Water under my carpets. Help!

[scoutzilla]

My window seals and sunroof are all tight, and not leaking. I noticed my car smelled like the rainforest today, and upon checking under the carpet found the entire left side to be soggy. Coming from underneath? Common problem? Fix solutions? Thanks alot for the input, as I'm living in Vancouver, and rain driving is a must.

[browntown]

I'll spitball ya, this scotch I'm drinking has convinced me I know what I'm talking about.

someone leave a water bottle under the seat?
heater core? Not a fun fix.


elephant trunk drain in engine compartment?

[scoutzilla]

Nope to the water bottle, and I'm pretty sure it's not the heater core. The foam under the carpet is more wet than the carpet itself, which leads me to think it's coming from below somewhere. Just trying to get this dry is going to be a task in and of itself...

[browntown]

something I discovered on my "e" was that the P.O. jacked the car on the round 6" chasis plugs in the floorboard. This popped them up enough for road water to get under the carpet and get the foam wet.

[Bimmerboy91]

gasoline?:eeek:

:blowup:

[scoutzilla]

That's what I was thinking (the cracked floorboard plug.) I'm going to put it on a lift this weekend and check it out, but as far as a fix would go, what did you do?

That would indeed blow if it was gas...luckily it's only H2O.

Thanks for the help so far! Hopefully I'll get this thing nipped before it rains again.

[dlmrun2002]

You running AC? Condensor drain goes to top of tunnel under ashtray. If that is out of the hole it could fill pass or drivers side depending on where the hose is leaning.
DLM

[scoutzilla]

AC is in, but I don't run it. I'm definately leaning towards the water coming from underneath the car. Anyone know of good ways to check for cracks without waiting for rain or filling the car with water? Thanks...

[atomic]

It could be the drain tubes for the sunroof that goes down inside some of the pillars. These tend to get clogged up with tree crap and stuff and I have seen them back up water inside of interiors on cars before. I honestly doubt that cracked body plugs would soak the padding under your carpet that much. I mean I think it would be hard for water to flow upwards into your car to get under the carpet.

To see if the drains are clogged up you would need to do some interior removal and at least get to where you can access under the carpet . Prop a water hose on top of your car and try different areas of letting the water run for sometime and just keep checking the interior in the areas you have been seeing the carpet wet. If you see that by running water over it that it gets wet then you know that this is what is wrong and then you will have to access the rubber clear hoses to clean them out and flush them clear so that they can drain properly.

[mikeedler]

I would be willing to bet that it is coming from your wheel well.
here is a pic, seems to be a common place around here, I have welded up a ton of cars in this place.
just got to be careful not to burn down the car when welding this spot.
the yellowish color is where there is no more metal, that is the foam from the underside of the carpet.

[Funkmasta]

I would be willing to bet that it is coming from your wheel well.
here is a pic, seems to be a common place around here, I have welded up a ton of cars in this place.
just got to be careful not to burn down the car when welding this spot.
the yellowish color is where there is no more metal, that is the foam from the underside of the carpet.

wow, havent seen that before!

I would check for the floor plug first, then look for rust holes. If the sunroof drains were plugged, it wouldnt make the floor wet. it would make YOU wet. ;)

[scoutzilla]

Thanks to all who are helping out!

What angle is that pic of the wheelwell looking at? Got under the car today, and can't seem to make that visual line up. Weather's been good so far, so it hasn't gotten any worse, but I've got to get this thing nipped asap, as this car is super clean, and I want to keep it that way. It's just on the rear passenger side (I accidentally said "left" in the original post). It doesn't seem to be drying out all that well either:(

It's times like these I envy Arizona car owners...

Thanks again, and I'll let you know when I figure it out.

[Funkmasta]

Take a digital camera, put the flash on high, and set it on top of the tire looking back towards the cabin.

did you check the floor plug?

[atomic]

If it is the rear pass floor board I really think that it is a sunroof rain gutter hose that is stopped up. Here is a link that show the hoses appear to run backwards and out the c pillars

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1123&mospid=47309&btnr=54_0142&hg=54&fg=05

[scoutzilla]

Allright, so after going over the whole car (and being almost 100% sure it wasn't coming in the windows) I went outside and ran the hose on the roof and all over the rear pop-out windows. Lo and behold, water is getting in the passenger pop-out somehow, and running down beside the rear seat and into the rear passenger carpet. It was noticeable when water was literally dumped, but rain would have been less noticable and accumulated over the week. So, I found where it's coming from, but the fix is curious, as the seals and latch seem to be snug. Anyone run into this, where there just doesn't seem to be enough pressure between the window and seal?

It's been located (the main thing) and the weather stripping I put in there is definately temporary. Suggestions?

Thanks again!