Water in Doors

[warrenpfo]

I have had my drivers door panel off to replace the window rubber and whilst in there give it all a good clean and some dinitrol in the bottom.

I had no vapor barrier as the PO must have removed it when he installed some replacement speakers and at the same time butchered the door card which i now need to also fix as most of the plastic clips have pulled through the masonite.

I have noticed over the week with the door being "naked" that when it rains water will quite happily run down the window and then along and into the door and out one of the 3 holes in the bottom of the door. I wanted to ask if this is the way it is supposed to work as for some reason I had always thought a door was a water tight panel but clearly not.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Definitely make sure that the bottom of the door is draining well, my 4Runner has really bad rust in the bottom of most of the doors for probably the reason you describe... it was originally a coastal car rather than the Inland I'd have preferred.

 

[warrenpfo]

Inside the door is pristine and had a coating of dinitrol from manufacture but was surprised to find out that this must be the norm and this is why there is a vapour barrier.

 

[clivehorridge]

Yep Warren, this is normal in my experience. Rubber and felt wipes are fitted to minimize the amount of water entering the door cavity, but logically it's near on impossible to prevent. The drain holes are therefore essential and maintenance should ensure they are free to drain. Only when they become blocked does the door suffer from excessive rusting.

IMO, the vapor barrier works against natural drying out, and really only serves to protect speakers and the door card itself from the effects of damp. It doesn't help the metal of the door at all, again, only my opinion.