# Water Ingress on Coupe Doors...?



## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Hello all,

Thought I would drop this in a separate thread from my build thread to hopefully generate some experiences/responses.
Had this issue for a while and tried a fair few ideas taken from previous threads raised over the year on this forum but seems not to of worked - sealed the front 'triangle' seal to the door, inside of the door panel behind the doorcard.
I'm thinking my last option is to buy a new door seal?

Water seems to be managing to get over the door seal at the bottom of my drivers door, this then flows under the plastic sill panel and into the carpet - photo below.
Any feedback would be much appreciated - only seems to be happening on the drivers side of the car too


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, If the door drains are blocked water can build up in the door & leak under the door card & into the interior. Check that the door drains are not blocked.
Hoggy.


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## Danny1 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hoggy said:


> Hi, If the door drains are blocked water can build up in the door & leak under the door card & into the interior. Check that the door drains are not blocked.
> Hoggy.


Yeah I have read that before and my old TTS had blocked drains.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Hoggy said:


> Hi, If the door drains are blocked water can build up in the door & leak under the door card & into the interior. Check that the door drains are not blocked.
> Hoggy.


Thank you Hoggy
I'm 99% sure I have checked these already and were all clear...As the photo below will confirm
With a memory like a sieve though, no harm in checking again!
It's mainly the front that 'flooded' over the seal
But since doing the front triangle seal, seems to be the full door sill length


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## Steviejones133 (Aug 18, 2021)

I found this thread VERY helpful - plenty of info on the many places water can ingress and some good fixes to try and help









FAQ - Drainholes on the TT


Soooo... summer is over, the wet period is coming again. Unless you life in that unfortunate place where summers are wet too... It is time to check the TT's water management features in order to prevent damage from water entering or staying in places where it shouldn't. Rear spoiler drains...




www.ttforum.co.uk


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

Are all of your door card clips in tact? They are only small holes but they do have rubber seals on them so if any are missing or broken, it's probably worth plugging them

Also what about the large plastic piece where the inner door handle bowden cable goes through, is that fitted tightly

Finally the speakers (or speaker plus shield shaped blank if no Bose) as again they all have seals on them


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## Yam900 (Oct 26, 2021)

The clips that hold the door card on have seals on them. Did you replace these when you had the door card off. Always replace with new. There only pence. If not leave the door card off and throw a bit of talcum powder around the gasket area. You will see when it rains where its coming in


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Steviejones133 said:


> I found this thread VERY helpful - plenty of info on the many places water can ingress and some good fixes to try and help
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you sir, this is the exact thread I found when I resealed the 'front triangle' portion of the door seal in my hopeful last attempt to fix the issue!




MT-V6 said:


> Are all of your door card clips in tact? They are only small holes but they do have rubber seals on them so if any are missing or broken, it's probably worth plugging them
> 
> Also what about the large plastic piece where the inner door handle bowden cable goes through, is that fitted tightly
> 
> Finally the speakers (or speaker plus shield shaped blank if no Bose) as again they all have seals on them


They are indeed sir, they are all new from when I take the doorcards off so regularly 

To be fair, I think the large plastic piece doesn't sit perfectly from memory!
So maybe that's a possibility - I would of thought the height/angle of this would make it hard for such a level of water to get in though
But at this point I would say this is the most likely cause, I will have to see if I can find a part number for it

Speakers I replaced with aftermarket which did not have any kind of seal, but since then I have completely sealed that opening behind the speaker adaptor against the door and still the issue persists!



Yam900 said:


> The clips that hold the door card on have seals on them. Did you replace these when you had the door card off. Always replace with new. There only pence. If not leave the door card off and throw a bit of talcum powder around the gasket area. You will see when it rains where its coming in


I think the door card off idea is where I am going to have to go with this in all honesty!


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> Thank you sir, this is the exact thread I found when I resealed the 'front triangle' portion of the door seal in my hopeful last attempt to fix the issue!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have the same issue with the slight water ingress. It waits on the bottom door seal seal. When I open the door it's there.
Both driver's and passenger's sides have the problem. Not a lot of water, but it's enough to make the back window steam up on a cold night. If I peel open the seal its all in there like on your pic.
I've decided to wait until spring to look at it because it's just too damn cold out and I don't want to break any brittle door plastic. I will also replace that door seal as mine is worn with a split in it.
If you solve it first then I'll be glad, might save me some time


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

darrylmg said:


> I have the same issue with the slight water ingress. It waits on the bottom door seal seal. When I open the door it's there.
> Both driver's and passenger's sides have the problem. Not a lot of water, but it's enough to make the back window steam up on a cold night. If I peel open the seal its all in there like on your pic.
> I've decided to wait until spring to look at it because it's just too damn cold out and I don't want to break any brittle door plastic. I will also replace that door seal as mine is worn with a split in it.
> If you solve it first then I'll be glad, might save me some time


I ordered the inner cover a MT-V6 mentioned
I vaguely remember mine either having a chewed up seal OR doesn't sit right - for the price shown below, wasn't even worth taking the door car off to check
I just need to find a spare 30 minutes to get it thrown in, ideally before it's next wash / rain shower - so I can report back.

