Long skinny hands help! Thanks again, Ben. Found this blog via Google. Many, many thanks. Might save my 02 Corsa! There was still quite a lot of water still in the carpet underlay but mostly concentrated in one area. So then I lay the carpet face down on a tiled floor indoors and with some old towels, doubled over the towels and placed them on the wet part. Then basically trod over the towel, the underlay compressed allowing the towel to soak up the water.
And just repeated with dry parts of the towels until as much water as possible had been soaked up. This technique got rid of a lot of the residual water. Did the same with the foam pieces that were cut out. The carpets were then draped over the car seats indoors in a room with the fire on.
A scented candle and an open window got rid of the smell. In the base of the car there is some sort of covering on the bodyshell. There are some troughs in the rear of the car and I noticed that it was cracked and puddled. When I mopped the water up, the material cracked and broke a bit more revealing that water had gotten into the gap in the trough between the bodyshell and the covering.
After cutting away the foam in the footwells, there was still some moisture in the parts that were left in the car. I managed to lift these and prop the so I had a gap between the foam and the bodyshell.
From the smell given off I knew it was doing the job — same as the drying carpet smell. I had 6 cracks in the existing seal. I warmed this up with the hair drier which softened it and made it easier to scrape out. But as well as this, scraping the putty seal also smoothed over the cracks. Tiger Seal went in but it was a bit tricky around the bottom right section which is tight with the bulk head shield.
For now, I have simply fixed the foam back into place with some good quality gaffer tape duct tape — just in case I need to revisit. The seat belt pre-tensioner covers were a bit of a bugger to refit — until I realised that the open end fits flush to the where the carpet rises. Once I had butted the open end to the carpet they slid back into place with ease.
Once again, thanks for an excellent informative blog. And don't think you can get the servo nuts off without removing the accelerator pedal. It's an easy enough job and allows easier access to the brake spring and retaining pin and clip.
Once done the servo nuts can be removed with just long extension bars. Thanks for helping to fix the vehicle : Now I'm just waiting for the first rain! Not long;. Hi Speedy I just wanted to know if i would be ok disconnecting the brake servo vacuum line and connecting it again without doing anything else? Great guide! Having some trouble sourcing a replacement seal, can they not be bought online?
I just finished this job following this excellent walk-through. Also I didn't need a universal joint extension for those 13mm nuts, there was just enough room.
The heat gun also gave it a nice gloss finish it was a cold day when I did it and it came out of the can kind of blobby and matt. Excellent feedback, cheers for this Jonathan. Good points for anyone doing this job. When I get chance I will update this blog using info like this.
Want to also recommend the interior carpet is removed as one piece. Also I need to cover water leaks behind rear lights, air vent behind rear bumper and roof Ariel. Thanks again for the feedback. Just wanted to add that a Turkey Baster worked well to suck up the brake fluid, I got one for 99p, I have also seen them in Pound Shops; there is about a jam jar full of fluid in the reservoir to remove.
Cheers Daniel, yes just the lid part number Actually same company although GPS is cheaper but specialises in larger items. I'm nothing to do with them but that's who I use for my Vauxhall parts. All the best with the repair. Thanks so much for this detailed leak fix. My daughters Tigra B has had the dreaded 'wet drivers side carpet' for some time now, and was getting worse. I followed your instructions to remove the servo and expose the mounting plate, and was surprised at how many places the seal had cracked.
The worst bits were at the bottom, which cannot be seen until the servo is removed - so all my previous attempts to cure this were never going to have worked. The car has been stood out in the rain for a couple of days now and is bone dry, so once again a big thank you for your post. First of all great blog!! I've done the job yesterday but the water still is dripping in there was no brake servo seal plastic one when I took it off could this be the problem or is there any other hole or gap I missed.
I also covered the three dots so I don't no were the water is leaking in. Late reply seem to have missed some comments. Did you get this sorted out abz kay? You need a seal between that brake servo and plate. Otherwise its just metal to metal contact that water can get through. I have just used the sealant in place of that seal on the first one I ever did.
That's still dry but the seal is better as the parts probably flex a tiny bit under braking. Fantastic guide, really appreciate effort putting this together. Note that it's quite tricky extending the brake light plunger. Needed quite a lot of force to push out. Need a screw driver and push against the plunger to push out, push hard and it should click as it moves. Also removing the dash trim and the little cubby store let's you see and access the switch much easier if struggling to get plunger out from underneath.
