Rover 75 - the old boot leak problem

[Edward Huggins]

Being aware of this issue and having read the many and various Posts on here, I thought I would get ahead of the game and so have lined my boot with thick polythene sheeting all over the boot carpet and up the side walls. BUT....having noticed, over time, serious condensation and mould forming on the inside (door linings/dash/seating) I checked the boot and there was no apparent water pooling on top of the sheeting. I could not work it out. I then lifted up the sheeting I had installed, only to find the boot carpet soaking and dripping into the boot well around the spare tyre. How can the water get in if the boot floor area is carefully lined to protect it from ingress? HELP! I have a March 2005 Rover 75 CDTi.

[Oldoaks]

A multitude of areas unfortunately. Do you have a saloon or Tourer?

Obviously there is slight variation on ingress points based on the two body styles, but generally speaking, rear light seals, side trims, and boot vents are good places to start.

I have also come across side windows letting water in and also a dislodged parking sensor loom bung as another point of entry.

[KLM]

Hi Water enters the boot under the carpet via the foam seals failing which are situated between the rear light clusters and the bodywork.
new seals are available from a guy on this forum.
P.S It's an easy fix.
Kev.

[onceaknight]

I used a roll of Bytle sealer on the rear lens and chrome side strip fasterners. Not a drop of the wet stuff..so far. Previously it was goggles, trunks, flippers and water arm bands going to the shops. All I needed was bucket, spade and sand to make a day of it.

[suzublu]

Quick fix for the light seals is to remove the lights, the seal will more than likely have split. Reglue back together and refit to the opposite light

[trikey]

The seam sealer is beginning to suffer with age I’m afraid, captain Tolley can cure the issue though.

[Saga Lout]

I found the ZT leaking from the light seals, the waist rails and just under the left edge of the screen, it was getting into the seam there and it's bad enough to need my welding some new metal in there when I set about the bodywork in the new year. I used Tiger seal to seal the lights after gluing the seals together and blobbed some over the other bits, so far it's dry. Like Andy says, the sealer is getting old and splitting in places, my ZT was letting water in just behind the bonnet hinges due to splitting sealer on both sides, this water was what got under the floor soundproofing and it's all been replaced now for peace of mind, my floor will stay good but others will rot out from inside, of that I'm 100% certain.

[chris75]

Remove the sheeting and see if things improve . I am not sure but I think there are vents in the boot ; have you blocked them ? I also imagine that condensation may be a problem because of the sheeting

[COLVERT]

My car was leaking from the clips holding the rubber of the rear screen. The metal was sound so I just lifted the edge of the rubber up and sprayed WD 40 along the clips.
Now best part of ten years ago and no leaks since.--

The gold fish in the wheel well were definitely not happy.---

[Edward Huggins]

Originally Posted by Oldoaks

A multitude of areas unfortunately. Do you have a saloon or Tourer?

Obviously there is slight variation on ingress points based on the two body styles, but generally speaking, rear light seals, side trims, and boot vents are good places to start.

I have also come across side windows letting water in and also a dislodged parking sensor loom bung as another point of entry.

My car is a Saloon. Please advise what are the "Boot Vents".