These are £25+ on ebay second hand
TPS with trade discount, not even £16 including VAT
For anyone interested, the part number on this is.. *8J0837916 *


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

This *post* came up recently regarding the inner door seal. Seems not everyone has them. I'm not sure which models (Coupes vs Roadsters) are affected or in which year Audi decided to include them, but they can be retrofitted.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

SwissJetPilot said:


> This *post* came up recently regarding the inner door seal. Seems not everyone has them. I'm not sure which models (Coupes vs Roadsters) are affected or in which year Audi decided to include them, but they can be retrofitted.
> View attachment 481276


As my TTS is 08 it has these fitted luckily
Also not sure if this could cause the issue as far forward as I'm experiencing but worth trying for those who don't


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

So here's some photos of the install
Which is giving me promising signs
Will report back on this once there has been some rain or given it a wash.


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

Definitely looks like that cover was leaking, handy that you have a white car as it shows those water marks easily. I assume the new one fits tightly then?


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

@Barr_end If the rubber on your doorcard is no longer sealing properly the best way to make it seal is by using a sticky butyl tape. 

I just noticed incase your not aware, foam pad beside the bonnet seal is missing. Water leak in that area could flow to the main ground cable. The ground going to the ECU, ABS, Cooling fan etc. are also there.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

MT-V6 said:


> Definitely looks like that cover was leaking, handy that you have a white car as it shows those water marks easily. I assume the new one fits tightly then?


Exactly that man! 
New one is spot on, so just need to have some rain or have some time to give it a wash and see the results!



Wolvez said:


> @Barr_end If the rubber on your doorcard is no longer sealing properly the best way to make it seal is by using a sticky butyl tape.
> 
> I just noticed incase your not aware, foam pad beside the bonnet seal is missing. Water leak in that area could flow to the main ground cable. The ground going to the ECU, ABS, Cooling fan etc. are also there.
> 
> View attachment 481462


Doors all sorted with a fresh inner panel and any rubber seals have been re-attached/sealed with tiger seal.

Interesting one on those foam pads, they have been missing for longer than I can remember, was only in the fuse board the other day and no signs of any corrosion but I may take another closer look as I'm there


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

If and when you pull the plenum cover to clear the drains, here's some of the part numbers you may encounter. Item #3 is the foam pad *Wolvez* pointed out. There's two; one on each side. You can read more about this *here*.

1. Access Cover - 8J1 823 755
2. Drip Channel - 8J1 819 979
3. Side Seal - 8J0 823 721 (verify left or right)
4. Cowl Grille (Plenum cover) - 8J1 819 401









*Left and right drain valves located just behind the shock tower mounts -*









*Drain Valve - 8J0 805 271*


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

SwissJetPilot said:


> If and when you pull the plenum cover to clear the drains, here's some of the part numbers you may encounter. Item #3 is the foam pad *Wolvez* pointed out. There's two; one on each side. You can read more about this *here*.


Tiny bit of dirt on your wiper arm mechanism there.🧐
Otherwise 10/10 for cleanliness. Unbelievable cleanliness 🤯.
Also, are you missing the soundproofing off the underside of the bonnet or is this something that is not present on the 3.2?


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## tttony (Dec 21, 2014)

darrylmg said:


> Also, are you missing the soundproofing off the underside of the bonnet or is this something that is not present on the 3.2?


This is something that has been discussed before. Some cars have the insulation and some don't. It is model/year/market specific it seems.


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## Steviejones133 (Aug 18, 2021)

I’d read that the absence of soundproofing under the bonnet on the 3.2 is to NOT suffocate the sound of the V6 engine……..


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

@ *darrylmg* - I am ashamed to have published that picture.  But at least it's clean under the air filter housing so I think that makes up for the mess on the wiper.arm mechanism 

@ *Steviejones133* - Audi only installed them on TTs with engines that aren't worth listening to. Which is why diesels have them and 3.2 VR6's don't!


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

We had rain...

And

It didn't work 🤦‍♂️ Definitely still water making it's way over the seal
As the photos I have that won't attach for some reason would show
The leak is definitely coming from the front half of the door
Checked the square drains in the door once again and they are definitely still clear/working

Looks like I'm going to have to get handy with a hose with the doorcard off and see what the score is
Anyone else still having this issue?


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## KleynieJr (Jul 4, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> So here's some photos of the install
> Which is giving me promising signs
> Will report back on this once there has been some rain or given it a wash.


I fitted a new one of these panels recently as whoever did the window regulator before me broke it. Is the second picture of the new panel or the old one?
Reason I'm asking is that the top corner doesn't appear to be seated properly, mine took a hell of a push and then fitted very tightly to the metal of the door.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

KleynieJr said:


> I fitted a new one of these panels recently as whoever did the window regulator before me broke it. Is the second picture of the new panel or the old one?
> Reason I'm asking is that the top corner doesn't appear to be seated properly, mine took a hell of a push and then fitted very tightly to the metal of the door.


