[W126 Coupe] Water on floor behind drivers seat

[Barry Corno]

Marcus,
     I have a new front window. It was put in very carefully, as I told
the repair company it could be leaking into the car. THERE IS NO WATER
COMING FROM ANY PART OF THE FRONT END. It only comes in when raining
hard and car sitting.
B.C.

________________________________

From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com on behalf of Marcus Johnson
Sent: Thu 11/22/2007 2:49 PM
To: mbcoupes
Subject: [W126 Coupe] Water on floor behind drivers seat


Hi there, 

I had a similar problem with my 380 SEC although it was on the passenger side rear.

I did the following:

~ Cleaned all the drains in the scuttle at the base of the windscreen.
~ Checked all sunroof tubes and blew air through them to ensure they were clear.
~ Checked the aircon drain.
~ Checked every other damn thing I could check.

In the end, the problem 'went away' after I replaced the front windscreen.

I think in resealing the windscreen, they did a better job than previously. They spent time getting rid of any sharp areas around the window frame and that made the difference I believe.

One factor to look out for is water slipping in under the chrome surround and gradually penetrating into the car. In my case, I think I had a couple of very small tears in the rubber and the water was able to make its way in there under pressure, especially when driving in the rain. There are a few sharp points on the window moulding that can make enough of a hole to allow moisture in.

The seals on a Mercedes need very careful installation and I think it's easy to get it wrong. I'm sure an older, experienced W126 mechanic would be able to relate tales of how many times they took to get it right.

I used to have a Volvo and the rubber seals on that were utterly impenetrable, either with car washes, high pressure sprayers or any type of weather. Probably the only area where they were better engineered.

Why the water ends up back there, I have never been able to work out, but water has a way of 'wicking' or travelling along surfaces that 
is quite odd. There's a term for it but I can't recall.

So it still could be the front window.


Cheers,

marcus



marcus johnson

1989 560 SEC

melbourne, australia



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