Is there anyone within an hour or so of Southampton who would be willing to help me fix my rain rail? I can see exactly where the water comes into the cabin. I’ve had everything apart today and although I can see a couple of possible problems I cant really see how to fix it. All the posts on here talk about duck tape and sealant - but I’ve put everything back together and its still leaking (kettle test confirmed water still getting in!).
If someone was willing to give up a couple of hours of their time to help I’ll gladly bring along the biscuits…
Thanks in advance
Ian
Is the lip of the roof actually “in” the rain rail. If it is either side of it instead of enveloped in it then it will leak.
Did you take everything off the studs and remove the rain rail to apply the Gaffa tape to the rain rail (sealing the unused rivvet holes and any cracks) before putting it back on?
I would be there in a flash to help if you were a it closer, sorry.
It is also extremely important to tighten the spreader bars in the correct sequence:
http://www.miata.net/garage/rainrail.html
Hi Halli, thanks for your response.
I didnt take everything apart - I got scared when it came to totally dismantling the whole rain rail / hood assembly. I left the last couple of studs towards the door attached (put the bolts back on once I’d taken the plates off) so I didnt end up with a mess I couldnt put back together again.
At the back / middle of the hood I could pull the rail and hood off the studs and see the holes where water is probabaly coming in - but you would need to take the rail out to really get at them and make them waterproof - which is where I stopped. If you tell me it is as easy to dissassemble and reassemble the hood all the way round, which would mean you could then take the rail out to work on, I’ll have another go?
I’m still very pleased with the progress I did make - 12 months ago changing the wheel was about the limit of my mechanical ability and now I’ve done rear calipers and am making progress with this job. If I could get the rail out, repair and reinstall everything - and stop my leak I would be a very happy man indeed!
Thanks for the note about tigheting sequence SAZ9961.[;)]
Is this rainrail actually attached to the hood (ie. hood has been replaced at sometime)? At either end, the hood should be attached to the body by a plastic trim stud. I haven’t found a decent way to remove this stud, and have in the past just snipped it off at the head. If you can remove this stud,and the rain rail isn’t actually attached to the hood, its fairly easy to remove the rainrail, clean it up, repair and refit. If it is still attached to the hood, bit more of a bind, but with the hood up, you can still unhook it to work on.
Ok. I’ve done another hours research and I think two things are clear:
- the holes that people report finding in the rain rail are caused by the original hood being riveted to the rail - the holes are where the rivets were. Chances are that if you have a leak, condensation in either the boot or the cabin or any other evidence of water, and the hood has been replaced - water is getting in through these holes.
- there does seem to be some sort of conector, screw, rivet, etc at the point where the hood meets the door opening. Rods manual is very unclear and I can not find an explanation anywhere that helps me to understand what this is or whether I will be able to reassemble once I’ve taken it apart. Saz I think this is the bit you are refering to?
Now I know that the rail has to come out (and is easy to fix once it is out) and those pesky rivet holes are the source of all woes I’m going to just have to go for it the next time I have a ‘free’ day and some reasonable weather!
I am going to be one happy bunny once I get this fixed and have a dry interior…
Yes, at either end the rainrail is secured in place by the same sort of plastic stud you see on the carpet. A removal tool can be made from an old fork, to lever these out without damaging the stud. Unfortunately, I find it awkward to extract this particular stud. On my last car, when I changed the hood, I left these studs off, with no ill effect.