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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - water leaking via doors

Hi there

Where I live it rains almost every day, I use two sponches to suck up the water that gets in. I can see that water enters the cars via the doors. Water in on top of the lowest parts of the door seals (rubber ones which go around the door post). As the water cannot go out it goes in the car...

So:
1. what kind of door seal has the midget originally?
2. if water glides down via the side windows, where does it come out?
3. how can water end on top of the door seal
4. I can see the rubbers and seals around the side windows are old and not able the keep the water out. Will that help and which ones do I have to renew then?

Thx, Arnold
a.o. arnold

Arnold,
I don't know if this is the cause of your problem. But have you checked the drain holes in the bottom of the door? There should be 3 I think (maybe 4) I drilled mine out larger to make sure that they work properly.

If they are really blocked then rain that runs down the glass or down the quarterlight window will fill up the bottom of the door. If it gets enough in there it will overflow through the holes where the bottom of the door card fasteners fit and then dribble down onto the door seal rubber. Perhaps this is what is happening on yours?

Guy
Guy

Water gets past the seal down the glass, drips off and hits the winder mechanism and ends up dripping down card to interior as you have found out. Originally the doors have a plastic membrane stuck around inside to protect card and keep splashes inside the door itself.

A
Anthony Cutler

Ok, so what to do. Should I try lead the water out of the holes or avoid water to enter the doors?
a.o. arnold

Arnold, try to lead the water out as stopping water to come in a midget is impossible.
I have the openings in the door coverd with ducktape to prevent damp wrinkling up my doorpanels, worked fine sofar.
If you have the doors open anyway then dont forget to drench the doors bottom with waxoil between the doorframe and the outerskin.
Arie de Best

Hi,

Even with new seals you can't keep all the water out.

Do as Guy said, check, and drill oversize holes in the base of the doors. Repair any rust as neccessary, and paint with several coats of red oxide. Coat with Waxoil, loads of it (although it does make the car stink for a while).

I went the opposite way. I REMOVED the duct tape and plastic seal from the inside of the doors. I figured it was increasing condensation and worsening my rust problem inside the lower portion of the doors. So I let it breathe plenty of air.

Instead I coated the inside of the door panels with waterproofer. I Can't remember what I used now, but some brand of wood seal.

It's been 15 to 20 years, and only a little bit of rust returning to the bottom of the doors isn't bad I think.

Lawrence Slater

Taking a look again at your original post, the window seals might not be the cause of this.

It could be that the water is entering the doors at the top of the DOOR seal, and then already on the inside, appearing at the bottom as you describe, giving you a false impression of where it is actually coming from.

Remove the door panels so you can get a better look at what happens. Either wait for the rain, or get a bucket of water or a hose, and run water over the roof, and watch.

This sounds daft, but try it anyway. Remove a door seal. Then poor a little water, and see where it runs. Put the door seal back and try again.

How snugly do your door seals fit against the inside of your doors?

Can you post a picture of your door seals?
Lawrence Slater

This thread was discussed between 18/09/2011 and 19/09/2011

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