All photos are of the old panel man
New one fitted up perfectly fine - nicely sealed to the door
Clearly was a water path coming in the old one, but it can't be the only one


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> We had rain...
> 
> And
> 
> ...


I still have the issue, but only because I'm waiting for you to fix it 
Seriously though, I'm running out of issues to fix before I will be forced to look at it.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

darrylmg said:


> I still have the issue, but only because I'm waiting for you to fix it
> Seriously though, I'm running out of issues to fix before I will be forced to look at it.



Took a very brief look last night - before attempting to fix the daily 
Pulled the doorcard off, but couldn't see ANY sign that would cause concern - even though with a little more rain the entire length from front/back is now full of water 

Need to get someone to give me a hand with the hose and take a look from inside - left the doorcard off / in the boot for now
Also have just had the windscreen replaced thinking about it - but surely the water wouldn't be able to find a path down that way?


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

So I tired another technique
x3 squirtty bottles later of playing about...

















I've personally never had this off, but looks like here is another issue
When the new ones show up, I will test again and check the door speakers to be certain
I did try sitting in the car with window half down so I could close it, but this was a little awkward, but with it in that place, window covers that seal and nothing comes out of there or seemingly the speaker
So fingers crossed

Might get someone to help me on the next testing

But other than these I can not see what else it could be
For the time being until the new ones arrive - I have tiger sealed this one back together! 😅

For reference: 8J0837865 - 5.68 + VAT on trade from TPS - I've ordered 2 for both sides, just incase, never hurts to have spares in the shed


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## Steviejones133 (Aug 18, 2021)

Is that a hole in the seal I can see…….


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> So I tired another technique
> x3 squirtty bottles later of playing about...
> View attachment 482334
> 
> ...


Mine was drip drip dripping when it was raining 🌧 over the weekend.
I tried to get some pics to show where exactly on the door panel but I was rushing and they were all blurred. I reckon it's the same spot as you. Just off the middle line of the door, slightly to the front of the car. That's where I find the water. Both driver's and passenger's sides. 
Thanks for posting the part numbers.
Did you fit that zip lock bag as part of your troubleshooting?


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Steviejones133 said:


> Is that a hole in the seal I can see…….


Assuming you didn't look at the photo below it...  Which shows exactly what it is
But also that, that small nick was certainly the least of that panels worries



darrylmg said:


> Mine was drip drip dripping when it was raining 🌧 over the weekend.
> I tried to get some pics to show where exactly on the door panel but I was rushing and they were all blurred. I reckon it's the same spot as you. Just off the middle line of the door, slightly to the front of the car. That's where I find the water. Both driver's and passenger's sides.
> Thanks for posting the part numbers.
> Did you fit that zip lock bag as part of your troubleshooting?


Mine only seems to happen when parked at home on the drive...
This is angled so that the passengers is slightly lower than drivers, which is why I believe it only happens there, never on a drive in a rain or seemingly so far in another location

It looks like yours will be the same then as that's what's happening with mine

I did indeed, the ziplock bag is sealed to the door, over the speaker hole, as the new speaker kit wasn't supplied with anything to keep it water tight 🤦‍♂️
Was supposed to be a temporary measure until I found something that actually does the job properly - however until now it's one of those that gets forgotten!


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## legend_of_chaos (Sep 18, 2017)

￼
Mine is leaking from the passenger door, the triangle seal at the top of the window running down the front of the inner edge of door and running over door sill and onto carpet.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

legend_of_chaos said:


> ￼
> Mine is leaking from the passenger door, the triangle seal at the top of the window running down the front of the inner edge of door and running over door sill and onto carpet.


As in the first post of the thread, that has already been resealed and sorted - using this link: FAQ - Drainholes on the TT
Prior to it being linked within this thread, long before posting, searched and acted on known faults before making this to see if there were other parts people had experienced.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

FIXED!

So, the new part arrived, whilst having the doorcard off, thought I would also undo my 'temporary' fix on the speaker hole.
There were no signs of any leaks around this, unlike the smaller plastic OEM seal.
but used Butyl tape this time around. Additionally decided to drill fresh holes & riv nut the speaker adaptors in, rather than nut and bolt so much easier to work with.
Need to get round to matching this on the passenger side even though there seems to be no issues on that side.

After all these poor storms in the UK and prior to that, shortly after completing this Thursday morning - thorough jet wash / rinse down the local drive in wash bays.
0 water is now coming over the seal, all remaining within the door shut.

I think my issues were both OEM seals, as shown, they were certainly damaged, but it certainly would not hurt to follow all steps in the link within this thread - blocked drains, door seal 'triangle' etc.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> FIXED!
> 
> So, the new part arrived, whilst having the doorcard off, thought I would also undo my 'temporary' fix on the speaker hole.
> There were no signs of any leaks around this, unlike the smaller plastic OEM seal.
> ...


What a guy! 🍻
I'm on holz at the mo, but when I get back I will be ordering those parts in that you listed and will be sure to follow the steps.
This is another one for the KB thread on water ingress and things to check!