We ended up installing new switch. Note the bulge on switch goes towards the accelerator pedal and the switch has a small key way on bottom passenger side. Don't push in plunger before installing as it will self adjust. Hi, I am going to attempt this next week but instead of putting more sealant on top of the seal, I am just going to replace the break servo plate. The plate already has a seal around it. Can you help please? I want to try and avoid bleeding anything.
Hi D7F1 yeah you don't want to go down that route. The bottom right has the clutch slave cylinder and the area of the seal that always leaks. Also I believe to replace the plate you have to install it from the inside and that requires removing the steering column and more of the dashboard. Hat's of to him he makes that look easy but that's a lot more work. Just follow the guide and remember your scrapping out the old seal and putting a fresh one on top not just covering it over.
I keep saying I need to update this blog but never getting round to it. If you do the interior don't cut it like I show. Take out that center console and undo the gearstick and wires.
They can be lifted up and slide out the carpet and underlay as one piece. That's how I do this repair now. Oh and be really careful with removing the scuttle panels. It's possible to crack the windscreen if you rush as I found out recently to my cost. Particularly as I'd popped the brake light switch, would have had no clue if you hadn't included that golden nugget. Many thanks! Mine was done in the past and was still trickling water in.
So followed this guy and a YouTube video to add more sealant. Trouble is now, the grey tube which was connected to the brake fluid resovoir came off and was pissing fluid everywhere. Would I need to top it up and bleed the brakes? Please say no. Thanks a million for detailed instructions. I finished mine today. Waiting for rain now to see if I managed to fix it.
Hi, did the job yesterday. The bottom part of the seal had clearly gone. The seal on back of my servo was in good condition, so I added a little sealant there when refitting. I still have a couple of issues, yet to be solved. I sucked out just enough brake fluid from master cylinder and when refitted added a fresh amount to maximum.
Drove the car and found brake lights were on, and had to adjust the brake switch. I did remove two electric plugs next to the switch initially, one blue and one white. I drove the car, brake lights sorted, but brakes are really vicious and binding like crazy. With engine on and stood still, I'm lucky if I can depress brake pedal one cm. Also when I accelerate the car misfires once only as you depress accelerator pedal.
When taking accelerator off or removing those electric plugs has something electrical gone wrong! Any clues? Hi Ade, I would be checking that brake servo in particular the vacuum line to it for damage,splits and ensure its fully inserted. Then I would test vacuum at the brake servo pipe, check one way valve and test again and pump comparing readings. Sounds like you have no assisted braking so they are really hard to press.
I would also check the seal on the master cylinder itself that oring and making sure you didn't over tighten it so the flat mounting face bends and is no longer air tight. Check the brake lines did not get bent when moving the cylinder for access. As for the accelerator and anything else you unplugged I can only suggest re-seating them to help with engine running. Focus on the areas you worked on and parts removed as something is not right here. Goes without saying the brake system is critical for everyone's safety so make sure you find what went wrong here and fix the issues before returning to the road.
Get a garage or mechanic involved if necessary sorry don't know your skill level and bit of a disclaimer. Let us know what you fix in case anyone else does something similar. Thanks for prompt reply. I haven't had a chance to check yet, but as to brakes, You may be right with bend in brake pipes.
Had another look today and it's got me scratching my head. Brake pipes are fine, no kinks. Definitely a vacuum on servo. What it looks like is that the rod from pedal through servo to master cylinder is too tight. If that makes sense. No movement. Brake pedal is right at top and won't move a millimetre. Is there something on the master cylinder to reset or move. It's rained heavily in past few days. I was planning on having a go this morningb it raining again.
At least the inside is dry!! Maybe I'll bleed brakes at wheel to see if pedal depresses! Anyone ideas!! Thanks in anticipation. Also, The grey pipe with rubber insert that connects to master cylinder is clutch feed, I believe!!!! If fluid is lost from here but connected back and topped up, will bleeding of clutch be required??? You won't need to bleed the clutch.
Don't try and bleed the brakes. Are you sure you got that master cylinder lined up when reffiting onto the servo. Take it off again and check. Check brake pedal is connected back on right not sure if you can connect it to wrong side or something so the rod is not pushing straight. You took the master cylinder and servo off so fault must be there.
Seal between servo and bulkhead won't be a problem with light smear of sealant. Thanks so much for the quick response. It's stopped raining, so I'm off out there now. Will look at how master cylinder lines up with rod. I'll start with cylinder off and see if pedal can be pressed.
