I posted about this problem a while ago, but still have not found a permanent solution.
What I am talking about is water running off the roof, down the right and left side front window glasses and then getting past the aluminium chromed slot seal on the outside into the door cavity.
Why is this a problem?
1. It causes premature failure (corrosion) of the window lifter wire and those assemblies are expensive (around £150).
2. Water will eventually penetrate the bottom skin seal of the door itself and rust out the door (new door and paint mucho ££'s).
Unfortunately, most will NOT know this is happening, because water runs out when doors are opened after rain and the water appears to come from off the outside of the door.
How do I know this is happening? I have had my driver and passenger door cards off and also the inner lining. With the inside of the door cavity exposed, I can run water over the door glass and it runs over the door wires into the door cavity, then (hopefully) out of the front and rear door cavity drains.
I am not a mechanic so how do I check this on my EOS or one I am thinking of buying?
I have not tried this, but I am sure if you plugged each front door cavity drain hole (front & rear) with kids plasticene and hosed water over the glass for 5 minutes then removed the plasticene, liters of water would come out.
I have seen what happens inside the door: Part of my DIY repair operation to repair the broken window regulator wire was to replace the chrome slot seals on both front doors AND the covers which are the vertical slot seals on the mirror housings. My logic was, if my 2007 (actually made 2006) seals had gone hard and inflexible, then by replacing with new I would be starting with an 'as new' leak free door-to-glass seal.
These were my part numbers:
1Q0857505D9B9 (cover)
1Q0857506D9B9 (cover)
1Q0853955E1HH ( Chrome/ali seal - expensive!)
1Q0853956W1HH ( Chrome/ali seal- expensive!)
I installed the cover and seal which was manufactured in 2012 and more flexible than the old seal.
I temporarily hooked up the motor to the door card to take the glass to the top. Then moved the door card out of the way to get a clear view inside the open door cavity.
Using a 'non-aggressive' garden watering can, I got my wife to play water on the outside of the raised front door glass.
These were (expensive) brand new seals so I expected perfection!
Not so!, whilst the amount of water entering the door cavity was less than before, there were still drip runs at about 3 places along the door seal. After running my finger along the seal to push it on to the glass, I got a good water seal - but that will never last.
What is the problem, and they certainly have not fixed it with a re-designed seal?
Look at the attached macro photo of the seal cross section end on from the rear edge of the door. Their seals are sprayed with some kind of felt compound, but only the top millimetre or so actually makes contact with the door glass and relies on the moulding flex to make the seal to glass contact. No wonder then that along the long length of a seal like this, parts will not make contact and will leak water into the door cavity.
What to do next: The new door slot seals are an improvement, but I still think they just have not got the seal profile right. Since I now have a pair of chrome/ali seals removed and they are not substantially different to the new seals, I will be looking into the possibility of getting triangular cord section in solid EPDM rubber to fill their void, bond it to the oem seal and add a felt of about 10mm deep to increase the seal contact area with the glass. The risk is friction goes up and the window motor may stall, but I will give it a try.
What I am talking about is water running off the roof, down the right and left side front window glasses and then getting past the aluminium chromed slot seal on the outside into the door cavity.
Why is this a problem?
1. It causes premature failure (corrosion) of the window lifter wire and those assemblies are expensive (around £150).
2. Water will eventually penetrate the bottom skin seal of the door itself and rust out the door (new door and paint mucho ££'s).
Unfortunately, most will NOT know this is happening, because water runs out when doors are opened after rain and the water appears to come from off the outside of the door.
How do I know this is happening? I have had my driver and passenger door cards off and also the inner lining. With the inside of the door cavity exposed, I can run water over the door glass and it runs over the door wires into the door cavity, then (hopefully) out of the front and rear door cavity drains.
I am not a mechanic so how do I check this on my EOS or one I am thinking of buying?
I have not tried this, but I am sure if you plugged each front door cavity drain hole (front & rear) with kids plasticene and hosed water over the glass for 5 minutes then removed the plasticene, liters of water would come out.
I have seen what happens inside the door: Part of my DIY repair operation to repair the broken window regulator wire was to replace the chrome slot seals on both front doors AND the covers which are the vertical slot seals on the mirror housings. My logic was, if my 2007 (actually made 2006) seals had gone hard and inflexible, then by replacing with new I would be starting with an 'as new' leak free door-to-glass seal.
These were my part numbers:
1Q0857505D9B9 (cover)
1Q0857506D9B9 (cover)
1Q0853955E1HH ( Chrome/ali seal - expensive!)
1Q0853956W1HH ( Chrome/ali seal- expensive!)
I installed the cover and seal which was manufactured in 2012 and more flexible than the old seal.
I temporarily hooked up the motor to the door card to take the glass to the top. Then moved the door card out of the way to get a clear view inside the open door cavity.
Using a 'non-aggressive' garden watering can, I got my wife to play water on the outside of the raised front door glass.
These were (expensive) brand new seals so I expected perfection!
Not so!, whilst the amount of water entering the door cavity was less than before, there were still drip runs at about 3 places along the door seal. After running my finger along the seal to push it on to the glass, I got a good water seal - but that will never last.
What is the problem, and they certainly have not fixed it with a re-designed seal?
Look at the attached macro photo of the seal cross section end on from the rear edge of the door. Their seals are sprayed with some kind of felt compound, but only the top millimetre or so actually makes contact with the door glass and relies on the moulding flex to make the seal to glass contact. No wonder then that along the long length of a seal like this, parts will not make contact and will leak water into the door cavity.
What to do next: The new door slot seals are an improvement, but I still think they just have not got the seal profile right. Since I now have a pair of chrome/ali seals removed and they are not substantially different to the new seals, I will be looking into the possibility of getting triangular cord section in solid EPDM rubber to fill their void, bond it to the oem seal and add a felt of about 10mm deep to increase the seal contact area with the glass. The risk is friction goes up and the window motor may stall, but I will give it a try.
