[Vwdiesel] Leaking Jetta

[Sandy Cameron]

On my 87 jetta, the leak was insidious. it would appear THE DAY AFTER the rain.

There is a groove under the plastic trim strip for the wind shield, all the
way around the windshield.

When driving in the rain, water is pushed up under the trim at the top by
the air stream. It works its way around through the groove to the bottom,
and finds a void in the sealant to get inside and drip down.
It can take a day of driving in driving rain (sic) to get it flowing, and it
may not show up on the floor for a day or 2 after, I have treated at least 3
different cars for this problem, usually older ones that have either got a
lot of years on the windshield, and the seal has failed, or right after a
replacement that had a faulty seal.

On the 87 jetta, a small rust blister on the roof right at the seal made me
suspicious, after I sanded and re-painted it, the leak stopped. The paint
had sealed the joint between the trim and the roof. 

A few years later, (I've been driving this car for 17 years) it started to
leak again. I tore off the plastic trim all around and sealed it all with
black bathtub caulk, never leaked again.

A friends 90 jetta developed the same syndrome, but in his case he was fussy
about the appearance of the repair, so we got a couple of tubes of the
bathtub caulk, and cut the tip off the nozzel close to the pointy end. 

Starting at the top center of the windshield, working the tip under the
trim, and filled the channel underneath, all the way down around to the
center bottom, then repeated it on the other side. 

Done in the shade, you have time to wipe off any "mistakes" with a wet rag
afterwords.
Never leaked again.

By ze way, bevare of zose venomous vinshield vipers vaiting to jump up and
bite you.

( I wish I could do the accent :^))

Sandy