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MG MGF Technical - Leaks solved!

Just a quick thank you to everyone for their suggestions, and I have finally now got a dry (well relatively dry) MGF.

The boot leak was solved by lifting the rubber seal around the boot and putting sealant around it. The seal had obviously deteriorated somewhere along it and by putting the sealant underneath the seal there is no unsightly mess.

The driver’s side leak, which was coming through the clutch pedal, has seemingly stopped, all I did was remove the Under Bonnet Closing Panel and after finding no visible point of entry, replaced it. I can only assume that the Panel had not been fitted properly and had been letting the water through.

The passenger side, I eventually found had two leaks, one was the heater box seal, I solved this by removing the glove compartment and the removing the large heater intake duct. When this is removed you can see the hole in the bulkhead where the air comes in and the seal around it. There are two lips that protrude over each other to prevent water from entering. If you have someone pour some water whilst looking underneath the dashboard you can see how it is designed.

The problem was that the lips were not far enough over each other. All I did cut a piece of plastic and glued it to the lip. This prevented the water from falling in the wrong place.

The second leak on the passenger side was coming in through a small hole just around the wheel arch, which looked as if it was man-made rather than accidential/corrossionWater was only letting in when driven in wet conditions. Silicone sealant has solved this problem.


So now I have a dry(ish) car rather than a couple of inches in the passenger side, soaked carpets in the drivers side and a boot that is now smelling less of stagnant water.

Thanks to everyone who put an input into my problems and I hope that the above may be of help to others, considering the weather at the moment I’m sure more are discovering leaks.

Cheers

Phil
P Barks

Phil, can you please allaborate on this


The driver’s side leak, which was coming through the clutch pedal, has seemingly stopped, all I did was remove the Under Bonnet Closing Panel and after finding no visible point of entry, replaced it. I can only assume that the Panel had not been fitted properly and had been letting the water through.

its just im i n the same boat you were and its driving me crazy, i cant seem to solve the drivers side. Cheers GC
G.C


Bruce Caldwell
Northants
UK
Posted 29 November 2002 at 19:05:24 UK time
The clutch master cylinder is bolted to the bulkhead above your feet. It has a gasket to prevent water leaking around it but if the bolts (2) are loose then you may get your problem. Check them out. You will have to remove the black plastic cover (officially known as the Under Bonnet Closing panel) which hides the clutch and brake cylinders to some extent.

HTH

Bruce


...............................


Following on from Bruce's advice I checked for the two bolts but that didnt seem to be it, so disgruntled I put the Panel (the big black thing) back in place, which can be a little awkward to do. Also I had a vinyl tile which Id got from a DIY store, which is quite flexible, and put a piece of this behind the panel as well, and so far it has been successful.
P Barks

Some of these bolts holding the panel over the pedals have a spiral groove running along the threads ,this can allow free passage for water, either remove bolts and replace with standard bolts or use a a sealer on the threads and under the head and refit.HTH.
Mike.
mike

Just had a look under the bonnet and can see the offending gasket around the plate. Was trying to seal it from the inside, under the dashboard before and failed miserably. Cheers guys now i know where to attack with some more silicone ! ! !
Gary.
G.C

I have a leak on the passenger side door window. Is it worth getting the car looked at under warranty, or could that cause more trouble?

It only leaks under certain conditions, rain direct onto the window, or perhaps when the seal is the wrong side of the glass?
Tony White

Interesting! I've got a severe leak on the drivers side resulting in a sopping wet carpet and mat. I hardly use the car so it stands around a lot (I don't have a garage) - I think the water leaks in when it's parked rather than when I'm driving. I'm keen to look into the source of the leak - is there an idiots guide to solving the problem? Where should I pour water in the first place to identify the leak?

Any handy hints how to identify the under bonnet closing panel? I'm not totally clueless - I did manage to fit my K&N with instructions that one of you guys posted so can follow instructions!

Cheers,
Rich.
Richard

The under bonet closing panel is the large (3ft) black plastic cover, there are a couple of nuts to remove, you may have to take the spare tyre out to get to the bottom of the panel.
P Barks

This thread was discussed between 06/01/2003 and 14/01/2003

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