WATER LEAK issue in rear corners!!!

[Deano83]

Hi All,
Im a new member and new Vito (W638) owner.
I have joined so that if i have any issues I just cant get my head round I can at least get a second opinion.

My issue I am having at the moment is leaking water from the outside into the rear corners of my van, I have tried just about everything i can think of.... I have reamoved, cleaned and checked the rear light units and seals, and have gone as far as puting a beed of silicone the seals just on the off chance there maybe some sort of imerfections to the pannel the seals touch. As I have got the hatchback version, there are two rubber sleaves that hole the odd cable for the rear screan warmerand, back lock and wiper moter. i have removed them from the body, cleaned, treated and repainted where there was any rust and again as an extra, put a small beed of silicone around. it must have worked coz I'm not getting any water or moisture on the L/H/S (Nearside) But.... I am still getting water on the right side (Offside) .
If someone could help i would be very greatful as i have a deadline for my camper conversion.

 

[StMarks]

I had an annoying appearance of puddles of water in my old 638, and (after a great many attempts to trace it) eventually found that it was an (almost invisible) dent in the rear quarter panel that effected the seating of the rear light cluster seal.
The gap was tiny, almost imperceptible, but the water trickled in happily.

How about using some dyed water in a watering can (drain testing dye perhaps) to track the route of the water.?

 

[Deano83]

I must admit I haven't tried dyed water, I'll give it go. I'll be back at some point to notify if I've won, thanks for the tip and your time.

 

[Deano83]

Hello again,

I have tried the died water but wasnt very useful as the leak is very slow and it was taking its time to come from its sourse to the bottom where i could see it. So I got my hose out and held it at the top of the light units to begin with and saw some drops coming in through the hole in the bottom corner, so i removed the light unit and played about with the back seal plus found that there was some moister on the back of the plastic gomits that the unit scews to, so u backed them with rubber wahers all this seamed to work after testing, i then decided to imatate rain with the sprinkle setting and had it coming down the entire rear end....... to my frustration water started coming in again... so somewhere higher up aswell. i know from reading this i sound stupid, but when i been trying to work something out for so long and trying to think of everything, you end up missing something, which is where "new eyes" are required.

Could you please give me exact locations where you had the water coming in and what you did to solve your problem, providing its the same problem im having. Plus... do you have barn doors or liftback as i do?

Thanks for you hel and time.

 

[oldguy57]

What about using a smoke test? Friend used this to finally identify a long term leak on his BMW , think he used a plumbers smoke bomb but not sure. Obviously make sure anything you use doesn't leave a residue.

 

[Deano83]

That might work, would have to find something that that can be used that like you said doesnt leave any marks, smells or residue. Thanks ill try giving it a go as soon as i can find something.

 

[StMarks]

I feel your pain Deano83, those sorts of jobs can be soooooo frustrating.

.....Could you please give me exact locations where you had the water coming in and what you did to solve your problem, providing its the same problem im having. Plus... do you have barn doors or liftback as i do.?..

I'm really sorry, it will have been late 2012 early 2013 when I sorted that out. At my age I have issues remembering what I did last month....
My 638 did have barn doors, rather than a tailgate. My current 639 has a tailgate, & I have had a look at the design of that in case it shares any similarities in concept.
From what I can see, above the lights the suspects would be either:
The hinge points,
The cable duct between the body & tailgate,
The seal on the tailgate.
The first two should be easy enough to inspect. The seal on the body that the tailgate sits against is not so IMHO (on the 639). However the hinge position looks to be adjustable, presumably to enable a correct fit against the seal. Could it be that your tailgate has been removed at some time, and not re-installed with due care.?

 

[bguimaraes]

Hi, did you solve your problem? How? I have the same issue in my W638 and I can't solve it.
Thanks