water ingress.

[joderest]

Just thought. Have attached pictures of parts of the "lump" but never a picture of the car, so here it is above.
As you can see, it's worth doing what I do.
Full update later

 

[joderest]

Here's another one

 

[mattkh]

Looks lovely.
Q, Can the rear seats be removed completely in a few minutes, as in the old W168 A class?

 

[peterws1957]

Just thought. Have attached pictures of parts of the "lump" but never a picture of the car, so here it is above.
As you can see, it's worth doing what I do.
Full update later

Lovely looking car. You must win the internet for the greatest perseverance in the face of adversity.

 

[joderest]

no, cant remove, but they fold down flat, almost like a small van when they are down.

 

[joderest]

hi all
well, it rained Tuesday night after screen fitted and i could detect no water in the car, it rained last night, and again could not detect water in the car.
i washed it this morning and again nothing, so i hope its sorted. ( i say hope because it always comes back and bites me on the bum !)
So, what have i learned that may help others, quite a bit, so here goes ……...
1) cars like this are very difficult to pin point water leaks into the interior, as almost all surfaces are covered with something, you have to remove trim to stand any chance. Multiple leaks are even worse, and when they all end up in the same place you start to doubt your sanity, you know you sealed the leak, but it still leaks. I had three confirmed leaks that all showed in the drivers footwell, the rubber bung that seals the hole where sunroof drains go if you have a sun roof, this leaked into the drivers footwell, the small leak caused by the tiny hole in the body mastic, again, showed in drivers footwell. Then the big leak that was the screen. it leaked at the top left hand corner, run down to the bottom and filled the gap at the bottom of the screen, when enough water had got in, it flowed along this gap to the drivers side, and yep, you guessed, showed in the drivers foot well. The screen was a replacement at some point, but was an MB one, the fitter at AUTOGLASS told me that the way the bonding should be applied is you start in the middle at the bottom, go all round the screen aperture, and finish at the bottom again, this because if there is an issue with the sealant overlap, water cannot run up hill. he showed me the old screen and the bonding started in the top left hand corner, and then finished there with an overlap, which had failed and hence the leak. The fitted stated this was not the correct way to do the job.
2) pay attention to what other forum members say, as early in the thread someone says it could be the windscreen, i discounted it because it looked fine. That was a mistake and cost me a lot of time searching for another cause.
3) Captain Trollys does not work in cold weather, and if the hole is too big. Also, if you use it, tape over the orange writing on the bottle, it comes off and is a right bu**ger to get off the paintwork !.
4) the best sealant by far is what was suggested here, CT1
5) for drying out your car, if you do not have a garage, is 6 old towels and a tumble dryer, its a long job and you have to keep stuffing them under the carpets, leave a while, take out and dry, and do it again, even worse if the car keeps leaking !
6) the only other thing is, don't give up !, you can understand why garages charge so much for this work, its all labour, and removing the insides of a car is labour intensive.

Well, going to call this thread done now. I wonder what will be my next challenge ?

 

[joderest]

Just thought i would update.
I have a very dry car !!!!!!

 

[mattkh]

4) the best sealant by far is what was suggested here, CT1

Glad to hear the car is still dry.
I thought the CT1 did not do the job..??

 

[joderest]

the new windscreen helped more !!!!!!

The leak was so under the edge of the screen, it could not be sealed with CT1, its good stuff though.
The leaks that were under the wheel arch sealed very well with CT1

 

[Tfer2]

Crikey, I'm new to the forum as only purchased ML270 2005 in July, was really getting to like it... Then, it had been parked up for a couple of days when i noticed water beads on the center console. Next, it wouldnt unlock with remote so, unlocked drivers door and found quite a bit of water on the dash and console. headlining wet behind mirror bracket and around glass breaking sensor. Heart sank, not resolved but your story has given me hope and a ton of ideas for my search.
Many thanks,
Tony

 

[joderest]

If you have a sunroof, that would be my start point, i am lucky enough not to have one.

 

[Blobcat]

Crikey, I'm new to the forum as only purchased ML270 2005 in July, was really getting to like it... Then, it had been parked up for a couple of days when i noticed water beads on the center console. Next, it wouldnt unlock with remote so, unlocked drivers door and found quite a bit of water on the dash and console. headlining wet behind mirror bracket and around glass breaking sensor. Heart sank, not resolved but your story has given me hope and a ton of ideas for my search.
Many thanks,
Tony

Hello and welcome,

Open the sunroof, clean all the drains - make sure you can see water running out from underneath the car - you can use curtain wire (if you're lucky it will poke all the way). Once you've got the drains clear, clean all the metalwork around the sunroof drains and give it a good polish so any water drains away fast rather than sitting around waiting to drop into the drivers lap...

 

[joderest]

If you do need to check sunroof drains, they exit under the front wheel liners, right up in the corner below windscreen. They sometimes come adrift and let water into the cabin.
I do not envy your task, but my old bus has stayed dry since having the screen fitted. Its nice to get into a dry car !!!!!

 

[Tfer2]

Hello and welcome,

Open the sunroof, clean all the drains - make sure you can see water running out from underneath the car - you can use curtain wire (if you're lucky it will poke all the way). Once you've got the drains clear, clean all the metalwork around the sunroof drains and give it a good polish so any water drains away fast rather than sitting around waiting to drop into the drivers lap...

Thanks, but sorry I should have said "No Sunroof": for the time being, I've taped across the top of the screen. Now waiting for the rain next week :-(

 

[Tfer2]

If you do need to check sunroof drains, they exit under the front wheel liners, right up in the corner below windscreen. They sometimes come adrift and let water into the cabin.
I do not envy your task, but my old bus has stayed dry since having the screen fitted. Its nice to get into a dry car !!!!!

Thank you, I apologise to you also for failing to mention, I dont have a sun roof... Taped screen and crossing fingers. It is a mercedes screen with the star so probably original.

 

[Blobcat]

Thanks, but sorry I should have said "No Sunroof": for the time being, I've taped across the top of the screen. Now waiting for the rain next week :-(

Rust behind the windscreen or incomplete mastic bead holding the windscreen in.

 

[coxyhog]

I started a similar thread on here somewhere,turned out to be my front screen was only bonded just above the drivers side.My drive is on a slope & in order to get some sun into it to try & dry it out I parked it opposite to what I normally do.The next day there was a small pool of water in the gearstick gaiter that could only have come from the screen.
I got a freelance w/s fitter to do it,cost £100.He said he usually does 2-3 a week and a lot are Mercs & BMW's.

 

[LostKiwi]

One trick that can help track water leaks is to sprinkle talcum powder in the area you think might be leaking. Water will track across the talc and be pretty obvious.

 

[joderest]

OK, so no sunroof, thats a good starting point.
You say water is at the top, near rear view mirror and dripping on to the dash. Have you checked the footwells for water, have you got damp carpets.
Putting tape along the top of windscreen is a great start, but did you use gaffer tape ?. It will seal for a short while.
If you cannot wait for rain, a hose pipe is a good start.
I suspect it will be windscreen seal, as water getting in from the top, however, i did suspect the roof rail mountings on my car at one point.
Let us all know how you get on, the more information on dreaded leaks the better.

 

[Tfer2]

Rust behind the windscreen or incomplete mastic bead holding the windscreen in.

Thank you Blobcat, I think you are right i noticed a small rust bubble on the roof, center of the screen. i hadn't seen it at time of purchase. Should have taken a pair of steps with me So, this is going to be a bit more of a problem as most windscreen fitters don't carryout body and paint repairs I'll start asking around unless anyone can offer a suggestion, i'm just a few miles from Truro, Cornwall.