The Drainage system?
Discussion
How does it work? I came home after two weeks vacation to find the spare wheel almost full of water in the boot, under the carpet on the 'parcel shelf' behind the seats is also wet, I finally found the drainage holes and put a coat hanger down (the other times I tried I couldn't find the right hole), the one on the passenger side was fine and no water came out the bottom. The drivers side was clogged, and a good bit of water started flushing from under the car.
So where is this all coming from? Is it from the boot rail that I've heard about, and just a culmination of various drains - which when clogged eventually end up in the sills?
What is the plumbing system?
So where is this all coming from? Is it from the boot rail that I've heard about, and just a culmination of various drains - which when clogged eventually end up in the sills?
What is the plumbing system?
Basically from what I understand the water runs off the roof into the drainage rail, which is basically a upturned piece of plastic. The water runs around this and empties out into the drainage holes on the two sides which you found. If they're blocked the water will overflow into the back, and go through holes there and into the boot. Then it goes down and gets stuck in the well for the spare tyre. If the holes have not been cleaned in a long time then it might be worth lifting the carpet on the back to check the condition of the metal there. There was someone who had it all rusted, although that would be a worst case scenario.
The other thing that could be a problem is once the rain rail gets old it becomes more brittle, and so eventually cracks. Water can then go into the boot in the same way outlined earlier. I tried to check mine with a hose once, but got leaks. I assumed my rain rail was damaged (or there was too much water from the hose that it overflowed), but after getting caught in a storm it seemed to be fine so I presume it was just too much water from the hose.
It can be that the hose which takes the water through the car to the bottom can become disconnected, if so they're difficult to get access to for attaching back on. There's also some other spot that water can end up going into the sills before draining out, but I can't remember the reason for that. Hope this helps, and if I've misunderstood anything then I'm happy for people to correct me.
The other thing that could be a problem is once the rain rail gets old it becomes more brittle, and so eventually cracks. Water can then go into the boot in the same way outlined earlier. I tried to check mine with a hose once, but got leaks. I assumed my rain rail was damaged (or there was too much water from the hose that it overflowed), but after getting caught in a storm it seemed to be fine so I presume it was just too much water from the hose.
It can be that the hose which takes the water through the car to the bottom can become disconnected, if so they're difficult to get access to for attaching back on. There's also some other spot that water can end up going into the sills before draining out, but I can't remember the reason for that. Hope this helps, and if I've misunderstood anything then I'm happy for people to correct me.
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