Outdoor QPV wet weather worries - any drains need clearing?

[mowlas]

Many people on here are very against outdoor covers, saying that any grit inside the cover will scratch the paintwork over time, with weather, etc. Also moisture will sit inside, rather than drying out on fair weather days. I have no personal experience of them.

View attachment 120342

A better alternative to covers I think are sunshades to protect the interior from UV damage (off topic) are a must. But my car has been on my drive without a cover for 15 years and the paint is in good condition thanks to regular treatment and washing. I also lubricate all the rubber trims with proper treatment, not rubber dressing products (e.g. Liqui Moly https://amzn.eu/d/2razil0) which has kept them dark and supple.

And of course, keep all the drainage channels clear as discussed here already.

 

[Harvey_Tim]

first to go will be your handbrake cables which will rust and seize

Other than preventing the boot from getting wet is there anything that can be done to prevent this, such a lubrication / greasing up the relevant parts?

 

[conaero]

Other than preventing the boot from getting wet is there anything that can be done to prevent this, such a lubrication / greasing up the relevant parts?

Yes, remove all the boot trim, find a small person, a torch and a hose

 

[williamsmix]

Can anyone recommend a decent all-weather cover for a QP V? Mine (2009) will be sat on the drive 95% of the time so it'd be nice to keep it cosy over winter....

I have a Covercraft cover for my 3200 when it’s outside. It’s tailored to fit and is breathable. It protects from UV as well as the rain. They probably do one for a QP and they’re reasonably priced. You just need to be careful before you put the cover on; be sure to wipe / wash off any particles of dust or dirt from the paintwork or it may scratch.

 

[MarkMas]

Yes, remove all the boot trim, find a small person, a torch and a hose

... now, beat the small person with the hose, until they agree to use the (oxy) torch to seal all the gaps in the panels.

 

[MarkMas]

View attachment 120234

Water alarm went off last night. I will have to look at the weekend to see how much water is in the boot .....

 

[MarkMas]

Water alarm went off last night. I will have to look at the weekend to see how much water is in the boot .....

View attachment 120413

By the time I looked in the boot this morning, the only thing that was actually wet was the sensor on the water alarm! But some of the boot liner was pretty damp. Mostly dried out now, and I have repositioned the alarm sensor so it should only alert to about a cm of water sloshing about. Also found the proper screws for the spare tyre tub, so could replace the assortment of bolts and washers that had been put in for me last time it was being dried out. I suppose I should be trying to find where the small amount of water got in, but not today!

 

[Ebenezer]

So I took advantage of the clear skies and bravely dismantled my boot to find..


Quite a lot of water. Dried out with a towel, and saw that the screws holding down the ecu nasty and brown, so sprayed liberally with WD40.

What's directly beneath where the water pools? Has anyone drilled a hole?

Eb

 

[MarkMas]

So I took advantage of the clear skies and bravely dismantled my boot to find..
View attachment 120476

Quite a lot of water. Dried out with a towel, and saw that the screws holding down the ecu nasty and brown, so sprayed liberally with WD40.

What's directly beneath where the water pools? Has anyone drilled a hole?

Eb

Yes.

Below the tub there just seems to be a flimsy, flappy shield made of pressed cardboard and grated parmesan rinds. But I suppose there may be other things in there....

Because I am not brave, I asked SportsItalia to drill a couple of drain holes down from the tub and some corresponding ones up from the shield. Which seems to work. Presumably they didn't drill into anything important....

Also, on my previous QPV, I replaced the boot seal, which seemed to reduce the water ingress.

 

[Harvey_Tim]

After a lot more heavy rain, I checked my boot again yesterday and although it smelt a bit damp and the lining seemed a little damp to the touch there was no obvious water ingress anywhere and happily the area where the EPB lives was dry.

However whilst cleaning the interior I happened to pull down the rear seat arm rest and was surprised to find moisture on the back panel (behind where the arm rest lives in its upright position). Anyone had this before and can advise where it might be coming from?

I am going to put some moisture traps in the boot to see if this helps.

 

[gb-gta]

I seem to remember once seeing a technique to find water leaks inside a car by using some kind of smoke machine. Fills the interior with smoke and where it can be seen seeping out is probably the same place water can get in. Not sure if this would work inside a boot though because unless the leakage was the main boot seal you may not see where the smoke goes!

Or I may be talking nonsense.

 

[Harvey_Tim]

I seem to remember once seeing a technique to find water leaks inside a car by using some kind of smoke machine. Fills the interior with smoke and where it can be seen seeping out is probably the same place water can get in. Not sure if this would work inside a boot though because unless the leakage was the main boot seal you may not see where the smoke goes!

Or I may be talking nonsense.

Not nonsense at all, I think they did this on an episode of Wheeler Dealers to an Aston Martin. However as you say I am not sure this would work in the boot!

 

[Harvey_Tim]

It will probably do bugger all, but as an experiment I have put 1kg of Silica Gel Desiccant (safely sealed in a mesh bag) in the boot to see if it absorbs the damp, it should change from Orange to dark Green when it needs recharging in the microwave. Fits nicely in the pocket by the battery:

 

[Ebenezer]

Because I am not brave, I asked SportsItalia to drill a couple of drain holes down from the tub and some corresponding ones up from the shield. Which seems to work. Presumably they didn't drill into anything important....

So because you have holes, by the time your alarm goes off, the water has drained?
Eb

 

[MarkMas]

So because you have holes, by the time your alarm goes off, the water has drained?
Eb

Exactly. Just leaving a little blob of water trapped between the tub and the sensor, so the alarm keeps going after it has all drained.

I suppose the sensible answer is drains OR alarm, not both.

 

[Ebenezer]

Need drains!
Eb

 

[MarkMas]

Need drains!
Eb

Drill, baby, drill!

 

[jemgee]

I found water sloshing around in the wheel well 2 or 3 times. I could not find any ingress via the boot seals. I had suspected the window seal round the rear window and bought a tube of black RTV seal from Amazon. Very tricky to get a neat finish but it sorted it out.

Both the front and rear screen seals seemed to have shrunk back from the body particularly on the radius bends.

 

[Harvey_Tim]

Continuing this thread, although the boot is a little damp I seem to be lucky that not much water is finding its way in …. however I do have a problem with a wet drivers side footwell. I have done much googling and everything that I have found relates to the water in the passenger side footwell. Does anyone know of any issues that can cause water in the drivers footwell? (Note I do not have a sunroof).

 

[Ebenezer]

Further to my discovering water in the boot well, I checked again recently and have found that the rear of the boot (ie next to the number plate) boot lining is very damp so it must be getting in around the base of the boot lid
Eb