# Convertible Top Drain Tubes



## 3778 (Nov 18, 2018)

I have done a search for "Blocked water drain holes" on a MK3 convertible. I have found one post but thats it.

Also did a you tube search but have not come up with any thing thats been really helpful.

The post I did find talks of pushing a stiff wire down the drain hole. My concern on that is the route it takes will probably not be straight. If the drain tube is a flexible rubber then the stiff wire would snag and tear the tube causing other water leaks.

Common sense says clear the tube with compressed air.

Is the drain exit accessible from under the car ?

So can anybody point me in the direction of a video or helpful information on checking these drain holes out.

Its my wife's car bought 1 year ago, and is a 2015 model. I vacuumed the water catchment area out when I got the car and there was nothing of note. But I cannot remember seeing the drain holes.

Thanks Steve


----------



## Heyadad (Dec 21, 2019)

Hi,

Got the same problem as you. There is hardly anything online and a google search throws up nothing.

After all this rain my wife's MK3 TT roadster has water sloshing around in the hood mechanism area on the passenger side. I looked after she said the passenger floor was wet.

I checked behind the seat which was soaking and then the area where the mechanism is. Having checked her MK3 MX5 some years ago and cleared it out and my own MK1 Eunos a few weeks ago I thought I'd be able to sort it out. Nope!

I can see about 3cm minimum of clear water in the well behind the passenger seat and looking down there are a couple of bungs but I can't get to them. I usually use a trombone cleaner but in the case of her TT (2017 model) I haven't got a clue.

Have you found anything?

Alan


----------



## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

A few of us have had this problem in our roadsters. One forum member posted a diagram showing the location of some drainage flaps behind the speakers at the back of the seats. These could become seized presenting the drainage of water from around the hood above.
Quite a big job to get to it and Audi put a complete new carpet in mine under warranty.
Not sure what specific terms you'd need to use to search for the thread on here to find it. Probably about 2 years ago.


----------



## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

The MK3 is very similar to the MK2 and there is a very good guide here:

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1831981

Inside the rubber hoses I have found that Audi fit a circular sponge. Not sure of its purpose but on our MK2 this was clogged with a black mould / gunk. It was this that was causing the trays not to drain!

There is also another guide on good care and maintenance here:

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1853093


----------



## adey (Feb 5, 2010)

I was the one who posted about the stiff wire ,it was only used to clear the drainage hole not push down through the tube mine was blocked with leaves and stuff , you have to lower the roof about half way then you will see the plastic tub that collects the water behind the door jam right in the bottom nearest to the center of the car is the drainage hole ,you have to put your hand inside and feel it with your finger to find it especially if it's full of water you won't be able to see it ,I will try and upload a photo later


----------



## 3778 (Nov 18, 2018)

Barmybob said:


> The MK3 is very similar to the MK2 and there is a very good guide here:
> 
> https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1831981
> 
> ...


Brilliant, just what I needed !!!! many thanks "Barmybob"

The car in Question doesn't have an issue and I want it to stay that way. Yesterday I decided to check her car out. The catchment areas are bone dry. But they would be sitting in the garage for 2 month unused. If Audi fit a sponge in the drain line I can see the logic in it. But the practicality says it will be the point of blockage sooner or later.

The info provided will be a great help. I am going to print it off for use in future.

Thanks for those that replied.


----------



## adey (Feb 5, 2010)

taken a few photos not easy to get to but hopefully should help someone,
1st shows roof open halfway with the flaps still up so you can access the drainage area
2nd show the drainage box were my finger is
3rd you can see the drainage channel in the bottom of the box you really have to push your hand in quite deep to reach this.


----------



## Heyadad (Dec 21, 2019)

Thanks.

I'll have a look later although the problem is I can't get my hands down to the sponge, unless I'm missing something.

Alan


----------



## -:[KM]:- (May 16, 2010)

I have managed to get my hands down there. Just. 
IIRC it is different to my Mk2. The tube is connected to this plastic tub and disappears inward and then down. 
I don't think wire is a good idea unfortunately as of it's downward turn. 
It seems - and I may be wrong - there is a plastic 'membrane' around the rear of the hood to direct the water sideways to the drain tubs. It sounds like a lot of water is there when it's been raining overnight. 
It'd be great to see a schematic or removal/replace pic.


----------



## adey (Feb 5, 2010)

i just used the wire to clear the entrance to the drain hole in the bottom of the plastic tub , that's all it needed then flushed through with water you can see the water come out under the car, it cured mine , you can pull the side of the plastic tub back carefully to reach in. I'm over 6ft and hands like plates but still managed to get in to feel the entrance to the drain tube.

there is no sponge in the collecting tub so maybe not in the right place.


----------



## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

-:[KM said:


> :-":32z2lc2h]I have managed to get my hands down there. Just.
> IIRC it is different to my Mk2. The tube is connected to this plastic tub and disappears inward and then down.
> I don't think wire is a good idea unfortunately as of it's downward turn.
> It seems - and I may be wrong - there is a plastic 'membrane' around the rear of the hood to direct the water sideways to the drain tubs. It sounds like a lot of water is there when it's been raining overnight.
> It'd be great to see a schematic or removal/replace pic.


The tray and hose on the MK3 appear very similar to the MK2.

http://www.catcar.info/audivw/?lang...pbGR0YWZlbD09ODAzMDB8fEdyYWZpaz09MDgwMzAwNzc4

SECTION 81310


----------



## -:[KM]:- (May 16, 2010)

Nice one Barmybob. Well spotted. Good site that. 
I stand corrected. 
Cheers for digging that out. Very handy.


----------



## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Here's what the drip tray looks like for the Mk3. Much better design IMHO than the Mk2 for channeling water as it has an angled floor unlike the Mk2 which is not quite as steep. The arrow points to where the drain tube connects.