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Unfortunately...
It has returned!
Haven't had time to get the card off yet again but as many might imagine, fairly bored of looking at it


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> Unfortunately...
> It has returned!
> Haven't had time to get the card off yet again but as many might imagine, fairly bored of looking at it


Yesterday I ordered the spare door card clips in prep to tackle this issue.
Now I'm disappointed for you and also concerned that if you can't fix it then how the hell am I going to!
Is it the same quantity of water build up?


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

darrylmg said:


> Yesterday I ordered the spare door card clips in prep to tackle this issue.
> Now I'm disappointed for you and also concerned that if you can't fix it then how the hell am I going to!
> Is it the same quantity of water build up?


I need to get the card off and take a look into this properly in all honesty.
Didn't look like a small amount unfortunately


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## af_135y (Aug 31, 2020)

Hi, just wanted to add my experiences with this issue.

You're not alone!! Had my TT for around 18 months now and have had leak issues the whole time. What's annoying is that it's intermittent on mine. After any rain I dread lifting the rubber at the bottom of the door cill, but sometimes after heavy rain it's bone dry. Other times after a short shower it's wet!
I've always suspected the speaker as the main source. Both of mine had dirty water stains below them. So on one side I replaced with an OEM speaker - leak returned after a while, and on the other side I've put a full bead of butyl seal (the blu-tack type stuff) in place of the original perished foamy seal (after removing that, and cleaning all mating surfaces). Still leaks. One time I applied a self-adhesive roofing membrane to the _inside_ of the door void, behind where the speaker sits. It was awkward to do but possible with the shield cover removed (non-Bose) and small hands help! From memory this stayed dry but it may have been a dry spell - but... the sound was terrible - really weak and flat so I had to remove it.

I've already done everything in the really useful 'TT drainholes' post - drainholes at door base, triangles, plenum in the engine bay etc. I've gummi-pfledged all the rubbers. I'm sure it's not the windscreen as I've checked the internal perimeter after rain, with a credit card and tissue as recommended on here - all dry.

My leaks have never been enough to make the carpets wet, even after intense rain.

With the door cards off, I have sat in the car whilst it's been hosed down. My observations were that nothing, absolutely nothing, came through the holes where the clips go. A slight drip occurred at the shield aperture, but a shocking and continuous drip appeared at the main speaker hole. I didn't remove the large regulator cover as that looked clean at the base and no water came through with the cover in place.

I will take another look with the cards removed when it's a bit warmer but tbh I don't drive the car that much with hybrid-working, and have taken to trapping a plastic bag over the cill with the door shut, when rain is forecast and I'm not using that car for a week or so. No water gets in then!! If I find the speakers and covers all look clean and dry, maybe it's just the age of the car (2009) and only a complete set of fresh rubber seals will cure it.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Maybe the water is filling the A pillar seal. It's full of foam, that foam is absorbing the water that why you don't see water leak right away. 









apillar.pdf







drive.google.com


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

An update on my water ingress, which I have on both doors.
Today I took both door cards off.
I found a number of issues beneath.

1. The passenger door card had a clip that was completely bent and not even clipped to the door. As we know, these clips have a seal to try and prevent water coming through the holes.










2. The passenger door access panel had a small water mark coming from the bottom point. Prising with fingers, the grey seal was no longer sticking to the door.



















3. The speaker unit has a screw not fully seated. It also had non-matching screws.
The interesting thing was the one screw that didn't match was the one that was not fully screwed in. It is a T25, but the others were allen key type screws.
I tried to screw the screw in further but it just spins. I can't even remove it any further.

What is this screw screwed into?











4. Some of the door card clips had lost the plastic white tips. I couldn't find those bits.
I suspect that the door card had been removed before by a previous owner.

To fix this door, I got my clear silicone out and rammed the nozzle between the door and the plastic access shield around the area where the seal no longer stuck. As I moved the silicone gun the tip pulled the shield slightly off the door and the silicone filled the gap. Job done.

Then I moved onto the drivers door.
It was a similar story there. Except all clips were working (none bent) although I did have a broken white plastic clip holder. I didn't break this, so again, this door card had been removed previously.
The interesting thing was that the driver's door speaker had all 4 screws as T25.
So again, what screws are the correct ones for the speakers?

This door also had water marks but from both access panels, with the largest panel having two areas at fault.










I fixed this door in the same way with the silicone and I also fitted a clip in the broken white clip holder. It sort of holds in place (I've ordered a replacement clip holder).

Let's see if the fix works when we next have some rain.
I'd like to know about the speaker screws and solve that issue.


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

Yam900 said:


> The clips that hold the door card on have seals on them. Did you replace these when you had the door card off. Always replace with new. There only pence. If not leave the door card off and throw a bit of talcum powder around the gasket area. You will see when it rains where its coming in


I don't think it'd be these door card pop fittings... I have zero of them fitted at the moment (for the past ... Well since I started modding the TT) and we've had torrential la Nina rains and I've had no water ingress. 

I reckon check the body to door gaps for alignment issues. Also how are the condition of your door seals @Barr_end ?


