puddle behind drivers seat

[ewan221]

Unlike my last Chim where water was getting in at front, with this one the front footwells are bone dry but found a puddle behind drivers seat . Any usual subjects for this ?

[phillpot]

Old age, weak bladder ?

[Barkychoc]

Incontinence pants leaking?

[seeby]

If its coming in from underneath ,could it be from the seat bolts ,ie no sealant around them ? If its coming in from above it could be the window/roof seal

[QBee]

I had that last winter - getting in around the roof seals

[swisstoni]

Check the stitching round the window. Also if the hood hasn't been waterproofed lately the rain just saturates the fabric and it then seeps in and down to the floor.

[OleVix]

Waterproofing cured this on mine...

[Goaty Bill]

swisstoni said:

Check the stitching round the window. Also if the hood hasn't been waterproofed lately the rain just saturates the fabric and it then seeps in and down to the floor.

OleVix said:

Waterproofing cured this on mine...

+1
You wouldn't think so, and assuming you don't have any major issues, but yes; apply some spray-on sealer once or twice a year, and it resolves 99% of water ingress.
Autoglym works for me, others have used various tent and boat canopy waterproofing sprays to good effect.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to double check the seat bolts as suggested above.

[nawarne]

Another favourite place for water entry is around the 'elephant's ears'/Velcro attached part just behind the doors.

As replies also mentioned, a good waterproofing of the folding section will help too.
Nick

[rickprice]

This was the effing bane of my life - water behind the drivers seat.

I waterproofed the hood with Renovo - a little help, not much.

I don't have (and never have had) elephant ears, and I have never seen a good picture of them so I don't know how to make them.

The water was coming in under the hood and getting to the floor without always making the side carpet wet. In the end I figured out it was water being blown on windy days along the junction of roof and body work to a point behind the driver where the contour of the body changed. This is all downhill as the back of the body is higher.

Over the winter I took the whole roof off to discover that it just sits on the fibreglass. No compression by bolts, no strip of rubber seal, just a slight lip on the bodywork. And that lip fades away as you go around the car. So my theory was that the water was running along the edge of the roof and then falling into the cabin over the lip about 6-8 inches back. The left side of my roof fitted better, explaining the dry passenger footwell.

Now although I must say she looks really good without the roof (see the threads on the removable hard top), I decided to re-roof her.

I ran a thick slicone bead all round the edge of the body, making sure there were no gaps, and let it just go off, so it had a skin on it. I then remounted the roof carefully so I didn't smear the stuff everywhere, bolted everything back on, re-riveted the roof, etc.

I now have a dry car, and a smug grin when I think about all those years with a wet patch, squeezing out towels because there was an inch or more in the footwell...

So that was my problem and my solution. There will be more of the former and not enough of the latter, of course, but thats why I love her.

Rich

[ewan221]

Its looking very like the seat belt bolt hole but will also be re proffing the hood at weekend.

[chim666]

Another vote for 'elephant ears'

Check they're there - if not, water can get in where the 'targa' meets the window and run down behind the seat.
You can easily make them from a cycle inner tube.