MG-Rover.org Forums banner

Rover 75 Water in the Boot

28K views 48 replies 34 participants last post by  patrick donohue 
#1 ·
I own a Rover 75 1.8 Con. SE. Reg. 2004
For the past 6 months, I have found water, in the bottom of the boot, at times 2 - 4 cm`s.
The carpets are wet, with condensation dripping from the roof of the boot lid.
At the moment i do not have a clue where the water is coming from.

Any clues as to the source...and any ideas as to solving the problem ?
DAVIDASTILL
 
#4 ·
my 420 saloon used to get condensation on the bootlid,no other visible signs of water ingress so it never worried me too much.
IIRC on the 400/45's there is alittle rubbery flapped vent in the boot that can sometimes cause a leak.
As for the 75 Id check the light cluster seals or if like my 400 it has a long rubber boot seal which go's all the way round and joins then check it joins properly.
 
#5 ·
I own a Rover 75 1.8 Con. SE. Reg. 2004
For the past 6 months, I have found water, in the bottom of the boot, at times 2 - 4 cm`s.
The carpets are wet, with condensation dripping from the roof of the boot lid.
At the moment i do not have a clue where the water is coming from.

Any clues as to the source...and any ideas as to solving the problem ?
DAVIDASTILL


hi Dave
i have this problem as well - worrying when you have sat nav etc in boot!
it can be the boot seal rubbers but i replaced mine and still had the problem.
i have been told that water can enter the boot via the chrome metal strips that run down the side of the car! where the holes are.
it can be fixed by removing the inner boot carpet along the sides, finding the holes and then sealing with some silicone or something similar.
i have not got round to doing this yet myself but it all makes sense.
hope this helps . . . . john
 
#6 ·
hi dave. my 75 boot is the same .the rear lens are ok no signs of water but the roof of the boot is soaking .i read some where that the clips on the rear window are loose leting the water come in, as yet i have not had a look cause its always raining ,or finding some one who can do it for me .as its a bit tricky .if you sort it let me know so i can sort mine out
 
#7 ·
Leaking boot ZT

It is a real problem!! My work stuff is continously soaking wet! I have had the Gen Rover windscreen clips done - Garbage! waste of £60, mine seems to be when I have driven in the rain, I have taken the carpet and board out of the back - I have a mould spot on the RHS behind the light cluster - I intend on taking out the light, carpet and checking all the above - I have noticed a hole in the rear panel which appears to be open does this open out to behind the bumper?? if all esle fails I am going to drill a hole under the spare wheel!!
 
#8 ·
if all esle fails I am going to drill a hole under the spare wheel!!
My Dad had a Ford Anglia once, and the boot leaked from new. Nottingham's main Ford dealer's solution was to drill a hole in the boot floor to let the water out. They didn't even seal the bare metal edge of the hole. Suffice to say, it went back, and back again until the leak was cured.
 
#10 ·
swimming pool in the boot.

I recently bought a 2001, 75 with the same problem.

Firstly remove all carpets floor and side wall and allow them to dry out thoroughly or your boot will stink of damp once you fix the leak!!

The side carpets come away with a little brute force.

Then thoroughly dry out boot (removing spare wheel), I used kitchen roll (lots of it).

then with the boot open pour water down the back window ( I used a kettle), not 2 much or the water will flow over the boot seal.

Then stick your head in the boot and look for drips (will probably take several kettles full to locate leak)

On my car the leak was coming in from one of the rear window clips. (These are quit tricky to see, look inside the boot to where the back window ends little black pointy clips (non technical term)). To fix this I surrounded the clip with ‘bog standard’ silicon seal, and hey presto leak fixed.

The same can be done for rear lights leaking (a hose would be better for this) .

Long winded but Hope this helps!
 
#26 ·
I recently bought a 2001, 75 with the same problem.

Firstly remove all carpets floor and side wall and allow them to dry out thoroughly or your boot will stink of damp once you fix the leak!!

The side carpets come away with a little brute force.