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

The T25 speaker screws are the original ones. They go into plastic pop clip things that round out

The cards have definitely been off in the past as they are aftermarket speakers


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

MT-V6 said:


> The T25 speaker screws are the original ones. They go into plastic pop clip things that round out
> 
> The cards have definitely been off in the past as they are aftermarket speakers


Thanks.
I found this KB post that details those T25s and indeed my speakers look different. 
So I might need to replace that one pop clip to ensure the speaker seal is properly in place. I'll see how it goes with the next bout of rain and make a call if I need to fix it.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

IPG3.6 said:


> I don't think it'd be these door card pop fittings... I have zero of them fitted at the moment (for the past ... Well since I started modding the TT) and we've had torrential la Nina rains and I've had no water ingress.
> 
> I reckon check the body to door gaps for alignment issues. Also how are the condition of your door seals @Barr_end ?


This is basically where my thinking is getting too

Seems to be intermittent from the weather - I really need to take time to look at it properly again
It also desperately needs a good wash

I think that the door seal is the only logical next step - door is well aligned as is the window, always kept on top of it and never had the typical wind noise issue on mine


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

So I washed the car this week...
Jet washed, prewashed, rinsed, cleaned, rinsed again.

Not one drop of water over the seal! Very puzzling
Hopefullt have help from a mate soon, so can analyse this properly sitting in it with doorcard off and proper covering of water
Not with me still sat inside but window half way down tipping bottles of water on it


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

I washed mine with the power washer today. 
Still some water on the seal, but much further forward and reduced in quantity. 
I think it was the access panels causing most ingress.
I now suspect the speaker backing is a problem. When I had the door card off, I noticed there's a small weld seam (or something like that) that runs down from the centre line of the front speaker door holes. I actually thought it was a water mark, but rubbing it and it's definitely a body line of sorts. Same on both doors. This line/seam could cause a small gap between the speaker foam backing and the door on an old car where the foam may have stiffened with age.
I will have to resort to testing like you, with someone washing the car whilst I sit in it  job for the wife


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Still hasn't returned for me...
Again not sure if the issue is fixed, or the sequence for it to happen is just waiting!
Although car is now back from the bodyshop and won't be off anywhere other than me driving it
I will only pull it apart yet again when it does happen again as I really can't be bothered to do it for the 100th odd time


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## Daver75 (11 mo ago)

I’ve got the same issue and it looks like it’s just running down the corner seal on both front doors not sure what the the fix is just looks like the seal isn’t tight enough when the door is shut?


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## chestnutree (Jun 4, 2012)

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd jump onto this post as I have the same issue rather than starting a new one. As with others, the KB article has been followed for clearing drain holes and water does drain out of the door drain hole correctly but the issue I have is that in addition, it drains from behind the door card on both doors.
When I open the doors, the water falls out onto the floor on the drivers side but on the passenger side I can see some of it drips inside the seal which is probably why I've had such severe condensation in my car. I know the cards have been off in the past by the garage so anything could have happened behind there.

I'll be happy removing the door card and DIY'ing it but I could do with some pointers please. I haven't seen any posts (Unless I haven't searched hard enough) on how to remove the door cards. Please could someone point me to a post or reply with some simple steps and pics please? I don't want to just go pulling at it and break something as i imagine there's a few hidden bolts here and there.......

Also, does anyone have the part numbers for the seals around the clips please?
Cheers,
Nick

P.S. I don't have dirty green outer door seals, it's just the reflection of the grass 😀


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

chestnutree said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Thought I'd jump onto this post as I have the same issue rather than starting a new one. As with others, the KB article has been followed for clearing drain holes and water does drain out of the door drain hole correctly but the issue I have is that in addition, it drains from behind the door card on both doors.
> When I open the doors, the water falls out onto the floor on the drivers side but on the passenger side I can see some of it drips inside the seal which is probably why I've had such severe condensation in my car. I know the cards have been off in the past by the garage so anything could have happened behind there.
> ...


Looks like you need to cover all of the basis that have already been covered within the thread & the one linked in the original post

Door card is x2 torx bolts, use the screwdriver from the boot with the larger of the 2 ends. One is above the door pocket, completely visible. Other is behind the upper speaker grill by the doors grab handle. Pop that off with a trim tool and it's then visible, after that its just the door card clips themselves.

I'm guessing you mean the door card fixing clips with that last statement, if so, you just buy new clips. 
I've tried non OE ones before and they are poor at best. Go OE with part number: 6Q0868243 I believe that's one I used.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

So I believe this issue may actually be fixed - and the one time I have seen the issue since latest change was just a one off

After light rain all of yesterday, checked the car when I got home - fine
Rained heavily all night last night, especially around an hour before I was outside looking this morning - again fine

Should below is how mine now looks even after heavy rain, the seal is wet, but it has not been passed over the seal
Although should it be getting this 'high' up the seal?


