the past few days, we have seen monsoon type rains and it seems as though I have a big leak into the people spaces on both driver and passenger sides. I am also getting water into the trunk. pics coming


It looks like the seal that runs along the l/r A-pillars may be damaged to allow water to run down between the body frame and the seal. The obvious sign of water is at the tread plate/fascia seam where the carpet is visibly soaked. The passenger carpet is also drenched.


the trunk leak is on the drivers side at the forward end of the trunk and the whole inner wing is dripping


any thoughts??????

 

Pics

 

Have you been driving the car in the rain or on very wet roads? It's hard to believe that you'd have that amount of flooding if the car was just sitting as the trail of water would have to be pretty large to dump that much from that one really bad gasket. Also your trunk shouldn't have been effected at all.

 

RD - she is my daily driver so have been driving as well as sitting out - no garage at the moment. We have had serious rain the past few days and if you feel between the seal and the A-pillar, it is all wet. The a-post flange finisher is also soaked


The trunk is a separate issue but still getting water into the trunk as you can see by the latest pic of water on the inside of the seal by the trunk latch

 

page 92 of SNG Barratts catalog shows a tube (PN HJC8139DA or HJC8130CA) with a t-connection - what is that for and does it apply to the convertible??


Looking at pics 8 & 9 in the second post - should that opening be sealed?

 

any thoughts from other convertible owners? Does the header seal have a gap at the corner (see large arrow - drivers side also has small tear - smaller arrow)

 

I'm pretty sure this is what it is supposed to look like (first pic), since I had mine changed (OEM Jaguar part) a couple of months ago.
In my case, the old seal had been torn due to the top not closing cleanly. I had no water ingress issues, but didn't really stress the car in heavy rain like you have.
In any case, hope this helps. Water in people spaces is so very un-Jag-like

 

Thanks JagNoir - looking for replacement seals now

 

Good luck with the replacement seals. Hope they don't cost a small fortune. Keep us posted on whether the new seals do indeed fix your leak. Sooner or later all of us ragtop owners will be faced with this issue as our various and sundry top seals break down and split....

 

Steve, have you checked the drains in the engine compartment just forward of the firewall? Parking outside and not undercover can lead to those drains (3) getting clogged with a variety of leaves and other crap. When plugged that run-off from rain has to go somewhere and it could very well be backing up through some opening in the firewall somewhere or an open seam in the backside of the wheel well(s).

The drain holes are located in the same well that houses the wiper pivots with one at each end of the windshield and a smaller one in the very center.


Just a thought about an area that gets little attention. The other is the A/C condensate drain but it's doubtful that your using the A/C in heavy rains in the winter<G>

 

RD - good thought on the drains but just checked and they are clear. What bugs me is that the a-pillar felt finisher is soaked. But since you mention the drains, the EPC shows a hood drain tube - does this apply to the convertibles and if so - WHERE is it located

 

Steve I don't think they're really is a "hood" drain tube in reality. I suspect they're referring to the drain tube for the three drain holes I mentioned. The three drain holes each have a drain tube that leads to a single down tube that drains out below the engine somewhere. You have to remove the wiper arms and washer hoses and then the cowl panel to get at the main drain tube and the individual runners that go to it.

In looking through the body portion of the service manual I couldn't find any reference to a "Hood" drain tube.


The water that you pictured as showing up in the carpeting is probably an accumulation of several days of heavy rain leakage as well as what was forced through under pressure as you were driving in the rain. You could "test" your theory of where it's leaking by going to a DIY carwash and having someone use their pressure washer while you sit in the appropriate seat and check for leaks as the helper sprays the suspect areas. That would confirm your suspicions I guess<G>

 

Thanks RD - appreciate the assist

 

had to stop at indie's today to see how his new speaker install in his XJ8 went and in conversation mentioned the leaking header seal. He took a look and noticed the rail seals were about a half inch from the header seal. The rail seal should meet the header seal and act to close the gap when the top and windows are up. He told me how to adjust the rail seals and try that before replacing the header seal.


for the trunk leak, he showed me where there are drain lines that may be clogged. Will check those in the next few days and report back (pics will be included for future reference)


regards,
Steve

 

Looking at your seals make me think it is a drain issue. The only one that doesn't make sense is the water at the rear of the trunk. I think that water should just flow out the back. There shouldn't be standing water there for it to get inside.

 

Check the 3 gusit plates underneath. One on each corner of forward floor pan. The third under the leading edge in the center of the trunk under the spare tire. Rust there tells you it's been wet before and has stayed wet. Probably drain tubes.

 

Thanks for this post RD. This is and quick and easy check.
I discovered the tubing for corner drains where not connected. The Re-connection of the existing, formed rubber, drain tubing must have been missed after a windshield replacement.
After hooking up the two corner drains, of which disappear into the fenders, water just kind of slobbers out both beneath and on the painted side of the sheet metal. I would never have notice this with a hose test or in the rain.
All water poured into the center section of the cowl exits above the transmission, again slobber is the best word i can come up with for the exiting water. you mentioned the three lines come together. Where is the area of exiting water tube? It sounds like i may have some missing drain tubing.

 

I'll do my best to try and describe the routing but keep in mind your mileage might vary<G>


In the engine compartment on the driver's side just in front of the windshield there's an easily removable panel that covers the power brake booster. Take a flashlight with you and take a look at the upper rear portion of the left front wheel well. You should find one or perhaps two hoses that run through rubber grommets into the space between the inner fender and the wheel well inner liner. You can follow these hoses back to the cowl area where they are connected to the drainage system. Even though they sometimes run uphill a little the depend upon the weight of the collected water to start them flowing and then they siphon themselves empty.


Keeping them clear can be a problem as they're pretty narrow but a piece of thin flexible wire (guitar string??) should do the trick as well as a possible annual flushing with some 50/50 mix of water and bleach run through them should do the trick...just be careful not to let that stuff stand after you're done.

 

I used a zip tie on one corner drain and some tacky caulk on the other to help keep the tubing in place along with the Rubber leash which is made for securing the tubing. So I guess I will need to remove the front wheels and the inner fender liner to connect these hoses into one single drain outlet? I can't imagin the quarter panels lasting very long with water gushing out.
I would love to know if this is how Jaguar designed it or if there was a common exit for the three areas to drain to and where the exit might be in relationship to the undercarriage?




1999 XK8 Cabriolet Alpine Pearl (Gwendolyn)
Slowly but steadily being restored

 

This is Jaguars design. Since the water is running down the backside of the plastic wheel well inner liner there's not much danger of it causing rust in our lifetimes. It doesn't pool down there as it runs right out the bottom.

This is the common dumping point for all three drain holes as they join together, or should have, while still beneath the forward cowl and then exit the cowl as a single tube that runs to the left front fender. I mentioned the possibility of there being a second such line since there's one on my '99 that I'm figuring acts as a drain for the header assembly above the windshield. I don't know that last bit for sure but it does make some sort of sense.


I suppose I could check the other wheel well to see if there's one coming down to that side as well to confirm my suspicion but I'm busy enough keeping both cars free of idiot lights and messages to be looking for new dragons to kill<G>

I'd suggest removing the wheel & tire along with the inner liner (not hard to do) and then going to a good hardware store and getting a sufficient length of similar sized hose so you can replace the entire system from drain holes on down if it's in as bad shape as you indicate.