So I've had problems with an 87 XJ6 leaking rainwater into both front floorboards, although it's much worse on the right (passenger's) side. It seems to leak more with the car sitting still than going down the road, but I've never been able to find an entry point. It doesn't leak at the top of the windshield or from the sunroof.

It hadn't rained here in awhile but finally did today and I think I managed to find where it's coming in. The driver's side stayed dry today; the passenger's side seemed to be leaking water up where the hinge was. It seems odd to me that water would properly go down the water channels but then get inside the doorframe somewhere and redirect into the cabin. There were a few drops of water running down the piece of trim that is right under fuel inertia switch.

What was really strange, though, was the carpet was very wet on top of the doorsill cover (they're chrome, with "JAGUAR" etched on top) just where it meets the carpet. This is obviously not the lowest point in the cabin; the water seems to be running along the doorsill, then gets down in the floorboard just in front of the forwardmost bolt that holds the seat in place.

Best I can tell, the water may be coming in around the base of the windshield, but to get down to the doorsill, it's still got to go behind the dash somewhere, then down the panel below the fuel inertia switch, then along the doorsill cover.

I bought some silicone to seal the windshield, but am I describing a common leak known to come from somewhere else?

Jess

 

Just a thought, how 'bout water coming in around the door seals, running down the door and under the sill plate? I had another car leak like that (not Nix, she Never goes out in the rain), traced it back to faulty door seals.

It could be that water is running Under the carpet, soaking the padding until the carpet finally gets wet.
(';')

 

I thought about door seals, yes. The one that runs vertically up and down the front part of the door (i.e., the side closest to the hinge) was damp. What worries me is that it's coming in multiple places and I'm chasing two leak points.

I don't think it's running under the carpet, though. There was a bead of water visible on the surface of the carpet at the point it made contact with the sillplates.

Jess

 

You have a series 3 car. Have you checked for rust at the lower corners of the windscreen ? If there is even slight bubbling of the paint in those areas , most likely you have perforations in the windscreen channel. When this happens, water that comes down the glass, ends up puddling behind the plastic finishers and eventually rusts the metal in the channel allowing water to gain access to the cabin and puddle on the floor. The car then always smells musty and the floors start rusting. More importantly if the water is coming from those areas ,..it is draining down behind the dash board and could be rusting a lot of electrical connections.
The fact that you are experiencing this on both sides of the car, both foot wells, indicates this is where the water is coming from. As well, check to see if you have a similar problem at the back glass. Rear parcel shelf will be wet at corners nearest the glass.
This is a common problem with these cars. Mine (an 86 VDP) had the same issues. Required removing the glass, repairing the perforations and re installing the glass. All is well now dry as a bone, and front carpeting replaced with new original carpeting 4 years ago.

Having a luxury car and not being able to drive it in the rain is simply not right.

 

Borrow a technique from building window leak testing.


Use the garden hose. Set for a low flow. Start with the lowest suspected point of entry. In this case, as Alyn suggests, along the bottom edge of the windscreen. Start with a dry car, of course. Apply water for a bit, then check the interior.


Other areas:


1. AC condensate drains.
2. Plugged gaithers at the fire wall from the air intake at the center of the cowl.
3. Sun roof drains. Or the seals.


I found a wind screen leak on my 85 F150. Added sealant fixed it.


My 65 Corvair had windscreen leaks front and rear. Rotten beyond hope. I sent it down the road.


Luckily, both my cars can handle rain just fine.... well, the Jaguar
sorta, weak wipers.


Carl

 

Prior to reading these responses today, I think I may have fixed this issue (at least one side) but I'm going to keep an eye on it.

First, let me start off by addressing the question of rust: This car was a Southern car all its life prior to me purchasing it, and it was either always garaged or the body has been restored. I'm going to make another thread soon about happening to find receipts and a checklist stuffed in the glovebox from a previous owner outlining exactly what had been done to the car. I didn't find any references to repair of rust or corrosion, but the car does have new carpets (they're not Jag materials and the interior panels have been dyed -- quite professionally, at that -- to match).

Anyway, I traced one leak today using ... tree pollen. Love living in the South in the spring, lol.

