I washed my car yesterday for the first time. I used a pressure washer and just a regular hose (low pressure). As I was drying it, I opened the doors to get at parts of the interior. When I opened one of the rear doors, water started to drain out of the bottom in a small stream. This went on for about 20 seconds before it stopped. This only happened on one door. I don't know why this happened and I am concerned that water inside the doors will, over time, cause severe rust problems. Was this caused by missing gasket letting the water go where it is not supposed to? Should I check the other doors for water? Is this a normal occurrence? (I do not think so). Please advise.

 

There are drain holes cut in the bottoms of all the doors. Maybe on that door they were plugged and the door filled as you sprayed, then when you opened the door whatever was clogging got dislodged. Did the water look clear or at least not old and stale? If so then you might just keep an eye on it. If it really worries you, you can take the inner panel off the door and see what might be in there and assess the condition from there. It seems a bit drastic to me, but peace of mind has its value. Good luck.

 

dskul1,

The water probably leaked into the door past the lower window seal. These seals are not designed to form a "perfect" seal, but they shouldn't allow that much water to enter the door either. You might want to check the seal for damage, hardening, or possibly having been deformed or pushed out of position. I don't believe the seals are still available from Jaguar, but a good salvaged seal could probably be found in a junk yard or from an eBay seller.

I echo Jerry's suggestion of opening the door up to check for damage. It's not difficult to remove the interior trim. I think the instructions are in the Haynes manual. If you don't have that, it's available for download from this forum - check the 'HOW TO' quick links thread on the home page of this XJ40 forum.

Cheers,

Don

 

I think I will check the seal and the general state of that door. The threat of rust is too great to be ignored. Also, I think it is the same door which the power window does not function. The two may be related. Thanks for the info.

 

Although I also think the door waist seal is the likely culprit, I recall water can also get in through the edges of the cheater plate (the triangular section at the rear of the window).



My car washer is now twenty years old so my XJ40 memories may not be completely accurate!

Graham

 

If it took that long to drain, check the drains.