Water Ingress

[maxwray]

Whilst looking for a piece of paper in the foorwell, I lifted the floor mat and found the floor swimming with water.

The cars only 3 yrs old and I only bought it a month ago, so it'll be getting seen by the dealership.

I know its been raining a tad recently, but is this a common feature? (they all do that sir!)

[hut49]

Plenty in the archives on this - usually the roof becoming porous (use Thompsons or Fabsil) or the seal beneath the door hasn't been pinched, or the plate covering the clutch cylinder on top of the offside front wheel arch is improperly sealed, or the grommets that seal the various cables and pipes through the front bulkhead need re-siliconizing, or the seal where the wiper spindles protrude through the bulkhead is naff, or the seal around the bottom of the windscreen is naff (especially if the screen has been improperly replaced), or .....

Not a big problem unless you ignore it and hope it goes away. It doesn't and then the carpets smell like rotting vegetation especially when it warms up.

Good weekend ahead!!

Hutch

>> Edited by hut49 on Thursday 1st May 20:44

[maxwray]

So its a quick and simple one then!

[shpub]

There's about 4/5 pages on leaks in the bible. Most comon cause is the seal around the brake master cylinder.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[madhatter]

Your not alone, I ended up with half an inch of water in the footwell after a 200 mile run through driving rain. And yes the hood was up.

Drying it outs a bitch, especially behind the seats. Can't pull the carpet out an leave it over the radiator for the night like you can the mats. I ended up getting a couple of roles of kitches towl, and sticking one whole behind the seats. They're damn good at soaking up the moisture and I just alternate them once a day with ones sitting on the boiler.

Its not a solution to leaks but helps reduce the damage when it does.

[JonRB]

First stop is to waterproof the hood. It should be done annually at the very least.

Which reminds me, I must do mine.

[shpub]

Drying out can be helped if you have one of those carpet cleaners or vacuum cleaners that can suck up water. Also helps restore the pile a bit as well.

[manek]

I used to use old newspapers for drying out -- cheaper than kitchen roll.

[Clarkson]Then I discovered Thompson's WaterSeal.[/Clarkson]

[K3NJW]

I ran an electric fan heater out on an extension lead and left the window open under the Leven hood. Let it run away all weekend (make sure it's a thermostatic one), and Bob's you uncle, dry as a bone. Ultimately curing the leaks helped a treat as well!!

[jigs]

When you get it dried out, fix your seals and Fabsil/Thompson your hood it's a good idea to place a couple of those 'caravan moisture absorbing thingies' in the space on the floor behind your seats. They'll keep the inside dry. stop condensation and stop the inside smelling musty, etc. They're less than a fiver each in camping shops. The refills are £2 each and last 3-6 months. Good investment.

>> Edited by jigs on Friday 2nd May 14:07

[victormeldrew]

I ran an electric fan heater out on an extension lead and left the window open under the Leven hood. Let it run away all weekend.

I did this too, just make sure you fully uncoil the extension if you use one on a reel. I didn't, and was lucky to catch it while the reel was still smouldering. It was hotter than the heater. The inner coils on the reel had fused together completely.

BE CAREFUL!

[T88CAN]

I can recommend a spray called "fabreeze" which if sprayed on to damp carpet eliminates all the associated smells. available from any good supermarket £c3 ? not that my car leaks of course(just about to sell!!)

[kingfisher]

For very fast removal of water from footwell--- beg or borrow a ***petrol garden*** vac (They are the ones that don't need to be plugged into the mains).

Dip the big round suckie end into your puddle, point the other end out of the door and stand back!!

Finish of with a blow job ie. take the sucking end out of the water and give your insides a blow dry

[chris watton]

max,

They certainly do leak, I am sure this is the 'norm', rather than the exception. When I bought my Chim, I knew it would not be as watertight as I'd like it to be. One of my first purchases after the Chim was a Leven Tech hood cover. I have had no water ingress of any kind since using the cover, I certainly did before I had it, resorting to having to take the carpets out and washing and drying them in the house!
I think it is inevetable these cars are going to leak, judging by the way they are designed, and, if you havent got a garage, you should get a hood cover as a matter of course.

Chris

[squirrelz]

Well my chim leaked when I first bought it, but twice yearly application of Thomsons Water Seal, plus some re-sealing round the bits and bobs in the engine bay (there, you can see I'm really mechanically minded) by Joolz cured it.

Its not leaked now for well over a year, and it was fairly squelchy before.

Ok it doesn't live outside, but has been out in some torrential downpours without any problems.

So I can't speak for all cases, but I can say that my car doesn't have a leak problem now. Its just a case of eliminating leaks as you find them, or in my case, as you get Joolz to find them

[chimburt]

chris watton said: max,

They certainly do leak, I am sure this is the 'norm', rather than the exception.

I think it is inevetable these cars are going to leak, judging by the way they are designed, and, if you havent got a garage, you should get a hood cover as a matter of course.

Chris

sorry, but that's balls - no offence Chris.

if everything is as it should be then they are dry.

my car had a problem before i bought, but was all sorted by the time i got it, and i have intentionally left it out in some hideous downpours just to see if it is watertight.

ok, build a perfectly good car and then strap a tent to it, and you're asking for trouble, but these things are designed to work!

[paulbellchambers]

Mine was the same and the leak was due to the seal around the brake cylinder. The other area to check is the bolts that keep the seats attached to the car. Also the bolts for the battery box drop trhough the floorpan so again check those. I used some black silicon sealant in a handy tube to apply the requisite amount of gunge to seal these leak points.

Good luck ;-))

[CraigAlsop]

chimburt said:
sorry, but that's balls - no offence Chris.

if everything is as it should be then they are dry.

I agree with chimburt - mine's lived outside (Edinburgh) for all of it's 3 year life, and it doesn't leak.