When rainwater with pollen in it dries, it will leave a trail, and I traced a trail down the inside of the passenger's front door. Sure enough, the door seal was still damp from yesterday, and then the fuzzy door seal/trim/whatever that is on the inside portion of the door (it's black) was also soaked. I managed to get a tiny flashlight inside the door and, in the darkness of my carport, looked down between the panel gap of the right front fender, door and main chassis of the car (in other words, front bottom corner of the windshield).

I noticed, first, that the panel gap on that side of the car was much wider than on the driver's side. I really don't think this car has ever been wrecked; most likely, it was simply a factor of British panel gap tolerances. Anyway, there's a metal rain channel that starts up at the windshield and runs toward the front of the car somewhere. With the panel tolerances out of whack, it appeared fairly easy for rain to fall straight down into this gap and miss the channel. In fact, it appeared someone had already tried to bend the lip of the channel outward in order to catch more water.

The next thing I noticed was the door seal was a bit flat and tired. Not much I can do about that right now, so I moved onto the next part of the plan.

There is no rust on this car, anywhere; front floor boards look brand new under the carpet, the windshield has no bubbling paint around it and there's no evidence of Bondo. What I did find, however, were two places along the windshield molding that appeared to have come away from the glass. One had already been "repaired" once.

So I broke out the black silicone and went to work on the separated parts of the windshield gasket. I also (somewhat tediously) made a thick bead of silicone to run along the door jamb (the side in front of the hinge) and then down both sides of the door seal.

I don't expect this to necessarily stop the water, but if it slows it down, I know I'm on the right track.

As for the driver's side, the door seal is also tired and a bit flat, but not as bad as the passenger's side. The rain channel and panel tolerances are in much better shape.

I also know this is not related to the A/C drains, as the car leaked while sitting in a parking lot and I hadn't run the A/C in a couple of days. It doesn't leak unless it's raining outside.

I am intrigued to know more about whether it could be related to the air intake at the windshield wipers. I had to fix this issue on an 88 XJ40 once that dealt with the duckbills; is it the same deal on a Series III? I tried to remove the trim piece but it's held down by the washer nozzle and I've never removed one of those before.

Jess

 

two possible sources: the a/c evaporator water drain tubes on each side of the radio area and over the sides of the front area of the transmission may be clogged. Access is from under the car, with car on a lift. Use a clothes hanger to insert into rubber tube and see if anything comes out. Next open the sunroof panel and look towards the front of the sunroof 'pan'. There is a drain hole on each corner of the front of the pan. Insert the clothes hanger and carefully, easy to damage the rubber drain tube.

 

Jess:


1. Good sleuthing.


2. The grill on the air intake ion front of the windscreen is an intriguing piece??? I had cause to remove mine. Not because of any leaks, my car is dry, lucky me, but, because of peeling chrome.
The piece is made of a sickly yellow plastic, then chromed.


Not hard to remove the spray nozzle. The piece has two pins as a part of the "grill. Those are pushed into a mastic on bocy parts that run front to rear under the "grill". Gentle prying will lift the little spikes out of the mastic. they are relatively short and very little pry force is needed. Just guess where they are. Not hard if you look carefully.


Wow, mine only had one "spike', a plastic forming deficit!!!! I found a small screw n my "odd lot" tray. Drilled a tiny hole in the plastic. Drove in the screw. With snips, I cut the head off. Presto, better than ever.


I scraped off most of the peeling chrome. I sprayed it with what I thought was "chrome" paint. Wrong, it was aluminum. Turned out to look like an un polished alloy casting????


Oh, well, much better. Were I to do it again, I'd do flat black.


Carl

 

Unless it's possible to get water other than condensation into those tubes, I can tell you 100% this isn't it. I covered it in the last post, but I wasn't running the car's A/C and it only leaked when sitting in a parking lot during a rainstorm. For it to be related to A/C condensation, it would have to be leftover condensation from a week ago that just happened to pick that very moment (i.e., the rainstorm) to leak.

Thanks for the how-to, though, in case it comes up, and I'll check the sunroof drains next.

Jess

 

Apart from any issues with the door seals, the most common problem area is the windshield finishers. I have sealed all mine in with w/s silicone sealant, front and rear screens. The finishers look good, but as a standard fitting they can be quite loose and do not provide an adequate waterproof seal.