Thanks again. Hopefully I'll have a reply in a few hours. I have removed master cylinder again fearing something wasn't together right. I've put it all back together to test again, where at first all seemed fine, but the binding brakes started again. I then realised that whilst driving, that if I use my left foot I can lift brake pedal slightly and the car rolls freely. It appears the spring around the pedal isn't doing it's job properly. Maybe a new spring needed!!!
Another slight difference to what I did, so I can get the answer to my issue, was the part no. Thanks for creating this excellent idiots guide to fixing the leaks.
It is so kind of you taking the time to do this and help us DIY guys. Followed step by step and anyone with a bit of nouse should be able to do this. Many thanks. My daughters just got an 03 corsa, soaked drivers side carpet, wasn't going to attempt this, but following your guide, makes it quite straightforward, thanks a million for posting it, when I've got the servo off, the rod inside that slides into the master cylinder has come out, is that it knackered? Or does it just sit in place?
Thanks again, Steve. Hi Steve this doesn't sound right. So looking inside the black servo there is a small rod and this just fell out? I've had those off before held at all angles and never has that fallen out. I've not inspected how it's held in either though. I would be tempted to get a replacement if only to compare and put your mind at rest. Let us know how you get on incase anyone else finds this.
Thanks for your reply, yeah it's the rod that sits inside the servo, it's come out with a round plate on the end, not sure if I've dislodged it when pulling the master cylinder off, I'll get a second hand replacement and check it out, thanks again,.
Got to say congratulations and thanks on producing such a precise instructions to solving the wet corsa footwell problem. Could I pick your brain for a solution in refitting the vacuum pipe, it was quite difficult to get it out but I'm finding it even worse to bet back in again.
Best regards and thanks. Cheers Rick, make sure the hole and vac pipe are really clean. Try one person wigging vac pipe while you press either side. Helps if you have a plastic trim tool with cutout so you can apply pressure. You could always use some scrap wood, drill hole then cut it so it fits around vac tube and allows you to apply pressure.
Best tip is just walk away if tired or hungry and go back to it later. Once again many thanks for those instructions. Have a good day Speedy. The real issue is that the scuttle to windscreen "join" remains leak proof from the factory UNTIL you need to unscrew the 3 torx screws securing the scuttle to the body.
Typically this is when you need a new battery. After that the scuttle never properly seals water running down from the windscreen. To seal that you need to mastic of some sort the metal channel that clips under the bottom edge of the screen to "stick it" to the screen at the same time as sealing the gap between the scuttle and the glass. The metal channel tends to fall off and you don't know it's done that as it is hidden when you screw the 3 torx screws back in.
Eventually I put sealant between the screen and the scuttle. As you can never be sure whether the sealant will degrade the plastic of the scuttle or stick so much to the plastic it would be difficult to disassemble in the future, I used No Nonsense Black Gutter Sealant from Screwfix. It's dirt cheap, never sets and after a few days it is difficult to see that it's there. Hi Rob, doing that you have potentially reduced water entering the upper scuttle area but not fixed the source of any leak.
The water is designed to flow though the holes in the scuttle panel or some may enter through the join to windscreen you mention. It all ends up in the same place and designed to run down the channels and out of the drainage flaps. If your bulkhead seal is watertight then it can't enter the cabin. Maybe your bulkhead seal upper section is where the leak is. Now water isn't flowing on that section you think it's fixed. If it leaks again you know where to look but let's not recommended sealing that windscreen joint.
It doesn't need it and will cause pain for anyone removing it in future. Probably worth saying that metal strip, channel and windscreen should be really clean. If the metal strip falls off you pinch it so it grips tighter on windscreen edge for refitting.
Thanks for the comment don't take my response the wrong way, just don't want people sealing that windscreen joint. Just followed your tutorial and fixed the leak in my son's 55 plate Corsa. So detailed and well explained saved me hundreds. Rally bad design.
Thanks again buddy. Good to hear Richard. See loads of these in the scrap yard I use now and fewer on the road. Faced with a big bill people get rid so glad you've sorted that for your son. Good question actually was thinking it must be a safety thing in a crash. It's probably done so they could use different servos without altering the bulkhead design. They seem to have learnt from it and you see later designs like astra h covering the full scuttle area to prevent leaves and muck accumulating in the drainage channels.
Still good cheap car for all their faults. Nice work on saving that one. Your son owes you some beers! Hi All, I'm on the South coast near Chichester and not very mechanically minded to take this on in full. Carpet removal, etc, yes but not the Servo removal and resealing. If anyone knows of someone near me, I would be most grateful or my son will be. Thanks for this excellent write up. Having just done this myself on a 5 door Auto I can add a couple of things.
