good for another 15 years then ;)

Take plenty of pictures, I can feel a wiki article in the making!

Will do:) Plan to do it next weekend if weather is dry...
 

billz

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Hope it all gets sorted Jim. See if you came on hol with us you wouldn't of needed to worry for 2 weeks :)
 

TaffZee

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Would love too but cant, have a great time everyone and make sure you keep us up to date with what your doing and plenty of pictures..
 

yocky z3 2.0

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Hey up Jim depending on how long it's been leaking I would check underneath the carpet as water runs through some holes and under the carpet behind the seats near where the roll hoops are this happend to my mates enderd up getting a small dehumidifier to dry it out was like a sponge
 

TaffZee

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Hey up Jim depending on how long it's been leaking I would check underneath the carpet as water runs through some holes and under the carpet behind the seats near where the roll hoops are this happend to my mates enderd up getting a small dehumidifier to dry it out was like a sponge
Hi Tony only just started leaking so caught it before everything has become sodden. Should be fixed this week end if the weather is OK....
 

yocky z3 2.0

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Good it was a sod to get my mates carpet dry had to take the seats out lift the carpet and place a small dehumidifier in for about five days to dry it out completely .
 

oldcarman

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Thanks all for the info. It will come in handy when my car gets here, finally as I will be changing the colour of the top. This is an amazing forum and full of knowledge which is so freely shared. So much better than the Porsche forum I'm on. JIM
 

Sailorbaz

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I recently removed my hood, don't be shy to use some brute force when pulling out the hood. Although, maybe I used more than normal since I wasn't using the hood again, so maybe just enough to break the sealer. The sealer is a very flexible sealer, like it's never set right but I'm sure that's just the design of it. When it come to me refitting my new hood, I'll hopefully be able to source some sealer locally from a motorfactors, any guidance on what sealer to use would be gratefully appreciated.
 
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