leaky scirocco?

[treed2 at wsu.edu (T. Reed)]

Definitely sounds like the windshield. Try lifting up your windshield seal
(get your thumb between the metal and the seal) and taking a peek,
especially at the top corners. The seal tends to shrink back there,
creating a channel inside the seal that water flows down then leaks
out invisibly behind the dash. I could have fit a couple of marbles
in the air gap that was there at the corner of mine.

The cheap fix is to fill the void with black silicone sealant (such as the
permatex stuff) and wipe if off cleanly so it won't be visible. You want
to get the inside of the seal as dry as possible before doing this,
however. And you might have to do it twice to get it to seal real good.

If you're rich, pay someone to pull your windshield and install a new
$160 seal.

IME, the seal never (or at least rarely) leaks between the glass and the
seal. It's almost certainly leaking between the metal and the seal.

Get it fixed before it fills up your fusebox and shorts stuff out while
corroding your relays and wiring.

-Toby

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003, Michael Abatzis wrote:

> since my scirocco can't go more than 2 weeks trouble free...
> i developed a HUGE leak somewhere after last rain storm. not even a lot of
> rain, but the driver's parcel tray under the dash was filled with water
> (only in the left section though). if you reach up under the footwell cover
> (the thing you take off to get at the back of the instrument panel) it's
> damp there as well. i figure it's the windshield (i didn't see any water
> streaks or anything on the seal), but before i go through the PITA process
> of tearing out the whole dash i was wondering if there were any other prime
> leak locations (maybe somewhere in the firewall?). of course, when i go to
> recreate the leak with a garden hose, it doesn't leak.
>
> -Michael Abatzis
> New Orleans!
> 1988 Scirocco 2L 16v RIP
> 1987 Scirocco 2L 16v...
>