vw golf damp in footwell

[Peppin]

Hello, I know this is a common issue but I would like some advice before I go to get my car sorted out as I am not clued up. I have had lots of problems with my car recently and don't want to spend more money than I have to!

I have a 1998 golf. The previous owner said that sometimes the rear passenger footwell would get a puddle of water in it and they couldnt work out what it was. I had the car for 2 years and this never happened, however recently it has got very wet on and off for a few weeks and now is even getting damp in the front passenger footwell. Obviously I am trying to dry this out, but I would like to know what is causing this problem. I don't think it is the door seals as it doesnt happen every time it rains, it seems to not be much related to the weather.

I have searched online and I have read that it could be leaves trapped under the bonnet, there did seem to be quite a lot so i tried my best to remove as much as I could. Also that it could be the pollen filter, I imagine on such an old car they could be pretty old by now so maybe it is this? I don't fancy trying to change this myself, especially if it isn't the problem.

At roughly the same time as this problem coming up, the windscreen wash keeps on running out very quickly. Could it be possible that there is a leak here, and that this is also causing the damp in the footwell?

Any advice welcome. Thanks!

[cuprabob]

MK4 Golf wanted ingress is normally one of the following;
- Blocked Sunroof drain
- Pollen filter housing
- Door seals
- Vents behind rear bumper
- Heater matrix

Washer fluid leak is normally rear washer pipe coming off inside the tailgate or at the join just before it enters the tailgate. Golfs without headlight washers have really small washer bottles so it might not be leaking bit your just going through it.

[Peppin]

Thanks, you just reminded me when you mentioned the heating matrix that I have also recently had to have a hose replaced as I was losing coolant, do you think that is in any way related?

[cuprabob]

Peppin said:

Thanks, you just reminded me when you mentioned the heating matrix that I have also recently had to have a hose replaced as I was losing coolant, do you think that is in any way related?

Only of it was a hose to or from the heater matrix. Coolant has a distinctive sweet smell so it will be easy to determine if the dampness is due to leaking coolant. Not to mention the fact the coolant level will be dropping.