Hi and Please Help!

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone.

Have been lurking for several months and now that I have a '2 have decided to register and join.   s8) s8)  

I've had my car a few weeks; its a W reg. UK model and has the common alloy bubbling so will get a refurb sometime soon on those. The previous owner has somehow managed to fit the same size tyres all round: 185/55/15's   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  This makes the handling kinda interesting, seemingly making it easier to have 'moments' ? Obviously a bit of a priority to get these changed!

I'm also getting a tiny bit of vibration under heavy acceleration in 1st and 2nd similar to this thread so I'm assuming new tyres and a wheel balancing should sort it out?

Finally there is an intermittent roof leak. Similar to this thread,and this one.  It seems to be coming from where the seals 'join' half way along the windows and the seal from this point towards the front of the car. Mr T have adjusted the roof and lubricated the seals and spent two hours FOC trying to fix it for me, but say that there's not much more they can do without charging and changing parts. Does anyone have any ideas/tips on how to fix the leaks or prices on how much seal replacement is likely to cost? (Parts and labour)

Sorry to ask so many questions, and thanks in advance for your help.

Roo

[Anonymous]

did you buy the car from a mr t garage? if so demand they rectify the leaking roof. the car is not fit for its intended purpose etc.

[Anonymous]

did you buy the car from a mr t garage? if so demand they rectify the leaking roof. the car is not fit for its intended purpose etc.

Hi. No, the car wasn't bought from a Mr T garage. It was however bought second hand from a trader so very much covered by the legislation. It's a year 2000 W with near 50k miles on it. I know that under the Sales of Goods Act there is of 'reasonable quality' and 'fit for the purpose' tests, but these tests do take into consideration the age and characteristics (e.g. mileage etc.) of the vehicle.

Toyota did say that it is quite rare for a soft top to leak, and that the seals are in 'OK' condition, but that seal replacement would be the next thing to do. Think it would be worth a call to Trading Standards to see if it is worth pursuing?

Thanks for replying so quickly!

[heathstimpson]

I have heard of very few problems with leaking hoods to be honest.

[kanujunkie]

where was the water collecting then?

i had a similar problem recently after Mr.T fitted the seals on the wrong way round, i.e. the left one on the right door and vica versa. Could also be worth making sure the seals havn't dried out in the join or that the tiny flap of rubber that seals the join hasn't become detached

[Anonymous]

The leak is coming from where the seals join, halfway along the window on both sides. I guess this is where a fold is when you put the roof down? (Would be able to take photos tomorrow)

The water seems to be collecting and then very quickly overflowing from the joint in the seal between where the upper and lower 'lips' come together. It's letting quite a bit through and is dropping straight down onto the passenger seat; at first letting a stream through and then drops in lighter rain. Mr T have lubricated seals and adjusted roof and say that seal condition seems to be ok. I'm not sure whether the lips from each side are coming together correctly or whether the flow of water is too much or what's causing it? (flap of rubber seems ok)

Bit of a pain as I'm really enjoying everything else about having the car. It's great to drive!

Cheers

Roo

[kanujunkie]

take some piccies and we'll have another look

[heathstimpson]

where was the water collecting then?

i had a similar problem recently after Mr.T fitted the seals on the wrong way round, i.e. the left one on the right door and vica versa.

How dumb is that  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[kanujunkie]

where was the water collecting then?

i had a similar problem recently after Mr.T fitted the seals on the wrong way round, i.e. the left one on the right door and vica versa.

How dumb is that  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Tell me about it, strange thing is, it aint obvious that its wrong, they just leak badly and have a small ripple on the rear edge. The tell tale was the small flap points the wrong way round

[Anonymous]

kanujunkie, I've just got back in from taking photos. They can be found Here

Things I've spotted:

In this photo of the passenger seal, part of it is getting trapped against the window, whereas the drivers side seal seems to be fine - doubt this would cause a leak though as the window and seal are meeting.

This is probably the best picture of the passenger side seal. It seems slightly looser than the driver side one. I've also dropped and raised both windows: the driver's side one is fine and locks straight in. There is however, some movement on the passenger side seal when the window is raised

Any ideas appreciated.

Cheers all,

Roo

[red_leicester]

In this photo of the passenger seal, part of it is getting trapped against the window, whereas the drivers side seal seems to be fine - doubt this would cause a leak though as the window and seal are meeting

You're right on that one, mine are just like that and there's no problem with leaks.

[roger]

Can't say if its the answer to the leak, but it may be that you (or a previous owner) may have put the hood back up without winding down the window (or opening the door).

