Hi Folks,
Just got my new (to me) wagon. It's in fine shape, apart from the dreaded leaks. i have a waterfall coming out from the inside of the tailgate panel when i lift it up after heavy rain. I've replaced the door seal to no avail. Today i'm taking it to get the window sealed. (Rear window was leak tested by glass shop, but i didn't think enough to fill tailgate).

I also have water coming in under the dash, passenger side,migrating along the floor edge to the rear footwell. I thought it was from the tailgate, leaking under the 3rd seat storage forward, but it's from the front. All the vent/hood drains are clear--right down to the ones in the wheel wells. When the car was parked on a slight ride high side angle, the water dripped from under the glove box. I poured water in the wiper vents, which gushed out the bottom of the car, but didn't increased drips inside. Then i dumped water only on the windshield, which increased drips. A glass shop also confirmed the windshield leak is toast.

I bought her from a dealer who said condensation inside was from 'steam cleaning.' Yeah, right. With him not available for 4 more days, i'm going to go ahead and see if they can urethane seal the windows as a temporary measure. ($100). Then i will go after the dealer for front/back windshield re + re/seals. I want this done properly and think he should pay for it--car was sitting since august on his lot. There's no way he didn't know it had leaks!

BTW, no sunroof. I haven't checked under the battery tray, but there is almost no corrosion/rust at all on the battery/tray, and as i said, drips increased with water only directly on windshield, not when poured into the drains/hood vent.

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Mike
Vancouver, BC
'79 300td 60k miles!
import from Japan

You're experiencing one of the many joys of owning a 20+ year old German car.

See these threads:
Leak

Leak

Leak

Leak

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

That's a damn nice looking wagon! I really like the look of the hubcaps.

Hope you can find the source of those leaks. I haven't had to hunt any down. Yet. Good luck!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

If it didn't have any problems, what would have to tinker with

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81 Mercedes 300SD 289k.......SOLD
82 Mercedes 300CD 252k......slow ride

82 mercedes 300 SD...mi Unknown
83 Mercedes 300D ????ksniff..gone too
84 Mercedes 300D 148k........SOLD
85 Mercedes 300TD 386k and holding some one elses project

You seem to have tracked down the problem. If you can get the dealer to give you a NEW MB windshield gasket and install it WITH the trim, you will be more than 75% home. The tailgates do accumulate water, your culprits are the glass gasket and the washer nozzle seal.

Three other things to do:

Pull out the battery, and pull out the battery tray. Look for corrosion on the firewall, and fix if needed. Common problem

Look in the well for the passenger hood hinge. clean it out as best you can and re-seam seal the joints.

Replace your gaskets for the rear cargo side windows. You can tell if they are leaking when you have 1) wet carpets on either side or 2) there is water in the spare tire well. I could actually see the water coming over the gasket inside the car during a rain.

Your experience is not at all out of the ordinary. Leaks are one of the great weaknesses of this otherwise great car. I have had three wagons, all with leaks. It looks like you have scored a nice one, get on top of the water before you have to start troubleshooting the vacuum system!

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Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K

Thanks Guys! I hope this sealant will fix temporarily. I feel the dealer should replace the gaskets too.

Peter, great tip on resealing the wiper nozzle at the rear.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Mike

PS I'm running on biodiesel now. B20 then up to B40!

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Mike
Vancouver, BC
'79 300td 60k miles!
import from Japan

Well, here's how it ended. I'm not sure the sealant fix is working as it hasn't rained and i don't want to unecessarily get the car wet inside to test (i'll find out soon enough). Meanwhile, the dealer is giving me a brand new OEM windshield seal, and $100 towards the tailgate glass seal (since he already paid for the door seal) but no labour costs. So, i will wait to see if the leaks continue, and if not, then i'll wait until i paint the roof/hatch to do front and back glass all at once. If the leaks are still there, i'll have to bite the bullet and prep/fix/paint it all at once, including front/back glass re+re.

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Mike
Vancouver, BC
'79 300td 60k miles!
import from Japan