Then thoroughly dry out boot (removing spare wheel), I used kitchen roll (lots of it).

then with the boot open pour water down the back window ( I used a kettle), not 2 much or the water will flow over the boot seal.

Then stick your head in the boot and look for drips (will probably take several kettles full to locate leak)

On my car the leak was coming in from one of the rear window clips. (These are quit tricky to see, look inside the boot to where the back window ends little black pointy clips (non technical term)). To fix this I surrounded the clip with ‘bog standard’ silicon seal, and hey presto leak fixed.

The same can be done for rear lights leaking (a hose would be better for this) .

Long winded but Hope this helps!
is thier any chance you might be able to post a few pics up to where you siliconed around as im having same problem my boot carpet on the n/s is all mouldy and i have now given up on trying to find where the water is coming from. i have sealed the rear lights and boot rubber yet still its getting wet. so if you can post a pic of this little black pointy clip i would be most greatful
 
#12 ·
water in boot

I had same problem,for 2 months i tried everything like climbing in the boot whilst my wife put the hosepipe all over (nothing) but soon as it rains, (yes) boot side full of water ,I thought at first going to the pet shop for some fish, but then I read some of the threads here, ( bingo) all it was as described by our very own 75 men (brilliant people) It was the rear lamp seal, mine was the nearside, but yours may be tother side (lancashire slang), The rubber seal splits (mine was at the bottom), allowing water to pass into boot,(yes I thought it couldnt be that (but it was). I dried the rubber sponge seal then used super glue,been fine ever since.(anybody want to buy some goldfish). teebee. :err:
 
#13 ·
I've had the same problem, the guy who looks after my 75 got into the boot while I sprayed the car with a hose. Turned out to be comming from the back clip which holds on the chrome strip, a small drop of silicone and problem solved! I'v had no other problemes with leakes in the boot thow.
(just engines!)

Bob
 
#16 ·
just sorted the same problem out with my 75. A word of warning regarding it. the mat was soaked so had to dry it out. The warning is regarding where the water had managed to reach.
I had to take the back seats out to check the ADS sensor connections and under the seat was a centemeater of water and the soundproofing was soaking wet. water had also reached the rear carpet.
If you have never checked this before when u have had a leak in the boot check it now. The soundproofing took over 3 days to dry out.
 
#17 ·
I was already planning to take out my back seat (once summer arrives) as although my carpets show no sign of moisture I'm sure lots of rain went under the foam underneath back seat before I got the car as the light seal was leaking before/when I got the car.

I can't wait to remove the back seat and lift up the carpet - it'll be so much fun:irked:
 
#18 ·
MG ZT Boot leaks......

My MG ZT has also devolped leaks in the boot in this vile november weather!

I was only trying to find out why the bulb failure light was lit on dash.... (wished i'd never opened the boot now!!!!)

Found the nearside rear light seal had split and light cluster was full of condensation - hence poor contacts/dampness of bulbs causing dash light, clear siliconed sealed that daft foam seal back together and refitted when it had all dried. That appears to have curred that one!

When I came to the car the next day I found 3 more minor leaks. About 4 of my waistline moulding black clips are letting water slowly run in above the rear wheel arch. (both sides of the car) ....

I wrongly/rightly decided to take off the near side trim moulding. Broke 4 clips in doing so..... Ordered 10 replacements from rimmer bros @ a cost of about £1.80 ea. I have insulation tape over the holes to stop more rain coming in whilst i wait for them to arrive!!!! Desperate measures for deperate times!

My theory is to remove both the outer trims from the car. Replace all the clips and clear silicone them back in when re-fitting as I cannot see/get access to the rear of the clips that are closest to the rear doors (from inside the boot) .... I'm suspecting that they are leaking too after reading perserver's thread as the soundproof matting under the rear seat on the curbside is saturated (unless there is yet another leak!!!) I cant work out where the water would end up if it follows the contour of the wheel arch towards the front of the car????

In addition to the rear lights and moulding trim leaks, there is also a fresh pool of water under both of the black boot vents.... I've read some people have re-sealed them sucessfully.... Can anyone comment if they managed it without taking off the rear bumper to gain access? Did you run a bead of silicone around the vent from inside the boot? Does that work???? Comments please.

