Caught in a storm with my new XK8
 

Hi, I have just purchased this...

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...8f778a5113.jpg

It is a one-owner 2003 XK8 with only 6,000 miles from new. My wife and I picked it up on the weekend and drove it 500 miles home. The car was faultless and we were having a great road trip until close to home we struck some really heavy rain on the freeway. I mean this was REALLY HEAVY RAIN. The heaviest I have ever driven through in 30 years of driving. The road was not flooded at all and I slowed down to about 20 mph until the worst past.

Anyway, we both noticed a very small trickle of water on both sides of the cabin around the A pillar and front of the doors. Then the radio started playing-up and changing stations of its own accord so I switched it off. It would not turn back on again. Then about ten minutes later the Check Engine light came on. The car was running fine and there were no other warnings so I decided to press on to home.

The car seems fine except the radio is still dead and the Check Engine light still comes on when I start the car. Any suggestions? Thanks

Hi.


Welcome to the forum. Here you will find a well of information.


Your problem may be poor drainage of the two compartments aft outboard in the engine bay. It is a drain outlet in the bottom, which tends to get blocked with old leaves and other debris.


Also check that the drain hoses are properly attached to the drain pipes, and that they are not blocked. See pictures.


My car is a 97, so your may look somewhat different, but the principle is the same.

On my 03 there are drain holes in the plastic cowl cover at the far corners of each. There is a rubber hose that connects at the bottom of them. One could have came off? The passenger side one is hard to attach, not much room in there with the computer and trans controllers in there. Reminds me I need to check mine as I had them off recently.

ganna need a code reader for the check light. Get it read or if you have a DROID phone pick up the TORQUE APP from the app store and buy a ELM blue tooth reader off ebay that way you can pull the codes, get live engine readings, etc with the nifty little app.

seems to me this is not water related. That car is too clean. Was the water coming in at the top forward part of the window?

Actually we noticed the water more around the top of the sills at the very front of the doors.

Check the weatherstripping in the door. Despite low miles, it's rubber bits are pretty old. If they look OK, try spraying them with silicone. As it dries, it will swell the rubber again. I do this once or twice a year with the header strip on my convertible to stop the squeaks.

It may be as simple as nature won this battle. In a lesser rain, you may be OK. These cars seal pretty well.

An 03 with 6K miles, man you scored. And very nice looking.

As Jag#4 said it still has 12 year old rubber bits and Jag's are famous for poor rubber parts.

What type of silicone???? how does one do this?

I use PB Blaster silicone spray. Comes out clear.

Liberally spray on clean rubber part, being careful about overspray. Not so much that it drips or you can do two light coats. The spray "straw" that comes with it helps keep it directed. Wipe down lightly with your finger just to smooth it out, not wipe it off, and let dry.

For places where the rubber gets pressed down, like the top (hood) on a convertible, drying overnight with it open helps the process.

You can also buy silicon in a grease form which also works.

Perform a window reset to ensure your windows are fully closed and sealed first. To do this with key on and doors close push the DR side window down and HOLD till you hear a click, then up and HOLD till you hear a click. Repeat for passenger side. You will notice when you pull the door handle the window drops a bit, this is to prevent the seals from tearing. Its possible they got our of adjustment with battery connect/disconnect before you got the car. It happens from time to time.

Thanks very much for the advice so far. I went to the carwash today and noticed the same leaks again. You can see the small dark patch where the carpet is wet on the sill.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...0b6d23c4b8.jpg

Thanks, I did this but I don't think that was the problem. Also, I'm starting to wonder if the electrical issues I mention are completely unrelated. The Check Engine light went out yesterday and has not returned. And the radio sprang back to life today although it is obviously faulty and most of the buttons are unresponsive.

I know that the car has recently had a new battery as the old one went flat. I believe the car was stored for quite a while before I bought it.

Hi .


I have compared the rubber moulding in your picture with my own, and what I can see looks ok. Still I would check all the rubber strips both on the door and the door opening for any sign of misfit or tearing.


To me it looks that the water is coming from above dripping down, so I would suspect the moulding on top and top forward of the door opening, the one the window slides into when the door is closed.


It can be hard tracing water leaks. I would spray with a hose a small part at the time, starting at the top and look for any moisture.

Much talk about water leaks in this thread.