04S Bellow review poll.

[lohr500]

Can you also add a small hole by the stitching on the off side (drivers) side window stitching. Apparently there are quite a few of these defects. Having mine replace as I type.

View attachment 122723

Option added.

 

[OxonCalifornia]

Mine has been in rain for a day with no issues. Several heavy showers with wind and a couple of hours of drizzle (and some sleet!). Bellows production date 18/12/23.

That's Really encouraging for later produced Bellows

 

[lohr500]

That's Really encouraging for later produced Bellows

Unfortunately, mine are dated 10/01/24 and they leak
Van collected 1st week of March.

And we have reports of vans collected later than mine which leak. I suspect the bellows on those will also be later than 10/01/24.

My gut feel still says the root cause of the leakage is either thread size/type or needle size.
All the problems appear to be stitch/seam related.

Unless a complete manufacturing process such as adding a waterproof interlayer or treating with a waterproofing agent has been omitted (seems unlikely with modern QC methods), then the focus must surely be on the interface between the stitching holes and the thread running through them.

I could be completely wrong and at the end of the day VW and their manufacturer/s need to figure out how they could get it so wrong yet again.

 

[Corradobrit]

I wonder if the temper

(and some sleet!).

Would be interesting to add this as another variable. Termperature. If low enough could the stretchiness of the fabric be reduced and therefore make the points of entrance smaller reducing or eliminating water infiltration? What was the ambient temp when you stress tested the bellows?

 

[lohr500]

Can you also add a small hole by the stitching on the off side (drivers) side window stitching. Apparently there are quite a few of these defects. Having mine replace as I type.

View attachment 122723

I have a couple of small holes like that in our bellows, but before I treated the leaking seams/stitching with Aquatex, I never saw any leakage through the pin holes.

Apart from the pin holes, did you suffer any leakage?

I agree, they shouldn't be there. I just hope your replacement bellows set don't leak.