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## Steviejones133 (Aug 18, 2021)

My seals are a bit like that, water doesn’t come over into the part showed on your first pic (peeled back) so I’d say water isn’t entering the cabin. Of course, a good jet or power wash might increase the volume of water that is creeping up the seal causing it to overflow. I’d imagine the seals have flattened over time and aren’t quite as “plump” as they once used to be meaning water can be seen higher up than what you’d expect.

Im no expert here with the TT, but my 21 yr old MGF has experienced similar seal problems but I put it down to age, with the MGF I have tried to plump up the seals with a diy bodge-it and-scarper method…..does the trick.

Out of interest, did you do the “fix” below from the thread I linked to on the first page of your thread? - seems that it could be directly responsible for water getting to where it shouldn’t be on your car as it would trickle down the inside of the door and onto or over the sill seal…..


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Steviejones133 said:


> My seals are a bit like that, water doesn’t come over into the part showed on your first pic (peeled back) so I’d say water isn’t entering the cabin. Of course, a good jet or power wash might increase the volume of water that is creeping up the seal causing it to overflow. I’d imagine the seals have flattened over time and aren’t quite as “plump” as they once used to be meaning water can be seen higher up than what you’d expect.
> 
> Im no expert here with the TT, but my 21 yr old MGF has experienced similar seal problems but I put it down to age, with the MGF I have tried to plump up the seals with a diy bodge-it and-scarper method…..does the trick.
> 
> Out of interest, did you do the “fix” below from the thread I linked to on the first page of your thread? - seems that it could be directly responsible for water getting to where it shouldn’t be on your car as it would trickle down the inside of the door and onto or over the sill seal…..


When it seemed like the issue was present, natural cause of rain, actually was worse than what would happen when washing the car, where it sees multiple jetwash rinses 🤷‍♂️ 
So I think it maybe all sorted! Certainly seemed it after all the heavy rain other day.

What's this trick.. I am interested to see what's involved!
I do have a TT breaker keeping an eye out for me for a decent seal just to help to be fair!

Yes sir, that was performed fairly early on and SEEMED to do the trick for one rainfall, then the issue presented itself again and all the replacements / speaker reseals later


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Door seals are going to continue to be a problem as our TTs get older and the seal material will continue to degrade, becoming less pliable and therefore fail to seal properly.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I can't recommend a *half cover* enough. I just got back from three months in Bavaria where I had to park my Roadster outside thus subjecting it to rain, snow and freezing conditions. The half cover was the perfect solution to keeping the car protected from the elements.

Even in with the best seals a major extended downpour can overwhelm the drip trays in a Roadster and even for Coupes, if the top seal on the window or the window skirts are not perfect, there's a good chance water will make it's way inside especially if there's gale-force winds behind it.

For me anytime my Roadster has to sit outside, it will always have a half cover over it.


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

Barr_end said:


> Should below is how mine now looks even after heavy rain, the seal is wet, but it has not been passed over the seal
> Although should it be getting this 'high' up the seal?
> 
> View attachment 484769
> ...


mine does like this too 

as long as the water is not in the cabin it's all good.


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## Steviejones133 (Aug 18, 2021)

Barr_end said:


> What's this trick.. I am interested to see what's involved!


Well, as I said, it’s a bit of a bodge that I’ve done on some of the seals on my MGF to “plump” them up a bit so that they seal a bit better. Your mileage may vary with this, I haven’t implemented it on my TT, but it might be worth trying it out and if it doesn’t work, just take it back out again….simples.

I found some off cut 3-core 1.5mm electric cable, stripped it out of the sheathing, elected to use the brown live cable as it would be less visible than blue or green/yellow and simply inserted it as far in as it would go where your finger was pulling back the seal.

As you can see from the pics below, it plumps up the seal by a fraction, but that fraction “might” be enough to form a better seal and prevent water spilling over into that area - and possibly past the plastic sill into the cabin.

It may work, it may not.


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

Steviejones133 said:


> Well, as I said, it’s a bit of a bodge that I’ve done on some of the seals on my MGF to “plump” them up a bit so that they seal a bit better. Your mileage may vary with this, I haven’t implemented it on my TT, but it might be worth trying it out and if it doesn’t work, just take it back out again….simples.
> 
> I found some off cut 3-core 1.5mm electric cable, stripped it out of the sheathing, elected to use the brown live cable as it would be less visible than blue or green/yellow and simply inserted it as far in as it would go where your finger was pulling back the seal.
> 
> ...


Pretty interesting concept!
Can certainly see the results that it has made

If I can't get hold of a 'better' seal IF the fault returns I think I may give this a go, thank you
For now with others replies, looking like car is behaving normally and currently no more leaks!


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Today was the perfect day for trying to fix the water ingress on the front doors.
I got the cards off both doors and removed the speakers (what an absolute faff, I'll update my existing post about that nightmare).

I recorded a vid of the water action. It comes complete with countryside church bells if anyone likes that sort of thing.
(update, here's the link: 



 )

I tested each door in turn and with the doors open, which might affect things a little due to the glass angle and the door angle.
Essentially the water was coming in through the speaker area. If I put a large amount of water on the window, a larger amount of water came through the speaker area.










