Soaked carpet on the paggenger side of my vert

[MC Hammered]

So I took off the left bumper to see what was going on behind it.

After doing more water tests I am perplexed as to how the water is getting into the cabin.

To trace the path when water gets past the upper grills it either drains via two small holes closer to the center of the car or through this opening in the corner



This is the view of the corner opening from the other side



The water either goes straight down (red arrow) or it does a zig-zag path (blue arrows)



After that the water just flows straight down to the large opening by the rocker




So the part that doesn't make sense is if the water goes down and there is the exit by the rocker panel, where can the water divert to go into the car? We think there might be a crack in the seam but then the water would have to collect somewhere first to account for the amount of water that gets inside.

The only solution I can think of right now is to seal up the drain hole in the corner and force the water to drain through the two smaller holes. The drawback of this is the water will not drain completely as the 2 small drain holes are about 4mm above the V shaped channel. To fix this I will have to add a 3rd hole to help drain the water behind the battery as metal is angled downward to the right.

Any other suggestions and thoughts to this issue are appreciated.

[MC Hammered]

Well I decided I didn't want to plug up the upper drain hole as a bandaid fix so I took out my dremel took and cut two openings to do some further investigation



I did some more water testing and it looked like water was getting into the visible seam. So I went to my friend bodyshop and borrowed some sealant



I didn't take any before pics but you get the idea of where the seam is





I did a water test and water was still getting in so that didn't work.

After doing more water testing there was only one spot left that I could think of and that was this inside seam that is very hard to see which I thought was part of the fender.




I did an isolation test with my blue water and it went into the cabin! Did a retest with red water and confirmed this was the spot.

So waiting for the spot to dry and sealing it up.

[McGyver]

damn. i can't wait till you find the solution so i can fix my car without all the troubleshooting crap. good luck!

[MC Hammered]

Sealed up the entire seam last night, water tested with 7 cups of water and NO water in the cabin.

Now to put her back together.

[McGyver]

well i just went to check my car to make sure their isnt any water leaking in from the storm. i found 4 inches of water in the front passenger foot well. needless to say i will be trying to fix the leaks tomorrow if its dry.

it has been parked where its level front to back but about a 5 degree angle laterally with the passenger side lower.

i also have water pooling up where the jack is stored in the trunk, but the rest of the trunk stays dry.

does anyone know of pictures of the drain locations and how they flow?

[MC Hammered]

You need to make sure all the drain locations are free of debris or water will spill over into other areas.

If the upper drains under the grills are plugged water will enter right in throw the blower opening.

[McGyver]

well i just cleaned the elephant drain. that thing was PACKED with mud. then i shot water into the passenger vent and it cleaned out the drain that goes into the rocker panel. next i shot it into the drivers vent and most of the water came out the elephant drain, but alot went into the passenger side floor from where the blower and A/C stuff is. so do i have another drain that is clogged and i need to clean? like if the elephant drain is being used then it is overflowing the area that leads to the rocker drains. so is their another reservoir that is over filling?

[MC Hammered]

To the right of the elephant drain there are 2 drain holes and they drain water behind the battery. In the very corner is a drain hole that is shown in the pictures I took above which drain as shown.

Other than the water overflowing into the blower opening the only other way I have found for water to get it is seeping down over the fender/body seam. I am guessing over time. and with the vert chassis flexing, the factory seals come apart and water can get into the car.

[McGyver]

yeah but the elephant drain only drains water when it overflows into the blower opening. or maybe its just doing that cuz my car is parked on a slope?

[reelizmpro]

bumped for outcomes. I'm glad it doesn't rain much in SoCal but recently we've been having storms and my rear passenger carpet has been getting soaked. I've been using a heat gun, disinfectant and baking soda to get rid of the moisture before any mildew sets in but I have not found the source of the leak. I've also read on BFC about a factory applied sticker that splits open and allows water from the top compartment to enter the cabin and soak the rear floor. Gonna have a look at it tomorrow.