General Body rust?

[combwork]

Hi,

I've read some threads about leaky sunroof seals and door seals. I'm kind of guessing here but in general seals don't always fail dramaitcally; sometimes they leak a little first. Is rust around the edges of sunroof/door frame or damaged switches due to long term damp a problem with the Multipla? I've not bought one yet; the one up the road from me developed more problems and one in a local auction had high milage for the year plus a noisy engine.

 

[Maggie]

I have not had any problems with leaking dooe seals (touching half a forest worth of timber around my home). But I have had the common problem with leaking sunroofs. I think you have hit on part of the problem as I had to seal around the sunroof frame yesterday to abate the cascade of water coming through the front sunroof and into the roof lining, which found that it could escape via the roof switch panel and soak driver and middle front seat squabs.

Whilst doing this I did notice the tell tale slight bubbling of the aluminium roof frame indicating some oxidation hasd occured under the powder coated paint. Obviously this has not happened overnight!! I also feel that this has occured due to the width of the car and the fact that with two wide sunroofs, that the roof is not as rigid as in 'normal' vehicles and flexes.

Naturally, any sealant material originally used will over time weaken or perish over time especially if under additional stress of flexing, and if standing water is present then it does not take Einsteen to make an educated guess.

I have as most people have done in this situation, taken the easy route of using a sealant around the external edge of the frame. However, do not believe this to be a long term fix as the frame will ideally need to be removed and the original sealant removed and reapplied for a longer term fix. Nevertheless Niaggra Falls appears to have abated in the short term at least!!

Mags

 

[combwork]

Thanks Mags,

I'm potentially a new Multipla owner and trying to break the habits of a lifetime by finding as much as I can about common problems before I buy:chin: