Getting Your Feet Wet? Keep Water Out of Your VW's Interior!
Any amount of water inside your Volkswagen can lead to rust and compromise the structure of your VW. But how do you know if water has been getting inside your Volkswagen Beetle? We’ll make it easy. If you drive your Beetle, water is getting inside. The trick is identifying the entry point and minimizing the damage.
What to Look For
When your car is parked in the rain, water can gather under the back seat on the driver’s side. When your car is being driven in the rain, water could come in from the front by the pedals. The water might also be coming in through the gap where the body meets the floor pan.
You may notice a wet floor behind the driver’s seat. If this is the case, the body pan seal (runs along the sides under the doors, across the front over the tunnel near the pedals and across the rear under the rear seat) might be leaking. (1) Check that the bolts under the floor pan, the four larger bolts under the front door pillars and bolts under the back seat (inside the car) are all snug. These are all part of the body pan sealing and, while they don’t have to be super tight, they should compress the seal without squashing it completely flat to help keep water out.
Combat the Rain
Unless you live in the desert, rain will always be a concern. If you purchased a Classic VW from anywhere other than a dry climate, you are still likely to have some problem areas. The quickest fix is to apply a rust preventative coating to (2) fill in small cracks and pin holes in the floor. If larger holes are present, we recommend replacing them with (3) new floor pans to ensure the integrity of your floor pans.
New floor pans can be pop-riveted in place with a sealant, or better yet - welded into the pan after the bad sections are cut out (leaving a lip for the new sections to sit on).
Take a close look at the (4) drains under the doors. If they get blocked, the door can fill with water and might possibly spill into the car when it’s sloshing around - unlikely, but a possibility.
Other Areas to Check
Water can show up anywhere. To be sure your Volkswagen stays as dry as possible, check areas that can become problematic.
As mentioned above, look under the bottom edge of the doors and make sure that the drain slots in the bottom of the doors are clear. This is also a great time to check the (5) window weatherstrip and ensure that it is still in good condition.
If your Volkswagen has (6)rear quarter (or eyebrow vents) behind the rear quarter windows, any water getting into the vents could flow down behind the inside side panel (next to the material used to insulate the back seat) and out on the floor from under the back seat.
A (7)fresh-air box inside the luggage area in front of the windshield can also let in water. Underneath this box is a drain hose that runs down to a slot in the bodywork, near the fuel tank. This hose and the slot MUST be clear or water can get into the luggage area and drip into the car. The original paper drain tube can fall apart, so if you need to replace it, a plastic hose of the right size will do the trick and provide more longevity. (Check the carpet, especially in the rear of your VW, as any water getting into the cabin there will slowly soak the carpet from the front to the rear.)
The taillights can also be an area of concern. Check the (8)taillight housing to ensure that no water has been leaking in when it rains. A wet taillight housing can cause problems with light function and affect safety.
One last place to look – and possibly the most important – is the (9)floor under the battery. Remove the battery and check for rust. Rust in this area is very common and any additional water inside the car will only make matters worse.
With diligence and a little knowledge about protection, keeping your Air-Cooled VW rust-free can be simple!
This article was used with permission from: Rob and Dave’s Air-Cooled VW pages And is reprinted here as a FREE service www.vw-resource.com