I did this once by mistake and the rubbers certainly didn't settle into the right position, I actually had wind noise. Never done it since   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  


Suggest a bit of trial and error with the roof / windows might show you if the passenger side isn't fitting nicely. Then its a case of trying to force the rubber to remember it's correct position.

[kanujunkie]

Roo, can you take a few pictures of the door seal with the door open looking up at the seal. And........

[Anonymous]

kanujunkie - Yes, no problem will take those photos tomorrow.

The side you have highlighted in the pic above is the driver's side, which has only leaked slightly and leaks much less than the passenger side, which let it loads of water yesterday.

I will check for the tear and the seal positioning like you say when I take the photos tomorrow and let you know.

Thanks again for your help.

Roo

[Anonymous]

Roo

It maybe helpful to know where you're located as you maybe close to another member so you could meet and compare seals etc.

[Anonymous]

bizarrely enough, I too have a leak!

it's taken me a while to narrow down exactly where it's coming from, but it's from the join towards the front 3rd of the window, where the roof seal joins the door pillar. looks like the roof isn't lining up properly....   s:( s:(  

there seems to be a small hole/tube in the middle of the seal that runs down the length of the seal to let water from the roof run down the inside of the pillar to the bottom of the windscreen-door pillar...? if that makes any sense?!?

if anyones local and fancies meeting up for 20mins one evening, it'd be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Have taken the photos looking up at the seal with the doors open, as requested. Added six to the gallery with "NEW:" next to them. They can be found here.

Passenger side definitely leaking the most. This is the best picture of where the water is coming from.

Strange thing is that it is intermittent - rained all night and no leak *touch wood*   s:? :? s:?  

kanujunkie: In the photo that you posted, the seal is on the right side of the window, and there is the tiniest of gaps, however the glass goes up behind it into the top of the seal and can't see how water would get in? This side hasn't been leaking very much. What you highlighted is a slight tear, but it is really really tiny, i.e. a couple of mm. Sure this wouldn't cause water ingress as the layers below are waterproof?

Something else I spotted is this - Unfortunately can't see it that well from the photo but its a small (1cm ish) tear on the hood behind the passenger window - not noticed any leak from this, and think it would just drain through the hood drains?  wouldn't think that it's a worry because of where it is?

DavidM: Good idea - profile edited.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your help.

Roo.

[kanujunkie]

following your picture of where you say the water is mostly coming from i'd say your Mr.T guys are speaking crap, that seal looks incorrectly fitted to me, the 2 sections should line up better than that  s:? :? s:?  and also the softop shouldn't line up on the seal like this

i'll take some pictures tomorrow of mine and post them for you to look at and compare, but i'd say you need to get a different garage to look at it

[Anonymous]

Did think that the roof sat a bit too far away from the seal when looking down  on it.   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  

In the picture of the seal I linked to above, you can see daylight in the seal if you look from the drivers seat at a 45 degree angle towards the back of the car - so the seal isn't meeting at the glass. Suppose the rubber could be shot after 5 years of use? Weird thing is, drivers side meets perfectly!

See what you mean about Mr T! - and all this after they have used 2 hours labout on the car 'adjusting the roof' and 'lubricating and checking' the seals.  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

TVM for taking the pics for me   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Roo

[kanujunkie]

Suppose the rubber could be shot after 5 years of use? Weird thing is, drivers side meets perfectly!

doubtful, unless of course its been like that for a while and has finally given up on life, we have loads of older 2's that are fine

TVM for taking the pics for me   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Roo

no, worries  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[kanujunkie]

Roo, i'm going to appologise, i took a load of pictures on my phone, but the quality was so terrible i've deleted them, i'll take some on saturday when the weathers a bit dryer

[Anonymous]

No problem! Thanks for helping me at all!

The weather is really crap at the moment  s:( s:(  Think i've jinxed it by buying a soft top car!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Was out in it earlier cleaning the drains as the storage bins were full of water! The joys of teething problems... getting there though.

Cheers

Roo

[kanujunkie]

if you cut a small V in the bottom of the flap behind the side intake then that will help stop it from bunging up in future

[Anonymous]

The roof is still leaking on the passenger side at the moment, in the same seal as before. Any more tips or ideas before I take it in to Mr T for them to look at /replace seals?

Cheers

Roo

[kanujunkie]

sorry i didn't upload this last night Roo, bloody power cut left it too late by the time it came back on again. The gap you see between the roof and the seal is approx 1mm