Stephen Smith

I've had my C2 964 (93) for a few months now and in the last couple of days when I've gone to drive I seem to get this stale smell from the cooling/heating vents. I've got the air conditioner off and the heater off. The smell is a bit like a damp stale smell.
Does anyone know what is causing this and how I might be able to fix or do I just wait until it goes away.
It seemed to happen after I had been using the air conditioner and had the internal circulation of air activated.
Is it usually preferable to turn the heater/air con off before turning off the engine and re-starting again?
Thanks
Stephen Smith
Melbourne Australia

Adrian

Dear Stephen,
Has it been raining lately or is your 964 normally left out in the rain. I bet it is a little warm right now and the sun is shining. The smell you are reporting is normally associated with a water leak. If you pull up your passengers mat, and then remove the sound proofing I would suspect you have a large amount of water soaked into the sound proofing. Also check behind the passengers seat. If you push down onthe sound proofing you will often hear the water being forced out. This is the side that for some reason leaks first. The water drains block up over the years and this is the result.
Also check the drivers side.
The water vapour ends up behind the dash and inside the vent system.
One reason I removed the sound proofing.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Riccardo

Adrian,

So, were is the water likely to be coming in from?

George Stevens

As it has been pouring down with rain here in the UK. My RS is leaking into the rear footwell and seatwell

I have spoken to Porsche specialists Autofarm who are going to have the car in on Wednesday to try and rectify the fault.

This is my second 911 which leaks, usually it is the screen rubbers and one way of checking is to have a friend in the car feeling around whilst you put a hose on it.

We suspect my leak is coming from a hole left when the roll cage was removed.

If you have a leak it does need to be fixed the warm humidity inside the interior will help it rust faster.

I will keep you informed

<img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Stephen Smith

Thank you very much for your quick response to my problem.
I did drive my car last night in the rain. I guess this was the first time that I've driven it in the rain. I went to a friends house and it was left outside and got a bit wet.
I bought the car in late October 2001 from Porsche Australia and have a 12 month factory warranty so I guess I should make a claim on the warranty if this is something which is permitting the ingress of water.
I'm not very conversant with my car, I don't even know how to take out the floor mats, but I'll have a look around and see what I can find.
Thank you very much

Adrian

Dear Stephen,
If you find the water have the door seals replaced under warranty. I think you will find them hard and compressed. The drains also need opening and cleaning. Also have the window seals replaced. The water can flow down the window, into the door, out the drains and into the 964. If you look at the bottom of the door you will see a drain at the front.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Stephen Smith

I have looked for the dampness but couldn't find any.
I have washed my car many times and expect that I would have had some leaks before now if I had a bad leak in my car. I didn't think that the door seals were very worn but I'll need to get them checked out and its possible that the drain holes are blocked like you indicate.
Regards
Stephen Smith
93 C2 Tip

Adrian

Dear Stephen,
I suspect that your soundproofing cover is nicely intact. This will make it difficult to locate the water (if it is there) unless you remove the sound proofing. Best leave this to the dealer if the 964 is under warranty.
I know the smell and it is water somewhere. Maybe your carpets are just damp.
What you can try, we do this every two weeks in winter, is to park the 964 is a nice dry and warm place, open the doors and let the thing dry out.
A good indication of water residue in the 964 is, with the windshield nice a cool, first start of the morning, crank the windshield demister on. If your windshield starts to fog up very quickly, then you have some water in the system. It really is worth trying to track all this down because that smell can be hard to eliminate if things start rotting and it does not do the equipment under the seats any good either. A little trick if the weather is sunny and rain is not forcast, is to leave the windows down a little bit to allow the moist air to escape when you park,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

George Stevens

Stephen

This might not be too much to worry about.

By the sound of it you don't use the car very often.

If it is in the garage and unused, the car will get damp inside, only lots of regular use with the engine hot and heater on really dries out a slightly damp interior.

Adrian is right the sound proofing is a real sponge and can stay damp for ages (luckily mine doesn't have any!!)

Sounds as if you should use it more!!!!!

By the way if you do garage it, leave the windows down and use a de-humidifyer

I can sympathise with the problem, steamed up windows are an absolute pain, mine is made worse without a heated rear window, great weight saving idea Porsche!!!!!!

Stephen Smith

Dear Adrian
Thanks for your help, I really need to eliminate this damp smell problem, because it is very unpleasant and seems to give me a sore throat.
I will leave the windows down and hopefully the smell will dry out quickly. There is some padding under the mats and this must be the sound proofing to which you have been refering.

Adrian

Dear George,
There were 11 RSs manufactured with rear window heaters and a full set of luxury options and converted to RHD. These were the RS Touring Models. I cannot find out where they were exported to or why they were actually built but there you go. Sometimes fact is strangewr than fiction.
When I removed my sound prooofing from my C4 I took out 31kgs of sponge and water.
I also forgot to mention. You should check the trunk (boot) for damp carpet as well. There is a lotof condensation created in the front especially on a cool day and you fill up with nice warm fuel.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

George Stevens

Adrian

Mine is a lightweight model so it has the rear window without the wiper but with the heating elements but no associated wiring.

Crazy really when the weight saving is negligable and I think a heated rear window is essential equipment for a track car.

My front hood lid does pick up a lot of condensation and this drips on to carpet, It's a good idea to make sure this area is regularly dried out.

I'll let you know the source of the leak, it got worse when I pressure washed the car last week under all the wheel arches so I think it is coming from the plugged holes where the roll cage was attached.

Not the end of world but irritating, When these things happen I have keep remembering that the car is 9 years old and although sometimes unreliable, it is depreciation proof.

Kevin

Adrian, is correct with the amount of water that can accumulate in the foam mats. Many times if you press firmly with your fist near an edge you can see the water. I had to take the foam sound matting completely out to dry because of a leak in the top seal on my wifes cab.
In our climate there is no way that the foam could dry by itself without physically taking it out.

Stephen Smith

It appears that the dampness has entered either the front boot area or the cabin. Form what has been said before I need to dry it out. How difficult is to to remove all this foam padding? However, this only treats the symptom and not the cause, namely a leak. Is there any known inherent problem to any particular area/s in relation to water penetration into the 964's that I might be able to deal with to eliminate the cause of my problem.
Regards and Thank you
Stephen Smith
93 C2 Tip (M.Blue) <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Kevin

Stephen:

It is not hard to remove the foam padding. It just takes time, the carpet is glued to the top of the asphalt looking coating. Take a plastic or wooden cooking spoon and gently pry up the carpet, I used the spoon handle to help the release of the glue to foam pad. Please check your steering shaft where it passes through the front drivers footwell, there is a rubber foam grommet on the backside, it must seal tight or you will get water coming up through the underside of the car if you spray the outside wheelwells, steering rack area. Also, check your brake pushrod that also passes through your front tub. It is also sealed with a rubber boot, if it is cracked or partially off you will get water inside. These are additional areas to check after your windshield and body rubber areas have checked out.