Also don't know if this is because of the different pedal arrangement on an auto but I managed to remove the two servo bolts without removing any pedals. I used a hose, biological washing liquid and a soft scrubbing brush on the carpets and they came up like new. Drying them at this time of year is a challenge though.
Thanks again and hope these extra notes help someone else in the future. Just did this fix on my daughters 02 corsa. Used sikaflex marine sealant. Did the lid of the bcm box as well. Thankfully not major wet inside so now to strip that and dry her out.
Excellent guide and easy to follow. Luckily I've done a lot of mechanical work so was a breeze. For anyone thinking it's a hard job etc.
Give it a go. Go slowly and take your time. It really is an easy job. I'm lucky in that I have an enclosed car port to do it out of the weather. Just fixed my son's corsa using this guide thanks it was easy to follow and saved my a few quid to boot. Only problem now is the car won't start. Put a new battery on and the car turns over but won't start. The stereo works but none of the other electrics do just got the airbag light on and the eml light.
Any ideas? Very good write up Speedy, I've done three leaky Corsa Cs two driver side and one passenger side. Next step was to use some wet and dry grit paper, and cleaned around the channel, again getting in as far as possible, followed by another wipe with thinners.
Tiger seal is well recommended in my book for the sealing job, I got the nozzle deep into the now prepared channel and completely filled with sealant, then smoothed around with wet soapy finger and left for 24 hours.
The final touch was to neatly give 3 coats of underbody sealant with added waxoyl. My best advice is The old seal can easily be cleaned out thoroughly, I then spent the price of a pint of beer on some 8mm neoprene cord, which is far superior to the original material used I purchased one metre, but got slightly over, you'll need it!
This cord pushes into the channel in the lid nice and firm, with the join located in what I felt the least vulnerable Lid will be a nice firm fit, and believe me And when replacing the screws in the cover.. I have dropped them out of sight too! I found a long strip of stiff card, bent the end at a rightangle, poked a small hole to take the screw firmly, this enabled me to safely guide the screw to its hole without fear of dropping it into the deep dark depth of beyond, and once the screw has been wound in half way or so, just rip the card strip out, and wind the screw fully home.
Don't despair Good luck. Wow ive just read your post sounds just the Job That 8mm neoprene cord, just been on eBay to order me some thank you for all the tips in your post.
I just had my servo out and resealed the bulkhead plate and servo. I put a hose on the car and had a look where it was leaking and its leaking from where the pipes go through the bulkhead for the clutch master cylinder. There is a foam seal inside. This seal is causing the leak.
I plan on pulling the foam out and using tiger seal on the inside and outside. My leak is in the rear passenger seat foot well of Corsa. My daughter just purchased car and it wasn't wet before we had the terrible rain this week. Can anyone help please. Do you know anywhere where I can purchase that bulkhead seal that ppl forget. If only the passenger side needs doing, don't be tempted to only take off half the scuttle.
Re-fitting it requires a lot of twisting. You might crack the windscreen. Don't ask me how I know! Does anybody know how much this would approximately cost to be fixed at a garage as I am completely useless when it comes to cars!
My car is a Vauxhall Tigra and both footwells are soaking wet? Hi all, I'll be tackling this tomorrow. Fifteen minutes on a hot day can be enough to get a trail to the rear wheels. This is completely normal and should not be cause for alarm. It is way more noticeable in the winter time when white smoke billows out of your exhaust pipes.
Water can also leak out of the exhaust as this happens. A little water is completely normal. A lot of water leaking out of the tail pipe is certainly a cause for concern. This is normal. It will usually produce moisture just behind the rear tires. This is harmless water, and is nothing to worry about. It is possible that your coolant system could be leaking water. If you, or whoever had the vehicle before you filled the cooling system up with water instead of antifreeze coolant, it could be leaking water.
The problem is that water will freeze in the winter time and cause the engine block, heads, freeze plugs, or some other part of the engine to freeze up. Thermostat Housing — The thermostat is a small device that acts as a barrier that lets coolant into the engine only when it reaches a certain temperature usually a bit over degrees. There is a housing that bolts to the block that holds the thermostat.
It is very common to find that your Corsa is leaking water or hopefully coolant from this location. Water itself, is often not a problem at all. If there is anything you would like to add, please leave a comment below. Coolant or Water?
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