Soaked carpet on the paggenger side of my vert

[MC Hammered]

At first I thought I must have not completely closed the rear window and let rain in when I didn't drive the vert for a 3 weeks as the rear passenger side footrest area was soaked.

So I take out the passenger seat, pull up the carpet and dry out the waterlogged foam then as I reach farther forward there is even more water soaked foam and it goes all the way to the front edge of the footwell.

Water soaked foam is from the red line all the way back. The foam on the other side of the red line is dry.



So the passenger seat is dry and the upper part of the foam is dry, so does anyone give me suggestions where to check for the water leak?

I have STFA but the weird part about my situation is that all the foam in the passenger side front footrest isn't wet, just the foam that contacts the floor.

TIA for any help.

[thereisnoyun]

couple things to check

- the drain inside the wiper cowl cover
- AC drain tube, there is one on each side of the HVAC
- it could jsut be window seal, if there is a leak, the foam will absorb all the moisture, and you will think that its just the foam, but its actually from the leak on top.

[MC Hammered]

Finally found where the elephant trunk drain is, took it off and it was completely clogged.

So can anyone tell me where the water enters from when this drain is plugged so I can do some more investigation while the car is all apart.

I also took the black grill below the wiper off. Am I supposed to be able to see the blower motor or is there supposed to be something in between?

[Todd Black 88]

Winston, it enters through the blower housing intake when the drain plugs. Water runs down the windshield, into those two grills where the wiper linkage is and runs out the drain when its clear. Those grills are for the blower in the cabin to get fresh air. When the drain plugs, it overflows into the cabin through the blower housing.

[MC Hammered]

Thanks for the explanation.

I poured a big jar of water down the grill and I watched the water evacuate pretty fast. It ended up draining trough the little holes, down to the sideskirts some through the elephant trunk drain.

So when I parked the car in the driveway and then had a week long rainstorm with the clogged drain it overflowed into the cabin?

It just seems like a lot of rain is required to overflow into the blower housing or am I missing something?

[Todd Black 88]

Well, it has rained a helluva lot the last three weeks here. lol

Is it just the front passenger side or the rear as well? Trunk dry?

[MC Hammered]

The front and rear passenger side are wet, trunk is dry, driver side front and rear are dry.

However, the top of the carpet in the passenger side footwell isn't wet at all, but the foam is soaked, so I had no indication I had this problem until the rear passenger footwell got all wet.

[thereisnoyun]

The front and rear passenger side are wet, trunk is dry, driver side front and rear are dry.

However, the top of the carpet in the passenger side footwell isn't wet at all, but the foam is soaked, so I had no indication I had this problem until the rear passenger footwell got all wet.

I fail to read that the rear is wet. The rear is wet for only 1 reason, the convertible top cover area has leakage.

1.) the two shock cover, that cover teh RSM is required if they are missing there will be water coming in, ask me how I know.

2.) the rear gasket along the edge must be pretty good, if there is a deluge amount of water coming in from the gasket it will over flow regardless if there is clear drainage or not, ask me how I know.

3.) the drain holes near the top latch, there is one on each side of the latch must be free of clog. or else it would spray everywhere into the cabin. Ask me how I know.

the extra water will enter right under the rear passenger footwell foam, LITERALLY. Some will be under the rear seat, but those could be potentially different drainage issue, but it will actually drain to the under side of the rear if any of the above is clogged.

In addition, the foam will wick up the moisture and travel all the way to the front, ask me how I know.

[MC Hammered]

Thanks for the info.

Would the above information be valid if I had a hardtop on? Or are the drainage locations the same?

Where would I pour some water to test if it is coming into the footwell now that I have dried everything up?

[thereisnoyun]

Thanks for the info.

Would the above information be valid if I had a hardtop on? Or are the drainage locations the same?

Where would I pour some water to test if it is coming into the footwell now that I have dried everything up?

it is invalid if you have a hardtop on, unless, you are on a hill. I have a hardtop myself, and it cover way over the sides where any of the drain holes are at.

However, it COULD be valid if the top and fabric is wicking the water towards the drain. I would check it anyways. Finally, you ahve service ports on teh rear, and the front, aka drain plugs on teh bottom of the car, make sure they are nto rusted out, as water intrution could be possible. however, if its parked, again not likely.

One more thing, is that if the drain to the rockers are plugged, it will start rusting from the fender edging, it could cause the water to also bleed into the cabin the same way. Because the windshield on teh rear, if water goes into the sides, drains to the rocker drainage. its easier to reverse blow the drain from the bottom to see if its clogged.

[MC Hammered]

I will take the hardtop off and check the drain holes anyway.

When the car is parked in my driveway it is tilted slightly to the left and on a small incline.

From the info given to me above above I am guessing the tilt will aid in water getting into the blower housing if the elephant hose was clogged and being on an incline will help water travel towards the back.

[MC Hammered]

Well now that everything is dry I decided to try pouring in some water down the passenger side grill below the wiper to make sure water wasn't entering the cabin before putting everything back together.

I am glad I did as I found the source of my water leak! The water seeps in fast from the locations indicated by the red arrows




The location is almost directly underneath the speaker in the kickpanel.

So can anyone help me out with determining the path the water is taking from the drain holes above to those spots below?

[MC Hammered]

anyone?

[87-325ic]

dude ive been fighting water leaks since i had my car, my rear passenger footwell is soaked as i type.

two spots i have found are the worst.
Wiper, blower air intake cowl. i cant remember this one exactly. but it rusted out my glovebox and battery tray. i had to cut it all out and get one welded back in so i could have something to mount my glovebox to. i believe it was mostly a clogged drain behind the vent plastic piece. i cleaned it out with like a coat hanger or something.

the other is right behind the back seat windows, where the convertible top corner comes down to meet at the hinge. its also where the convertible top trunk lid comes down. the gasket i have doesnt seal this spot. maybe i am missing a trim piece i dont know. water will get in there and fill the top trunk. then it leaks down by the rear speakers and down to the floor just in front of the back seat. pull out all the trim panels back there and pour some water down by the hinge. youll see it travel to your carpet.
i need to go and just drill some small holes down near the bottom at the hinge's mount so water will drain out in the wheel well, not into the cabin.

Also, i just replaced my top, and it comes down much tighter in that^ spot, but i still got a soaked back passenger carpet!!!!

the front is mostly dry though. so im pretty hopeful that one is fixed for now.



good luck. and removing all your interior pieces and having someone spray a water hose or pour a pitcher of water will help alot.

[MC Hammered]

Well being in Vancouver I gets lots of chances to check for leaks since it rains so much.

I am glad I have found where the water is coming in, I am just at a loss as to how the water is getting to that point. I plan to jack up the car and start poking around this weekend.