PEvans

My car was outside during one of our recent epic rain storms, and there is some water accumulated in the left passenger footwell, ie behind the driver's seat. Any ideas on the location of the leak?

The rear glass leaks a little bit but this is usually only when I wash the car and over the rear seat backs which are folded down. The sunroof is a fairly new Saratoga so the seal should be OK. The door and window seal also look OK.

Any ideas?

Monstrous4Banger

Likely sunroof drains. There are drains in the front that have a tube running down the a-pillar. It gets clogged. Make sure your DME isnt getting wet.

Droops83

Water leaks into the rear footwells are usually caused by hatch glass separation from the frame. But I would also check the sunroof drains as mentioned above.

Also, the sunroof seal of any car is NOT designed to be perfectly watertight. The seal is for wind noise and to keep large debris from getting in and clogging the sunroof drains when the sunroof is closed . . . .

Monstrous4Banger

Ah, drivers side. Derp. No DME to worry about.

I had this issue just recently. Ive never seen the hatch leaks get to the foot wells. It usually leaks into the seat, and the seat cushioning soaks it up, and the rear seat gets drenched.

For me, the the front ones get clogged, then the water runs down through the dash into the front footwell, but the chassis metal is sloped there and the water runs down under the seat into the back footwell.

I chased this for a while wondering where it was coming from, thinking it was the hatch or rear drains. I made sure the lines were clear, the hatch was sealed up, and it still kept collecting back there. I eventually figured out it was the front ones when I discovered moisture and condensation in the instrument panel.

FRporscheman

First thing I'd check is sunroof drains. Pour some water directly into each drain, and watch under the car to see if the water pours out. If a drain is clogged, the water can overflow in the little sunroof gutter and pour into the interior. If a front drain tube is disconnected (because they shrink over time) the water will just pour in from behind the dashboard, and depending on how your car is parked, it could pool in the back.

PEvans

I can check the sunroof drains. Any tips for clearing them?

Jay Wellwood

Weed eater line.

arthropraxis

I had this issue and it was not the sunroof drain. It was the drain by the fuse box. I had to loosen the wheel well liner to get behind it so I could clear the drain out from the back. Since then I clean that one and the battery side every time I wash my car. No leaks since.

PEvans

Did this leak cause water to accumulate in the floor pan behind the left/driver's seat but not in the driver's footwell, as in my case?

Can you be a bit more specific about the location of the upper end of the "drain by the fuse box" and where it ends?

FWIW I was able to pass a .065 trimmer cord through both drains in the rear of the sunroof channel and out underneath the car. Oddly, the second time I tried the driver's side I had to do a lot more coaxing, as if something blocked it when I pulled the cord out the first time. I don't yet know if the leak is still there.

I was not able to get the cord down the fuel filler drain. I need to try something different.

Are there other body drains I should check and clear?

Droops83

Because my 951 is parked on the street and under trees, the cowl drains mentioned above are the ones that clog up the most on my car. When they clog, water can flood the cowl area and spill over the backside and under the dashboard. If your driver and front passenger footwells are wet, check the cowl drains and the front sunroof drains.

The cowl drains usually clear out after a thorough run through with a shop vac, though compressed air also helps.

PEvans

In my case only the left rear footwell is wet. Still hoping to figure out how water gets only there.

raleighBahn

As the others said, start with sunroof drains. If any of the four clog up, the fill rate exceeds the drain rate and it finds its way into the cabin. Like a house with a leak, it can make its way to strange places.

Here is a post of mine, and I've been bone dry since: https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...four-hole.html

One of drains (rear passenger side) bottlenecks into a T fitting, described in the post. All it takes is any of the four to back up and it will pool up under the sunroof.

PEvans

That is a great post. Thanks.

What am I looking at in the picture that shows the passenger side T inside the car? I can't get oriented.

On my car I was able to snake both of the rear sunroof drains with trimmer cord, but that is pretty thin. I don't think the driver's side is completely unobstructed, and perhaps the passenger side just backs up at the T. I was not able to snake the fuel filler drain, but the T is probably the obstruction.

raleighBahn

Yes, the T is the obstruction (on the passenger side). If you pull the deck carpet you can get to it. Because the T is like half the diameter of the tube, debris starts to build up in there over the years. In a heavy rain, it will back up quickly and then the other three holes have problems.

Take some water and pour down the driver side rear and then passenger side rear - you'll see the the difference immediately.

PEvans

It appears that in my case running trimmer cord through the two rear sunroof drains corrected the problem, even though I didn't think I really broke anything loose. I think where the car was parked the corner of the sunroof channel over the left rear footwell is the lowest spot. So any of the drains might have been clogged.

Thanks again for the input and especially raleighBahn for the informative post. I think his mod to the right sunroof drain and fuel filler drain is an excellent idea. I was never able to get the trimmer line through the fuel filler drain.

I think something thicker than my .065 trimmer line might be more effective in clearing the drains, but I think you have to be careful about using too much force, as you might separate tube fittings behind trim.