I really don't want to take the rear bumper off.... I feel the car is enough bits at the moment..... in my kitchen I now have contents of boot, all the carpets, sparewheel, tools, the whole rear seat, all around the radiator...... Even considered kicking my mk2 escort out the garage into the rain for it to take cover!

Mark.
 
#19 ·
Fortunately my vents didn't leak but that was probably the only thing that didn't.

I think most of the people that removed the vent had to as it was either upside down or not fitted correctly. I siliconed around the edges of both mine from inside the boot just incase they were letting in water - it can't do any harm and it may save you from having to remove the bumper.

You might also want to check the bottom of rear windscreen where the weather flap runs along the base. MGR decided to fit one on mine where there the flap was 2" short on one side which welcomed the rain into the boot above the wheel arch until I managed to block it.

Also check the hinges for the boot lid as they can let in water as mine did.
 
#20 ·
I have repaired two 75's for the same problem!

As mentioned on here somewhere, remove rear lights, clean apertures and lights, wash and dry the old seals (new ones are hard to find!) then silicone the foam seal to the light unit, AND silicone the light unit into the aperture.


Hey presto.. no more leaky boot
 
#22 · (Edited)
Just discovered a gallon of water in the boot of my car today !! Makes you want to spit !! You would think that the designers have been designing boot seals long enough now to stop water ingress. ( Ps. the original poster started this thread years ago but only made 1 post. Never came back for a reply, probably fell into the boot and drowned !!!! ) :bgrin::bgrin::petevick:
 
#24 ·
Drowning in boot

Well I'm still figuring out my leaks....Although the comments left on here have made me chuckle - it's nice to know other people have there mg zt boot contents drying in front of the radiator. But you will be pleased to know I havent yet drowned in the boot! :)

I too am just waiting now for it to stop bl**dy raining! Although I'm starting to get used to the black insulation tape covering over the holes in the back wings due to me removing the rear 1/4 panel chrome /colour coded trims to stop the water coming in!! I must get you a picture put on here!

My new trim clips have arrived from rimmers....but they don't have the rubber grommit/washer seal with them... to be informed by them it's a seperate part number.......which is out of stock with no date for arrival.....Great.

I seem to have managed to stop one of my black vents from leaking on the curbside after running a clear bead of silicone around it from inside the boot. But the offside seems to be putting up a bigger battle. Will give it another go tomorrow. I'm also going to take out the insulation from under the rear seat tomorrow to dry it out....Will keep you posted on my progress.........fun fun fun.

Mark.
 
#25 ·
Wet boot update.... Well I have curred nearly all my leaks bar one. The black vent on the drivers side insists to let water in even after taking it to my local body shop to take the rear bumper off and run a bead of black windscreen sealant around it from the reverse side. So i'm at a loss at the moment with it. Have left the carpets out until better weather comes along and I will re-think my plan of attack.

Unfortunately bigger problems have come along since I last came on here. Last week I left the car all weekend with 3" of snow on it. Came to it at 5am the following Monday frozen solid and struggled to get the doors open to retrieve my windscreen frost cover. Passenger door would not budge so had to cut my cover off with scissors.
If I ever 100% cure my leaks I will let you know.
 
#29 ·
Well I think all my leaks are fixed. Not had any more leaks since replacing the black flappy vent on the offside. Rimmers... about £8 i think.

If your bruttle enough you can remove it from inside of the boot without removing the rear bumper etc. Get your mole grips on it and just pull! Dont worry about breaking it. You will have great pleasure wrecking it and throwing it in the wheelie bin!

Refitting is a easy. just pushes in. I put a light smear of vas around the rubber seal before pushing it fully home.

Also removed all my boot lid hinge mounting bolts one by one (So you dont loose alignment) and gave them a coat in vas, refitted.

Came to the conclusion this was the reason why my Kenwood CD changer packed up. Water dropped on top of it and killed it. There are no weather seal/washers to prevent any water coming through/around said threads and straight in your boot. Great.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top