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On Fri, 10 Jan 1997, Jacob Lynn Sayles I wrote: > > Are you sure the door seals are the problem? Of course if you are caught in > > the flooding out there that could be part of it, but a common problem is > > water that comes in through the vents in front of the windshield. To fix > > I do have a problem with those as well. When I was changing the > wiper moder a few months ago, I noticed the condensation on the metal > vent thing on the pass. side. That one is filled with water, but I don't > know how to drain it. The drain hose runs right throught the cab, and > it's on pretty well. My main water accumulation is farther back thought, > at the base of the seat. At first I thought it was a condensation > problem...I get a lot of water on the rear window, and the head liner, > but not enought to soak towals...well many towals. > I had similar leaks in my '71 Square, and I too thought they *had* to be the door seals. The water tends to settle where you mentioned because it's the lowest point in the pan. As you go up and down hills it seeps back and forth but will eventually settle there. Here's a couple of places to check for leaks: Take out the rear seat back and take a good look at the wheel well hubs. You may be able to look for holes from the outside of the car by inspecting the wheel wells there (especially if they're really big), but to get a really good look at any possible rust damage it's best to look from the inside. The water can be thrown right through these holes when you're driving in the rain. I hate to say it, but this sounds like your problem to me. Another place can be in the front upper left and right areas behind the dash panel. There are a series of holes for the front fenders to bolt on all along this wall and water can seep through these when it's raining a lot. Get in your car next time it's raining and lay on your back and shine a good flashlight up in those corner areas behind the dash and look for water trails down the metal. These can be fixed with a little weatherproofing sealant when things are dry. Don't be afraid to do a little detective work, you can save a lot of $$ by finding the source before buying a lot of stuff. I found a lot of my leaks by tucking paper towels or rags here and there before the rain starts and checking them in the morning, etc. (avoid contact with electrical areas, of course!) It's important to fix leaks ASAP, because this is the main way pans get rusted out, from the *inside.* The drain tubes for your fresh air vents feed through the cabin to two outlets under the gas tank. I cleaned mine out when I had the tank out (they fill up with leaves, pine needles), but you can probably do it if you crawl under there with a coat hanger and poke around a bit. The outlets are about 3/4 inch in diameter and about 6 inches apart. Avoid having a sharp point on the hanger, you don't want to put a hole in the drain. Again, it's not good having standing water here either. You probably want some goggles to do this one....If that doesn't free up the flow, the block is further up, where the drain pipe connects to the fresh air vent area. To get to this you have to take out the fresh air vent system, pull off the drain hose and poke around the metal drain hole (and also clean out the pipe while it's disconnected). It's not a fun job, but if you want to restore it someday fixing it now will save you considerable grief later! I noted that your Notch is a '67, and I quoted my experience with my '71 Square, so others on the list should feel free to correct me if the vent/drainage system is different on the earlier T3s.... Hope this helps! Doug H. fellow soggy Northwest VW owner... (Hey, mine had *moss* growing on it when I bought it!) :0