GRUWEZ

Guys,

My faithful 1997 993 Targa keeps mystifying me. After the car has been standing for a longer time in the rain (yes, unfortunately this happens once in a while in the company parking lot), I hear this slosh noise coming from the right hand side of the dash when I do over 100 kph. I suspect somehow water enters an air duct, but I cannot seem to find where that would happen. There is no water on the floor, the carpets and the sound proofing are dry and I do not see any water drip from the dash either. The more rain the car has seen, the more obvious the noise is. It _seems_ to be most audible close to the RH side dash vent, but I am not 100% sure it really originates from there. After having driven my little toy for 20 to 30 minutes, the noise disappears.

Any ideas where I should start looking?

Regards,
Rik

techman1

Sounds like maybe the AC drain is plugged. open the hood, remove the pollen filter on the right side. You should be able to look into the opening towards the AC evap is. I suspect this is holding water.

Quadcammer

have you looked around/under the lower parts of the windscreen rubber seals for rust?

GRUWEZ

Yes, that's the first thing I did. No rust there.

GRUWEZ

I removed the RH side pollen filter and used a flashlight to look into the opening towards the evaporator. No water there...

The search goes on. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

vincer77

Is the noise only from driving during rain, or in the dry after it has rained?

GRUWEZ

The noise is there in the dry, after the car has been standing in the rain. However, the noise seems to subside more quickly when it does not rain when I drive the car. When I drive the car in heavy rain, the noise is there for much longer.

These little old Porsches are fascinating cars, aren't they? ;-)

techman1

When the sloshing returns, check that area again.
It will drain, but slowly if the drain plug is covered with dirt.

During the use of the AC system do you see water draining from the rubber tube under the car, approximately where the passenger footwell is? If not a steady stream it may indicate the drain is plugged.

GRUWEZ

Since I live in Belgium, which has a climate that is very unlike what you see in Florida, I would need to wait until a heat wave hits us before I can test this. None of my cars exhibit a steady stream of water from the A/C drain unless it is an extremely hot and muggy day -- at least to our standards.

It is really hard to describe the noise. The closest thing I can think of, is someone blowing bubbles through a hose in a bucket of water.

EntropyChaser993

Are you running the a/c when you hear the noise?

Leander

I get that kind of noise when driving in the rain. I just assumed that water was trapped by air pressure against the windshield or side window and the gurgling was the sound it made as the wind and gravity kept it suspended against the glass.

Linnm

Maybe dumb on my part but could it be the oil thermostat opening and letting the oil flow thru the system?

Mike J

I would try to isolate it a bit more.

Wait until the car is dry, and then use a garden hose on the car, but keep the water low on the car, say at the most 1/2 way up on the windshield. Soak for a while and see if you can get the water noise.

If it sloshes, then you know its not the roof and you can try just the hood /intake next cycle. If it does not slosh, then soak the car from the top to make sure you can duplicate the noise with a garden hose.

Cheers,

Mike

3healey

Could it be that pint of Jack Daniel's in the glovebox?

GRUWEZ

No. The A/C is off.