BertMSG
New Member
Hi guys,
I'm new to the forum and to the W204 and wanted to share my experience with water ingress in the boot that I believe will be resolved thanks to helpful posts from others on these forums, but I haven't seen this particular issue before which is the reason for this post.
So I picked up a C class W204 a couple of weeks ago as more of a project car (I knew it had some cosmetic imperfections and have given myself til the middle of next year to get it sorted - not my daily driver). I made the mistake of viewing it in the pouring rain so unfortunately didn't notice the other cosmetic bits that needed doing and the seller did not mention them to me, and as a result it was quite a rushed acquisition. I wouldn't normally rush a car purchase but as it's not a daily driven vehicle and something I'll be aiming to "restore" over the next year or so I just went for it with the "what's the worst that could happen" mindset.
After a few days and the weather calming down, I had a good look inside the car and in the boot, when I noticed the fuse area was soaked and there was a small pool of water under the spare wheel. Obviously I was annoyed and started to research possible causes, and thanks to forums like this narrowed it down to the vent in the boot that sits behind the fuse box - it was completely loose at the bottom left and made sense that that's where the water was coming from.
It was so loose in fact that I managed to remove it completely from the car without taking the bumper off, which is when I found out why it was loose - the surround / hole that the vent clips in to is bent (photo attached) - I have a feeling it may have been in for a vent issue before at a place that really didn't care for doing the job properly - a lot of carpet clips were missing, snapped and some were even pushed back into the body BEHIND the carpet! (I have now replaced all of these clips for new ones and fitted everything properly).
I have ordered a new vent as the one that came out was a bit mangled and the seal wasn't in the best shape, but my question really is how would be best to get the surround back in to shape without damaging anything so that this can be sealed properly once again?
Thanks in advance.
I'm new to the forum and to the W204 and wanted to share my experience with water ingress in the boot that I believe will be resolved thanks to helpful posts from others on these forums, but I haven't seen this particular issue before which is the reason for this post.
So I picked up a C class W204 a couple of weeks ago as more of a project car (I knew it had some cosmetic imperfections and have given myself til the middle of next year to get it sorted - not my daily driver). I made the mistake of viewing it in the pouring rain so unfortunately didn't notice the other cosmetic bits that needed doing and the seller did not mention them to me, and as a result it was quite a rushed acquisition. I wouldn't normally rush a car purchase but as it's not a daily driven vehicle and something I'll be aiming to "restore" over the next year or so I just went for it with the "what's the worst that could happen" mindset.
After a few days and the weather calming down, I had a good look inside the car and in the boot, when I noticed the fuse area was soaked and there was a small pool of water under the spare wheel. Obviously I was annoyed and started to research possible causes, and thanks to forums like this narrowed it down to the vent in the boot that sits behind the fuse box - it was completely loose at the bottom left and made sense that that's where the water was coming from.
It was so loose in fact that I managed to remove it completely from the car without taking the bumper off, which is when I found out why it was loose - the surround / hole that the vent clips in to is bent (photo attached) - I have a feeling it may have been in for a vent issue before at a place that really didn't care for doing the job properly - a lot of carpet clips were missing, snapped and some were even pushed back into the body BEHIND the carpet! (I have now replaced all of these clips for new ones and fitted everything properly).
I have ordered a new vent as the one that came out was a bit mangled and the seal wasn't in the best shape, but my question really is how would be best to get the surround back in to shape without damaging anything so that this can be sealed properly once again?
Thanks in advance.
