sb944

Hi there,

It has been raining like nothing I've ever experienced here in Sydney the last few days. I only moved here from sunny Perth (Australia) a few months ago and the rain during summer is unbelievable here.

Anyway two days ago it rained very very hard for at least 5 hours while my car was parked in the rain nose pointing down a hill in a steep carpark. I was just saying that day to people the old Porsche has no trouble with water leaks and what do you know, it leaked. In two places also. I've had it in rain before and never had this problem in either place.

The first leak I noticed was just after I started the car. The key was unusually tight to turn in the ignition which started me thinking. Then as I back out to the right my feet started getting wet. I then got the car nose up on the hill, with more water coming in. And finally after a couple of turns up the carpark my feet were slightly wet but the water had stopped coming in. I kept going to home and noticed also the back seat was pretty damp, and the drivers side carpet was pretty damp too. All up there was a fair amount of water in the car.

After parking the car at homw, out of the rain, I opened the hood and found the battery (early 944) was swimming in at least 1 inch deep water. I think to myself that can't be healthly.

I figure that the rain got in the drivers side compartment after running off the window and into the catchment area and the back seat could be the sunroof, and it was only the back seat not in the boot or front seats. The passenger side seat was the best part of the car with no water in the seat or carpet there.

A manual would be handy here to find the draining areas of the 944, but does anyone know where the water drains from the battery compartment and the same area on the drivers side. Remembering that Australia have right hand side drive so things may be back to front a bit. ie right hand side drive, left hand side battery.

Thanks again,

Sam.

Thaddeus

There are drains on either side of the car, under the hood. One is between the battery and the fender wall. There is a corresponding one on the opposite side next to the fuse box. These get filled up with leaves and trash, I used a coat hanger to clear mine. I had this happen once on the battery side, I also took silicon sealant and gooped all the holes in the firewall so it would be watertight in future. I understand there's a drain somewhere in the center under the shroud but I've never seen mine, or cleaned it out.

If the water coming in on the battery side got into your carpet, it may have carried some acid there. I'd take the carpet out and clean it (I did).

As far as the leaks behind, there are several possible causes. (1) There are 2 little hoses that carry water away from the latch post wells that sometimes become detached. Reattach them. (2) You may have a bad gasket around the hatch. (3) The glass itself may be coming loose from the frame and need re-gluing. (4) The sunroof gasket may be shot, or the drain holes/hoses that carry away water from the sunroof seam have an issue.

good luck

Thaddeus <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

sb944

Top reply,

Thanks for all that info, I'll definitely have a good chance at getting it fixed myself now.

Also the battery side didn't leak anywhere thank god. I also don't think any acid has leaked from the battery, but I still want to get that drain hole cleared if thats the problem.

Thanks,

Sam.

IceShark

That battery drain hole is all metal. I have blown that out, but with a sucba tank at about 200 bar. Worked like a charm.

The other drains with hoses ... blowing up from the bottom is better so the hose doesn't come off.

I'm still mulling over what to do about my gas cap drain line. Some green/black weed is growing in the line so it doesn't drain quick. I need to kill it off without ruining the rubber drain hose. I'm not sure what to use. You would think gasoline would kill it ....

*Rothmans*

Just a thought.... remove your battery when you clean the adjacent drainage holes.
If any acid has ever formed and you have debris under your battery in the tray (if it's been blocked and rain water has accumulated there) the acidic paste that forms eats through the bottom of the battery tray. The resulting holes leak directly onto the floor pan and your computer (DME) which is under the wooden floor board, underneath the carpet.
You want to poke a fine wire through the holes and blow them out with compressed air.
Don't forget the slot shaped holed on the edge of our rear spoiler where it meets the glass of the hatch. Water forms a pool on your spoiler and then comes inside the spare tire well.
The other holes for the sunroof are best checked with the sunroof off if I recall correctly.
Cheers <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

jim968

From what I've read on alt.autos.porsche.944, there's one more leak source, often overlooked (haven't experienced this personally, so it's second-hand news, but makes sense).

Since most people take the rear side windows out (all pre-968 cars?) when installing new rear speakers, sometimes the weatherseal on those windows isn't properly re-seated, leading to a wet rear floor condition <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" /> .

IIRC, the usenet post I saw said that the guy found it by having a buddy spray the car with a hose while he crawled around inside looking for moisture.


Jim, done <img src="graemlins/yltype.gif" border="0" alt="[typing]" /> , outta here <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

951Tom

Iceshark,
That little drain under the gas cap clogged on mine too. If you pull off the passenger side trunk carpet, you can reach up in there and take the drains out, clean properly, and re-install. <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Lamah

I pulled off the plastic tray when I replaced my Brake Booster and it had standing water in it. there were taped up wires that rest on the tray which also must have been sitting in water for some time. I havent had any problems since then, but I havent really looked. I'll have to clean my drains.

good info!
Jeff aka Lamah

Hans

[quote] IceShark:
...my gas cap drain line. Some green/black weed is growing in the line so it doesn't drain quick. I need to kill it off without ruining the rubber drain... <hr></blockquote>

Cleaning tip for waste water analysis equipment:
Rinse with a 3% solution of H2O2 (peroxide).
This will eliminate the living environment for the weed.
(What?? WEED?? I would neither try gasoline nor smoking it.. )

Never tried the peroxide trick on the sun roof drains, but this should work as well.
Dont know what it will do to the paint in the gutter though.

Poking around with an rod might make the hoses come off from the barb(?). This will give you a very hard time getting them back on again.
Blowing them back with compressed air sounds good, thanks

Take Care

IceShark

Hans, LOL!

Yeah, I don't know how this growth/weed lives getting soaked with gasoline every now and then. Must be one of those life forms that lives in the middle of active volcanos.

Also didn't think about hydrogen peroxide. I have some 60% stuff around that I used to clean up some skulls for European type mounts. Wonder if I should be worried about any unexpected attack if I squirt that carefuly into the drain hole and tube?

BTW: For those who are following, you don't want the 3% peroxide stuff you get from the drug store. And medical grade will kill you on price. Go to the beauty supply shops. They usually use the same stuff as medical grade, without medical certification, to bleach out womens' hair in prep for a color job.

Hans

[quote]IceShark:
... Go to the beauty supply shops...to bleach out womens' hair <hr></blockquote>
Ever wondered why there are so many jokes about blonds...
Discount shops like Boots (if you got them in USA) will have the stuff.

IceShark: I strongly suggest diluting your 60% solution. I know it works well with plastic, rubber and stainless. Dont know about paint.
You will have to kill all algae to slow down propagation.
If everything fails, you might want to consider replacing the long end of the hose by some copper tube. Make sure the copper is nicely corroded!!
The copper oxide will ruin the environment algae need to live.


Yes: there is a lot of (bacterial) life in refinery waste water.
Their waste water treatment plants are among the nastiest in the world to have equipment in.

Take Care

sb944

Thanks for the tips,

I had time on the weekend for the first time in months to do work on the car. I play cricket most weekends but the rain cancelled it this weekend so it was time to look at the car.

There was still a little water with the battery and cleaning out the drain plug seemed to fix that. I bought a rather large battery last time which means crud clogged between the battery and the plug. I also pulled the battery out and it seems there is no acid leak which is good. I feel safer now that's all cleaned up and free.

OT:
I also got time to paint the black parts of my depleting cookie cutter rims. They look brilliant. I did all four of them at once while they were on the car and it came up very well.

Everythings sweet until the next unexpected problem, which is just about due now

Sam.