roof rail attachment on estate

sdelasal · Post by **sdelasal** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:24 pm

I suspect some dampness getting into the roof lining of the estate & I just noticed that one of the rear roof rail 'feet', next to the tailgate, looks somewhat lifted compared to the one the other side. Before I start dismantling & perhaps damaging things, has anyone any idea how these are attached? On the top surface there is a rubber/plastic square shape affair - do I dig that out and find a nut underneath ? Or do I need to remove headlining for access?

barry badger · Post by **barry badger** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:55 pm

Remove the square plastic plug and there is a 6mm cap head bolt underneath, it takes a 5mm allen key. These bolts will not be the source of your leak as they do not go through to the inside. Where abouts is the roof lining damp?

sdelasal · Post by **sdelasal** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:55 pm

Thanks Barry - In some places, there looks to be evidence of mould on the roof lining - it's not damp to touch though. How do the 6mm bolts attach to the roof then?

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:01 pm

That mould staining came from a time when there was a leak, but the previous owner to me fixed the leak (it was roof rail related I think). Both he and I tried to remove the marks left by the mould but it wouldn't shift. Is this a new leak?

barry badger · Post by **barry badger** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:04 am

The bolts screw into rectangular bosses welded to the roof. Hopefully as philip says the marks are from an old leak. I would pull the front carpets up to check the underlay is dry just to be sure.

Jayboy · Post by **Jayboy** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:52 pm

Been brought up recently elsewhere:

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic ... sc&start=0

Could well be that the water is penetrating the side cappings at the edge of the roof. There is no way for water to gain access to the interior from the roof rail mountings. I haven't yet tried the sealant method on my two that have the problem but sounds promising from the post...

barry badger · Post by **barry badger** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 11:58 pm

The leak on my tzd is now definitely fixed we've had some torrential downpours up here in the north and the car has remained dry. However there are no celebrations from me, I have mentioned on previous posts that the water leak was only one of four significant problems. One of those is poor starting hot and cold. I have had a few halfhearted attempts at this problem but have just come in from the garage now after looking into this problem in depth.....I have checked:- pump timing,cam timing,glow plugs and operation, pump fueling,and valve clearances. As far as I can see now there are only two possibilities remaining, Injectors (but there is no excessive smoke and power is good) or pistons/bores. The car has only done 93,000 miles I can't believe it could be pistons at this mileage.
I will compression test it in the morning, does anyone know what compression pressures I should be looking for on cranking?