Some more on the pollen filter leak B5.5

[oyster]

After reading various posts on the topic of wet mats, here are my added comments. I had a wet carpet under the front passenger seat, part of the rear passenger footwell. Popular belief suggested a leaking gasket under the pollen filter housing. So I ordered the parts I thought I would need and did it today. Very cold outside. The plenumdrains were clear, working as they should. My problem has to be the pollen filter gasket.
1. Open bonnet
2. Remove long cover over the battery and brake resovoir.
3. Remove the torx screws holding the hinge protector plastics, both sides.
4. Remove plastic caps and 13mm nuts from wiper arm fixing.
5. Use wiper arm removal tool to lift wiper arm. I turned the knob of the tool off the stem. Then I stripped the thread on the captive bolt. The wiper arms did eventually pop off, the tool was essential. They are fitted to tapered, splined drives. They were corroded. A releasing fluid on the spindle/wiper arm hole may help here.
6. Remove the windscreen wide rain deflector plastic. This is a bit of a jiggle. Mine cracked with a noise like a gun going off. I was not even putting a lot of pressure on it. New one is £15 inclusive from VW.
7. Remove the pollen filter and the three 10mm nuts holding the housing dowm
8. Disconnect the battery power clamps, breather pipe and 13mm bolt holding the securing flange at the base of the battery.
9. Lift out the battery. Remember about the radio code. With the rain deflector removed, I did not need to move the square plastic power cable that is clipped to the bulkhead here.
10. No one mentioned the battery tray. Three 13mm nuts to remove, battery tray lifts out. The alarm sounder is fixed behind the inboard nut, just pulled it out of the way.
11. Both my plenun drains were clear and dry. The one located under the brake servo is accessible from here, much easier than draining the fluid, removing the resovoir and servo.
12. I pulled the damp, failed foam gasket out of the track under the pollen filter tray.
13. Filled the track with a long, pencil thick roll of Dumdum mastic. This remains pliable, even at todays 1 C temperature.
14. Replaced pollen filter tray, new flter and rain channel 'handle'.
15. Replaced battery tray, battery, wires + pipe.
16. Fitted new rain deflector, replaced bonnet hinge protector plastics, Replaced battery, brake servo cover.
Long battery cover removed

Rain deflector + corner plastics removed

Pollen filter tray


battery tray

plenum drain under battery tray

plenum drain under servo