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[terry paget]

Gentlemen, my apologies. I have been talking nonsense, and wasting my time. I noticed while changing my DISpack (2000 2.5 petrol) that there was an unhelpful bulge of the bulkhead into the engine compartment at the left hand (pollen filter) end. Further examination revealed the scuttle left hand section is full of drain holes, and was never intended to hold water. Water draining through these holes ends up, not in the engine compartment, but in the large funnel leading down to the LH drain. So that's why Opel put the scuttle join where they did.

So there is no point sealing the scuttle join.

[05omegav6]

The holes are there to allow air into the heater/ventilation system

Sealing the scuttle join is important as it ensures that water drains in through that cavity rather than outside it onto the dispack/246 coil pack. If water drains outside the cavity it also soaks into the insulating foam saturating it and causing futher moisture induced misery...

Ergo, clear the scuttle drain, seal the scuttle halves/wiper spindle and stop over thinking several years of GM design research and evolution

[Sir Tigger KC]

So there is no point sealing the scuttle join.

Dispacks don't like water and corrode/breakdown quickly if not kept dry.    If the join isn't sealed then it will get a regular shower every time it rains and a constant drip from the sodden foam thereafter. 

£3 for a tube of general purpose silicone or £90 odd for a new Bosch dispack.  The choice is yours. 

[chrisgixer]

Just stop the water getting into the engine bay. That's it. Nout more to it.

[terry paget]

Thank you gentlemen. Looking again at my scuttle, I note that the ventilation holes extend to the car centre line, way to the right of the scuttle overlap. You will see how I have sealed the join in the following phtograph. I do not understand what good I have achieved, with many holes either side of it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihfpcpt4po8xvgr/SCUTTLE40%25.jpg?dl=0

[05omegav6]

You missed a bit at the centre of the join.

Right hand scuttle needs moving left slightly to close the joint up. And sealant applied under the front edge before refitting the rubber seal.

Also had you looked closely whilst not thinking, you'll have seen that the corner of the cabin intake cavity is actually a separate piece of metal from the fire wall. The scuttle joint, unless sealed, allows water to drain directly into this separate panels' locating slot and into the insulation unnoticed from behind.

The other holes exist to allow air into the cabin so that you don't suffocate whilst driving. Yes water runs through them, hence the cavity drain.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I run a thick bead of silicone along the metal lip on the nearside fixed part of the scuttle and then press the long piece on to it.  I don't bother with sealing the top as water runs through the holes anyway, but also seal around the wiper spindle holes.   

[05omegav6]

I run a thick bead of silicone along the metal lip on the nearside fixed part of the scuttle and then press the long piece on to it.  I don't bother with sealing the top as water runs through the holes anyway, but also seal around the wiper spindle holes.   

Makes sense

The reasoning being how and where the water flows... By sealing that whole join AND front edge any water that enters through the intake is forced into the cavity and down to the drain...

[robson]

perhaps a sketch of where to seal etc would be useful.Was the scuttle sealed when the cars were produced.

[05omegav6]

There is a guide, pretty straightforward tbh...

When the car was built, the scuttle was correctly and tightly assembled it was watertight without sealant. Over time it moves/gets disturbed etc, and  never quite goes back right, so consequently needs sealing to ensure water cannot get into the insulating foam and then subsequently drain onto the dis pack/246 coil pack

[Sir Tigger KC]

Mines off at the moment so I'll take a pic and will post up later. 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Here you go. 



Think of the scuttle like a gutter taking water away from the base of the windscreen to the drains.  The join is right above the dispack on a 2.5 so that needs to be sealed.  I went through a couple of dispacks before I 'got it'....   

I use ordinary general purpose clear silicone which you can get a big tube for under £10 from the likes of Travis Perkins, B&Q or your local hardware store. It's cheap, so you can afford to be liberal with it which as you can see in the photo I am.   

[omega3000]

Since i sealed mine on the top joint scuttle it hasnt leaked at all  How is water getting underneath 

[Sir Tigger KC]

As Terry rightly pointed out the nearside half of the scuttle is full of ventilation holes where the water goes through to the hollow part of the scuttle where the join is. 

[terry paget]

Looking at Sir Tigger's picture, I realise the DISpack is not under the scuttle join. It is nestling alongside the drainage funnel. I removed it along the left hand side of the head between head and aircon pipe seen in the picture. The foam is a possible route for water to the DISpack, possibly coming from the central wiper hole. The left hand scuttle section, visible in the photograph, is clearly over the funnel. The screen to rubber seal is another suspect, but if it were not there the water would drain straight off the screen into the funnel, which extends to the centre of the car. Water clearly gets in somehow. Could it be running down the osutside of the funnel back on to the DISpack?