Club 80-90 Forums

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I have water in the base of my tailgate & it pours out when you open it. Window seals are all fine , so where is it getting in??

Not many places to get in really, with window seal, door seal or lock seal. make sure the drain hole is clear at the inner corner. or the water will find it`s own way out - through the ouside skin

Whoever converted my panel van into a camper screwed through the walls near the back. The screw holes go through into the 'vent' cavity, just where the rain runs down on the inside.

End result is that after some long rain, water finds its way along the screw threads, down the walls and pools on top of the engine cover and the back of the tailgate.

I keep meaning to fix it.

Anyway, might be worth taking your vents off (if they're the removable plastic sort) and sticking your head in to see if you can see anything sticking through the bulkhead, or any holes, where water could get in as it trickles down.

water will run off my gutters to the rear of the van then drip down on to the plastic side vents and then into the vent cavity, which then collects into pools of water in the engine bay, can be quite anoying when sleeping in the van.... drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip ....you get the point. i think its a common fault and is ok if the vent cavity is waxoiled and you take the bungs out at the bottom to provide drainage. it just something i learnt to put up with.

i also dont have any rear seals in the door at the moment , when pouring with rain i get a very annoying drip that usually lands on my forehead when kiping.

Mine has got a 'watergate' tailgate too! takes a leak when you open it after it's rained.
not a bad idea, waxoyling that area, another job for the 'things to do' list which is getting longer by the day

Mine gets water in the tail gate which pours out when you open it.

I think it may be seeping behind the Volkwagen name plate?

Or could it be condensation that can't get out?

Trundletruc.

Any sign of rust round the window aperture, esp at the bottom corners? Seals might look ok, but depend on the metal being good beneath them, which is hidden. Might be worth popping the window out to have a look. Prise it out starting in the middle (top or bottom) under the seal - a handful of scrapers and flat screwdrivers is handy. Glass is bendy! Hard to start but it gets easier. Don't sue me if you break it!

VW nameplates on the tailgate are bonded on, plus some have locating lugs. The central round VW badge isn't bonded but has spigots thro' a rubber backing. Shouldn't be a problem nor should condensation.

There's a row of slots along the inside of the tailgate at the bottom. Have they been covered over? These normally vent the space. Plus a hole at each bottom corner that should have a plastic pad in that contacts the rubber buffers on the body ...