The foam insert mentioned previously is for sound deadening so road noise is prevented from entering the cabin. In the Mk2 Forum, one member removed it and notice a marked increase in cabin noise, but it was no longer an issue for causing blockage.

Over in the Mk2 Forum, some people have used a vacuum cleaner to get debris out of the drip trays. Given the tight space, they duct-tape a length of flexible tubing to the end of the vacuum hose in order to get it down inside the drip tray with relatively good results. This should be a routine preventative maintenance practice especially late in the year when leaves are falling. And don't forget to check your front Plenum drains while you're at it.

Caution should be used when trying to clear the drain tube as it can make things worse. If the foam insert is already starting to fail, you can end up breaking off pieces which can end up blocking the drain. The real problem with using anything to clear the drain tube, is unlike the sunroof drains, the Roadster top drain tubes do not empty directly onto open space below the vehicle. Instead, there's another panel below the bulkhead floor opening (shown below). This is why, when you pour water into the drip trays, it seems to come from different places under the car. Therefore it's simply not possible to push anything directly through and out of the drain tube. If the drain tube is really blocked, the best way to clear it is to remove it first and address the blockage. Otherwise you risk jamming what ever is in there further down and completely blocking the drain opening.

Unfortunately the only way to access the drain tube it is to remove the plastic panels behind the seats and get to it via the bulkhead between the cabin and trunk. Not fun, but not impossible either.

*Note* - VAG has a special "Drain Snake" tool *VAG 6620* for around 30-Euro which is designed for clearing sunroof drains (shown below). IMHO the weed trimmer filament line is a much cheaper solution and it does exactly the same thing. In fact I used the weed trimmer filament on my Tiguan sunroof drains and it worked perfectly.

The drain tube schematic is from the Mk2, but should give you a rough idea of how it's situated in the Mk3. Item (1) in the circled picture is the foam insert.

*Word of caution* - Do not put anything small in the back area (top stowage area) as these objects tend to end up down in the drip trays. One Mk2 owner had a small drink bottle end up in the drip tray. When he opened the top, it crushed the bottle and cracked the drip tray. In order to replace it, the entire convertible top assembly has to be removed first.

*Mk3 Drip Tray and drain tube connection point -*








*Schematic of the Mk2 Drain Tube fitment -*








*Mk2 drain tube fitment in the floor of the bulkhead area. When removed, you can see it does not drain into open space below the vehicle, but into a sub floor area.*








*VAG sunroof drain "snake" tool -*


----------



## shtu (Nov 23, 2020)

Well, rather than pay £30 for that, I'd be more tempted by,

- A length of sturdy strimmer line.
or
- A small drain unblocking tool, eg, https://www.amazon.com/ICEYLI-Cleaner-Flexible-Cleaning-Stainless/dp/B08MQCNTQY

I'd go easy on compressed air - too easy to blow a join apart and cause bigger problems.


----------



## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

We just resolved a similar problem on the Mk2 Forum. Turned out the drain tube was partially blocked by a spider's egg sack about the size of a cigarette filter. Yikes!
Here you can see the drain tube has been disconnected from the bulkhead floor, and a curtain cable run down through the drip tray. This is really the best way to unblock a suspected blocked tube.








Mk2 Roadster Dampness Issues and Blocked Roof Drains


@ Steviejones133 - Transfer complete! (y) :)




www.ttforum.co.uk


----------



## gw4dvb (Dec 9, 2021)

SwissJetPilot said:


> Here's what the drip tray looks like for the Mk3. Much better design IMHO than the Mk2 for channeling water as it has an angled floor unlike the Mk2 which is not quite as steep. The arrow points to where the drain tube connects.
> 
> The foam insert mentioned previously is for sound deadening so road noise is prevented from entering the cabin. In the Mk2 Forum, one member removed it and notice a marked increase in cabin noise, but it was no longer an issue for causing blockage.
> 
> ...


Great insight - But what if the Pipe from the Drip Tray through to the Sub Floor area is NOT blocked and still the water will not drain away ? - Where do I look for a blocked outlet ?


----------



## wain1 (1 d ago)

Barmybob said:


> The tray and hose on the MK3 appear very similar to the MK2. AUDI, Audi TTRS Coupe/Roadster Europe, 2018, Body - Catcar.info SECTION 81310


 Hi I have a MK3 convertible and just discovered that the carpet behind the passenger seat was sopping wet. Drivers's side is fine. After finding forum threads and reading about other owners having the same problem I found that this worked for me. 1. Put the roof down and then raise it to about 45 degrees. This will let you see where the drain trays are on either side. Drivers side was fine. Passenger side drain tray was full of water, so this drain was blocked with crud and the drain tray had overflowed and was building up in the well area that stores the roof. I think it is from the well that the water seeps through to the carpet behind/under the seat. 2. Using, say, a 5 foot length of garden hose I syphoned out the water from the well and then syphoned the water out of the blocked drain tray. You might get some dirty water in your mouth when you start syphoning. I managed to get all the water out of both sites. 3. Fill up the drain tray again and prod the end of the hose around the drain tray. This will help loosen the crud. I assumed the drain pipe was to the rear of the tray. 4. Instead of sucking the hose pipe to syphon the water out blow down the hose pipe. After a few hard blows the drain pipe cleared and the water was freely draining. Job done and no expensive Audi repair bill for dismantling the car unblocking the drain pipe and drying it out.I appreciate that not everyon'es problem may be solved as easily as mine but it is worth a try. Good luck. Tim


----------



## Alan Sl (Nov 11, 2009)

Glad to hear you have got the drainage problem sorted.


----------