The foam seal between the speaker casing and the door simply acts to keep the water pooling in the speaker casing:










You can see it was hitting the back of the speaker (these are non-Bose Alpine SXE-2035S which were fitted by a previous owner):










Water also came through one of the holes where the top right (passenger side) door card clip would be when fitted. So those door card clips have seals for a good reason.

After much amazement at such a poor design from Audi, I went about making my own solution to the problem.

I first created a lip around the top backside of the speaker hole, using 6mm butyl putty.
I bought this on the off chance I would need it for this job.
The aim was to deflect the water slightly to stop it getting right to the edge of the hole.

You can just about see it in white/grey in this pic:










I then used some thick plastic (about 1.5mm thick) and cut it so that it could attach to the door above the speaker hole and pushed the bottom half of it into the inside of the door.
I used a thin layer of silicone sealant to seal the plastic to the door.










This prevents any water coming through when I tested it again with the speaker case refitted and the door open:










Why is this door design so poor that it doesn't have a seal at the back of the speaker? Or does it have a seal, it's just that someone has removed mine?


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Post a picture of the upper portion with the glass. I will be working on my doors maybe tomorrow or day after. Still waiting for parts to arrived. So we can compare.

Since you can simulate the leak why not buy a UV Dye to accuratrly pinpoint where it's coming from?

Try making the glass moist using the HVAC. Then lower the glass to see if the moistvis remove.


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

Will that plastic sheet rustle when you have music on? You are sadly right, there is no panel behind the speaker, which seems weird as the dampness can't do them much good


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

MT-V6 said:


> Will that plastic sheet rustle when you have music on? You are sadly right, there is no panel behind the speaker, which seems weird as the dampness can't do them much good


It's too thick to rustle. It's a really heavy duty plastic. I bought years ago to make a cover for a raised plant bed in the winter. More like acetate but a fraction more pliable to move it around.


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## Daver75 (11 mo ago)

I had the same issue and it was coming from the speaker at the bottom, I resealed the speaker and the water stopped.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Wolvez said:


> Post a picture of the upper portion with the glass. I will be working on my doors maybe tomorrow or day after. Still waiting for parts to arrived. So we can compare.
> 
> Since you can simulate the leak why not buy a UV Dye to accuratrly pinpoint where it's coming from?
> 
> Try making the glass moist using the HVAC. Then lower the glass to see if the moistvis remove.


When the door is open the window glass bare touches the outside seal of the door. There's is no pressure. 
So any water hitting the window runs straight down inside. I suspect this is similar to when the door is shut. The seal against the outside of the window is not water tight and maybe never meant to be? (Holes at the bottom of the door along the complete length).
Probably could be adjusted or made better with the door catch post, or some rubber treatment on the seal.
I'll put some pics tomorrow to show what I mean. 
I don't need dye, i can see it dripping when I look through the speaker hole. It comes off the bottom of the window glass.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Daver75 said:


> I had the same issue and it was coming from the speaker at the bottom, I resealed the speaker and the water stopped.


The water will just be collecting in there.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

The glass seal is water tight doesn't matter if the door is open or close. Try removing the glass and clean the seal. Maybe your seal is mudy. Make sure to make ab alignment mark on the glass and nut..


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

No watermarks inside my door.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Is your confort module still running in single wire? If YES, try scanning without that door cnnected to see if it runs on dual wire.


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## Daver75 (11 mo ago)

darrylmg said:


> The water will just be collecting in there.


It’s coming out the bottom of the door now. The speaker were loose and wouldn’t tighten up as the locking nut grommets were just spinning in the door.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Daver75 said:


> The speaker were loose and wouldn’t tighten up as the locking nut grommets were just spinning in the door.


I have the same and opposite problem. Those bolts that are this tight won't loosen and the bolts that I loosen won't tighten because of the stupid nut which is very difficult to hold.


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## Daver75 (11 mo ago)

Wolvez said:


> I have the same and opposite problem. Those bolts that are this tight won't loosen and the bolts that I loosen won't tighten because of the stupid nut which is very difficult to hold.


I managed to get a trim tool behind the speaker next to the screws and prize it out.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Bose speaker?


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Daver75 said:


> It’s coming out the bottom of the door now. The speaker were loose and wouldn’t tighten up as the locking nut grommets were just spinning in the door.


Maybe your speaker casing is different to mine (mine is not bose).
If water is coming from the bottom of my speaker casing it's got nowhere else to go. If I tightened the speaker, it would just keep the water inside it until it was a large enough volume to overflow back into the door:


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Wolvez said:


> Bose speaker?


If you look at my door, the holes are square for those plastic nuts.
The nuts are also square. Get them in the right position and they should prise out.
Alternatively try and pin them from the side with a small screwdriver to put pressure on them so you can unscrew the screw.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Wolvez said:


> The glass seal is water tight doesn't matter if the door is open or close. Try removing the glass and clean the seal. Maybe your seal is mudy. Make sure to make ab alignment mark on the glass and nut..


With the door open, the glass is not properly touching the outside seal (on the left of the picture).
When the door is closed it touches the seal, but as you can see, my seal is either dirty or degraded.










