Volkswagen: 2000 Mk IV Golf 1.6 with cabin leak, metal coat hanger, drain holes

Question
1.6 Litre model with sunroof. Has only travlled 97,000 km. the door seals all look good, but the rear footwell on Left side is saturated, and even had a puddle. Do you know where the sunroof drains to, so that I can check it is not caused by that?

Any other suggestions? The dealer can't believe our Mk4 has such a bad leak. I will take it to them, but its always good if you can check some things yourself.

I have owned the car since new, and it has never had a crash, any repairs to lights etc or door lining replaced.

Thanks


Answer
Hi Natasha,

Here is a quick way to diagnose the sunroof, which I suspect is the problem.  First thing you need to know is that it has drain holes in the top of it, which tend to get clogged.  This could cause a back-up of water, which leaks in that exact spot.

Here is a mini-procedure (without having to take off the whole ceiling panel)

Take a metal coat hanger and straighten it out.  Open your sunroof and you will find 2 drain holes towards the front of that black thing (actually it's a cowl where the sunroof lies)  

Feed the coat hanger into the drain as far as you  can, and pull it out, if some gook starts to come out, it looks like you found your problem.  Just keep 'fishing' until all the gook is out.  

If you have an air compressor, or can get access to one, blow the air through the holes and that should get the remainder of the stuff out, and solve your problem.

Take Care,

Ron