Lots of water in the driver footwell.

[leadfootlydon]

Went to go for a drive this afternoon and found rather a lot of water in the driver footwell. Oh dear.

How does one go about determining where water is getting in? And then, having found out where, how does one stop it?

Clues: I think the water got in while it was parked on the drive. Passenger side dry. Roof and rest of car seems dry enough. Presumably water is trickling in from the engine bay somehow. What is most likely?

[tesstickles]

Could be a few areas. The break fluid resevoir and the cover that hides the clutch fluid reservoir are usual culprits, even though they might look OK. Could be the cold has caused some shrinkage. Also the bottom of the windscreen could the another area. The rivets that hold the two I.D. plates might also be worth looking at. I ran bathroom silicone around all these areas. Not a pretty sight, but at least it doesn't leak anymore. Mine leaked in all these areas to some extent. It's just a case of doing each area and trying to make a fairly neat job of it. Good luck!

[leadfootlydon]

Thanks. I'll take a closer. Is there any way to trace or predict which of these might be the culprit or do you just do them all and hope for the best?

[victormeldrew]

Hose pipe and a friend is the way to go. Get in the footwell and watch for ingress. If theres a lot of water in the footwell it shouldn't take long to find out where its coming in.

[Scraggles]

had this once, strip out the carpets to the metal and check for holes, at least with no carpet it is easier to find

had this with fiesta and gave up on it, drove it to some guys house to sell it to him late one night in the winter and he paid top whack for it and then sold it to some aisan guy for more money, trick was starting the engine

[leadfootlydon]

I can see this getting a bit Monty Python-ish. Head down, legs in the air, etc..

Obviously the carpets will have to come out, otherwise there will be nothing to see except for damp carpet.

[leadfootlydon]

Posts crossed in the ether. If I had seen your post first, I wouldn't have put the 'Obviously' bit in. No offence.

OK, carpets out to start with.

[bobs4c]

The last time mine had water in the drivers footwell it was coming in through the throttle cable grommet. Water just rolled off the wing, down the inner wing and through the grommet hole! Noticed this having re fabsil'd the roof, resealed fluid reservoirs etc.

Bob

[nigew]

Mine leaked in all the usual places and a very unusual one ... the rivets just below the windscreen They're hollow and once the original goo cracks water got in around and through them. I found the best way to find the blighters was to check with a torch at night when it's dark. The drips coming through showed up more clearly, but adopting a Pythonesque position in the footwell was the only way.

Happy hunting.

[leadfootlydon]

Thanks for that. So there are at least eight places the water might be getting in.

Freezing cold, dark, wet, upside down and probably going to get a few scratches and covered in glue.

Oh Boy!

[victormeldrew]

Don't forget the steering column, could be leaking around that.

[f1fx]

My car is the same with out the cover on ! but with a twist! my drive has a bit of a slope to it . and if i park it facing up the drive , gets full of water in the drivers footwell . back it up the drive, facing down the drive . and hey presto .. dry as a bone ! odd!

[victormeldrew]

I'd check that water isn't seeping in around the hood sealing velcro - or the infamous elephants ears - then running down under the seat into the footwell.

Make sure you get the hood material under tension properly as well - its like a tent. If there are creases or slack water will soak through. Proper technique is to pull the targa hoop up, line up the hard top, fasten down the velcro as smooth and tight as you can inside and out, THEN push the stays over centre. This puts more tension on the hood closure than you could possibly do by hand, helping prevent leakage.

Edited by victormeldrew on Thursday 14th December 11:01

[speedeight]

Is a service due anytime soon? Mention it to your dealer or specialist, they know all the usual suspects. Mine didn't even charge me any extra, when you know what you're doing I guess it only takes a few minutes using a silicon gun. Mine was left overnight in a hotel car park in Dover this June in horrendous rain. Not a drop anywhere in the morning, I was so relieved. Before Offords had done it for me it the drivers side footwell would have been mini duck pond.

[bigdods]

Just been out to check after this weeks rain. I think the ducks have taken residence and I see a few coi carp swimming around the pedals. Arrghh. TIme to bail her out and get the duhimidifer into action again.

Thats deffo the last time I decide I cant be bothered to put the cover on !