sand_man

So we’ve had a lot of rain here lately and the other night I was unable to put my car in the garage. When I came out in the morning, I had about a half inch of water pooling in the rear passenger floor area. I pulled the mats, carpets and the insulating foam from the passenger side of the car and dried the floor. Thus far, the driver side remains dry. I realize that leaks often occur at the front and run rearwards.

Today, I started with a hose and began searching for the leak. The rear sunroof drains are working. The rear window does not appear to be leaking. The hood cowl vent does not appear to be leaking. However, I noticed that this structural member is filling with water at the front and channeling it to the rear. So I know the leak is coming from up front.

Before I continue tearing stuff apart, maybe the answer is simple. What on the outside of the car would cause water to enter at this location? A leaky windshield? What about where the windshield wipers attach? I have pulled the door jam wiring loom and can see that the front passenger sunroof drain pipe is there and exiting through its grommet. Where on the front or underside of the car do the front sunroof drains finally exit (I know the rear exit at the engine compartment)? It is on my list to have the windshield pulled and resealed, just for good measure, but there are no guarantees that’s the actual issue. I have pulled the front carpeted kick plates and do not see or feel any water, even when I look up into the dash.

I have searched but don’t see anything specifically pointing to this particular boxed area on the floor filling with water

PRSWILL

Sunroof? Door jams?

sand_man

I did recently have all of the belly pans off for a Golden Rod install. I wonder if a drain is blocked or disturbed underneath?

sand_man

What is odd, is that nothing else, that I can see, on the front floor is getting wet...the water is just entering into that boxed area.

mpruden

When I troubleshoot leaks, I find that a hose applies too much water to too broad an area. I'd recommend a water bottle used for cycling or some kind of cup where you can direct a small stream of water with accuracy. Then do trial and error around all possible points, one at a time, testing for ingress after each pour.

For example, think of pouring a small focused stream of water directly on the glass side of the windshield seal, then the body side.

sand_man

Yes, very true, and good advice! I was just quickly trying to rule some areas out. But, yeah the hose was too sloppy to determine the exact cause of the leak.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Most leaks are due to non-factory windshields & seals as well as clogged sunroof drains so those are the first places to inspect very closely.

If you have an aftermarket windshield and seal, those need to be replaced with dealer-sourced ones to help keep the car from leaking.

sand_man

Thanks, Steve. I still have the factory windshield and seals. My latest theory is that one of the belly-pan covers, which was removed for the Golden Rod install, is blocking the front passenger sunroof drain. This is likely causing the draining water to run back into the cockpit through that area in my picture, rather than exiting through the bottom of the chassis.

Question: underneath the car, where are the front sunroof drains located?

deekay911

Had you driven the car in the rain? Just re-read your post and I guess you had. I think you have the mysterious water ingress issue many of us have had. When I get a second later I'll point you to an interesting post on this.

sand_man

No. Leak occurred while sitting.

deekay911

Ok forget that then

sand_man

I did some searches and found a couple of other odd areas.

techman1

It is possible for the door plastic sheet under the door panel to fail.
Close the door with a paper towel on the threshold near the back. Wet the window. Look for water wetting the paper, not from the door drains, but wher the door panel meets the door at the bottom.