With the door closed I can agitate the water drops and they fall down the window, hit the seal and disappear, probably down the window and into the door.

Is there a glass angle adjustment setting?

I'll try lowering the window and giving it a really good cleaning then apply some rubber protection and see if that helps.


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## Daver75 (11 mo ago)

darrylmg said:


> Maybe your speaker casing is different to mine (mine is not bose).
> If water is coming from the bottom of my speaker casing it's got nowhere else to go. If I tightened the speaker, it would just keep the water inside it until it was a large enough volume to overflow back into the door:
> 
> View attachment 486574


So the drains in the bottom of the doors where do they drain the water from?


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Daver75 said:


> So the drains in the bottom of the doors where do they drain the water from?


Any water that gets into the inside of the door. Right inside the door where the window glass is.
In my case, if I spray my window with water, it gets past the seal where the window disappears into the door.
The water then drips off the bottom of the window (inside the door) and is making it's way into my speak housing.
I'm uploading a vid to youtube to show.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

darrylmg said:


> Any water that gets into the inside of the door. Right inside the door where the window glass is.
> In my case, if I spray my window with water, it gets past the seal where the window disappears into the door.
> The water then drips off the bottom of the window (inside the door) and is making it's way into my speak housing.
> I'm uploading a vid to youtube to show.


OK, here's the link to the YT vid. Enjoy the bells.






You can see it's not a great deal of water, but it's enough. The position of the hose does not matter, I can move it further along the door, same result.
If I increase the water volume, I get more water into the door.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

Have ypu tried removing the glass and cleaning the seal and glass? You only need to remove one bolt to pull the glass out.

I'm not sure but I think the lower bolt with plastic cover adjust the glass tilt.

If cleaning don't solve the issue try replacing the seal.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

Wolvez said:


> ...
> I'm not sure but I think the lower bolt with plastic cover adjust the glass tilt.
> ...


Your pics were really helpful.
Last weekend I finally got some more time to get the door cards off (again) and look at the how the glass meets the door seal on the outside.

I found that my "glass to edge of seal" gap was between 4mm & 5mm on both doors:










I removed the one lower plastic cap and adjusted the bolt/screw to adjust the window angle. 
This did make a big difference to the angle.
But the angle was too steep and if I were to close the door the window could break:










So I found that I also had to reverse the change slightly and also adjust the upper bolt/screw to bring the upper half of the glass out. 
This reduced the angle and left the glass closer to the outside seal of the door.

These are the bolts with star key in the centre:










You have to loosen the bolt then screw/unscrew using the star key:










To make the adjustment take effect, you need to retighten the bolt slightly before testing the closure of the door. This ensures the mechanism is pulled into place correctly removing any slack you may have added depending on which way you turned the screw.
Clockwise seems to push the mechanism to the outside of the door.

After adjusting, testing, readjusting, testing, readjusting, I finally got the ideal setting where I had a ~3mm gap and the door closed normally:










In between adjustments, I was also spraying the car door (when it closed), to see if it let water down the gap.
3mm seems to stop it. It must have enough pressure on the seal.
During testing I also found it was important to ensure the pressure on the rubber st the side of the window, where it meets the rear window, was adequate to not let water in.
During all of this I noticed all the little extra rubber tabs and channels on the rubber seals around the door and frame. Those are definitely there for a purpose, as they channel the water in such a way so that the window doesn't need to be super tight against the seal.
Probably why road noise is an issue for some.

I've yet to test in real rain, but so far, under hosepipe testing, I've not seen water resting on the door seals. 🤞


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## Barr_end (Oct 19, 2016)

darrylmg said:


> Your pics were really helpful.
> Last weekend I finally got some more time to get the door cards off (again) and look at the how the glass meets the door seal on the outside.
> 
> I found that my "glass to edge of seal" gap was between 4mm & 5mm on both doors:
> ...


Good find on these!
I might have to have a play around with mine


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## MarkTheShark (9 mo ago)

Yes good find and helpful write up. I don't know where anyone would get such crazy ideas 🤣

Well looks like my door cards coming off again. Would be nice to know what the factory spec on that glass to door measurement should be.

Since you've messed around with these so much, perhaps you know why my front part of driver's door glass doesn't drop properly when I open the door? You can push it down and it feels stiff or you can lower and raise via the switches and it goes to where it should be when open.


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## darrylmg (Oct 16, 2021)

MarkTheShark said:


> Yes good find and helpful write up. I don't know where anyone would get such crazy ideas 🤣
> 
> Well looks like my door cards coming off again. Would be nice to know what the factory spec on that glass to door measurement should be.
> 
> Since you've messed around with these so much, perhaps you know why my front part of driver's door glass doesn't drop properly when I open the door? You can push it down and it feels stiff or you can lower and raise via the switches and it goes to where it should be when open.


To me that sounds like the regulator has issues. Get that big grey plastic hatch off, then get your head in there with a torch and sweep the light around where the wire flows through the regulator. You're looking for wound wire that is splitting apart.


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