Remove glove compartment

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Coldcut

New member
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
96
I have a leak in the passenger footwell and although iv'e tried to seal all under the scuttle panel,i still have the leak.
It was hard to get to the wiring loom part so i thought it better to seal inside.
I have got all the carpet up and if i can get the glove compartment out of the way,i can reach up inside the top corner and seal it their.
Is it possible to remove the glove compartment?
Or is it all moulded into the dash?
I dont mean just undoing the 2 screws at the bottom and removing the front panel,i mean the actually bulk of the compartment.
 
part of the dash, can remove the rubber bung from engine bay side and then seal it back in place
 
As Steavie says, taking out the dash is a right PITA. Access to the loom from the engine bay is a lot easier if you take off the thin panel with the rubber seal off which is just a few self tapping screws and a couple of plugs. You can also take of the cabin filter which gives even easier access to the loom as it's only held on with 4 x 8mm screws. Other things to look out for are if the heater drain is blocked the water will come out of the vents at the bottom of the heater into the footwell and if yours is a really early car there's a chance that the flange between the scuttle and the bulkhead is rotten and letting water in. You can check for this in the engine bay using a mirror under the forward facing flange just above the tube that transfers brake pedal to the servo.
Barry
 
Far more access from above - upper heater box will come out engine bay side and you'll be able to see more clearly around the wiring grommets. I wouldn't approach the problem from inside - if the water has made it that far you're already in trouble.
 
Ian G said:
[post]362962[/post] I wouldn't approach the problem from inside - if the water has made it that far you're already in trouble.
100% agree with Ian on this.

Plus, many car problems don't need car type solutions. There are a vast range of products around that are designed for flat roof leaks that can easily fix stuff like this - flashing tapes, trowelling mastics, etc, etc. Obviously, it's always neater if you can directly access, or even know, the leaking area. But, if you have limited access or no idea where the leak is, then just blitz the area with a specialised sealer aerosol and extension tube. Designed to seal already damp areas/surfaces and to be thin enough to follow the same path/route that water does and then seal the area with a permanently flexible seal. Do 3 coats and allow each to dry.

Did this 4 years back on a mate's motor and never leaked since. The area is never going to get any 'concours' prizes, but it sure don't let in water now.
 
Cheers all for the info but i think i will still have trouble getting right down to the wiring loom to seal it properly if it is leaking from their.
I did start removing the panel but i must have caught one of the heater control valve pipes and the thing broke off completely :-( :-( :-(
So i had to make a fix with some 15mm copper pipe and some plastic tubing and fix it and seal it to the hcv which had perished completely.
2 hours later after the seal had set,off to ford to get a new hcv so that was a bumper.

It does seem very tight in their and i don't fancy yanking the beggar out to find that i'll have a game to get it back in and you never know if you have got it seated just right.
I had a 1tr.container which i filled with water,it had a small nozzle which i squirted all the water around the wiring loom bunk and all in that area,then i did it again and i got nothing in the footwell!
However when it pisses down i get water inside lol.
I know it's comimg from the top of the inside bulkhead and not from the bottom of the footwell,i cut out the front carpet and underlay and ripped it out as much as i can going upwards and i can feel it when i put my hand up in the corner
i'll get a specialised sealer aerosol and extension tube and do it that way if i don't find the beggar!
One think i did find by accident,when i opened the passenger door,i noticed that i was missing a bolt at the top of the inside wing.
It was replaced years ago from someone going into the side off me,anyway i didnt have a bolt so i sealed it.

Got a name or link to this specialised sealer aerosol?
 
Coldcut said:
[post]362973[/post] I had a 1tr.container which i filled with water,it had a small nozzle which i squirted all the water around the wiring loom bunk and all in that area,then i did it again and i got nothing in the footwell!
However when it pisses down i get water inside lol.
You really need to pin down the area that's leaking before doing anything else, I reckon.

You know when you open the boot after it has been raining and how water just pours down that boot gutter? That's happening everywhere when it rains, it comes down as a 'spray', but runs down like a river. So...no more Mr Nice Guy here......line the footwell with newspaper, get a 9ltr watering can filled with water and add some drops of red food colour to it, then pour that down across the windscreen. Check newspaper. Then do the same high at the side and whack the door and A pillar, but this time add blue food colour. Get the idea? If you get a hit on the side, then red for the door and blue for the A pillar and so on. This is an old school troubleshooting method that never fails to locate the perp.

Again, Ian is right, the windscreen is a possible perp here. From what you've written above, if I had to bet? - coming in to the left of the passenger's left foot. Method above, means no one has to guess or bet.

Coldcut said:
[post]362973[/post]
Got a name or link to this specialised sealer aerosol?
I can't find a record of what I used, but it was something like a spray version of this (read the reviews) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selling-Waterproof-instantly-surfaces-asbestos/dp/B002HY2EJ2/ref=pd_vtph_201_bs_tr_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TBR4V03SFTB57A289KDJ

I cannot emphasis enough how important that 'can apply to wet or damp surfaces' bit is. Cheap mastic spray just doesn't adhere to damp surfaces and all leaking areas, by definition, are damp.

Good hunting. :)
 
No Ian, original windscreen.

Great idea Frank, that will be next on the list to do.
I better pick me up some disposal gloves too whilst im at it otherwise I'll look like a smurf with blue hands :) :)

Cheers guys and thanks for the link Frank. :grin:
 
tuonokid said:
[post]362961[/post] As Steavie says, taking out the dash is a right PITA. Access to the loom from the engine bay is a lot easier if you take off the thin panel with the rubber seal off which is just a few self tapping screws and a couple of plugs. You can also take of the cabin filter which gives even easier access to the loom as it's only held on with 4 x 8mm screws. Other things to look out for are if the heater drain is blocked the water will come out of the vents at the bottom of the heater into the footwell and if yours is a really early car there's a chance that the flange between the scuttle and the bulkhead is rotten and letting water in. You can check for this in the engine bay using a mirror under the forward facing flange just above the tube that transfers brake pedal to the servo.
Barry

Apologies for hijacking this post but I have a question regarding the above comment about the heater drain being blocked... I'm new to puma ownership, last week my wife and daughter were out in the car and my daughter said hot water dripped on her leg "from under the glove box area". The heater was on at the time so I presume it was related but I have no idea where to start looking for the source of the hot water! Can anyone advise?
 
Hi
If you open one of your cars doors and crouch down you can see the vents for warming your feet under the dashboard facing towards the doors. If the heater radiator is leaking there's a chance that hot water could drip out of this but you would be loosing water out of your cooling system. Best bet is to keep an eye on the coolant level in your expansion tank (the white tank with the yellow cap in the engine bay). if the heater drain is blocked it's more likely you will get cold water coming out of the same vents. If you crouch down and look in the drivers side door if your car has a heater drain (not sure on earlier cars) you can see a narrow rubber tube that goes from the bottom of the heater box through the floor of the car. This gets blocked up with crud and in heavy rain the heater box will get water in and spew it out of the vents onto the footwell carpets.
Barry
 

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