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Sounds like from the description it could be related to cowl drain or evap drain. What about the cabin filter? Is it a known leak area on 970? Water leaks are usually not one-offs and multiple people experience them, which helps in the root-cause finding process.
i was describing earlier in the thread that i traced the water issue to a plastic box up in the dash behind the blower fan... I need to pull the blower fan out to get a better look at it, as i've only gotten my hand up in there, so i'm feeling around blind.
Drove the car home about 4.5 hours (300+ miles) last night with the climate control on and got NO water, so that's why i don't think its the evap drain - but i also haven't been able to track down where that is....
but also, the plastic box i can feel butted up against the firewall, i believe might be the same box that sits in the valley under the cowl... if that valley doesn't drain fast enough when exposed to a lot of water, such as a carwash, and the box doesn't seal perfectly, then maybe that's where water got in.... I need to get the cowl off to confirm any of this, which is where i'm running into the issue with not being able to get the wiper arms off....
one step at a time. I *WILL* figure this out....
Alright, I got it all tore apart... looking for advice...
I feel strongly that water got through where I suspected originally. The valley had some debris, but the drains were not clogged. Even so, I removes the rubber things to make sure of no clog in the future.
Water definitely got by at the seal I circled on the right, then soaked down through the foam seal on the inside of the firewall (circled on left) and that's how it poured into the floorboard... those seals are damp, and they're the only ones damp.
one of the two clips was off, but I also may have knocked it off when tugging at the black box. I didn't know it had those clips and I tried removing it before going in and removing the blower fan.
It seems to me for water to even try and intrude here, the valley had to fill... so that's why I pulled the rubber drain thingys.... even though they weren't clogged, I'm sure they impact the flow of water.
So for advice... just reinstall everything as it is, and make sure it's all tight... or, I could reinforce the seal on the engine side of the firewall with some RTV silicone sealant, just to make sire it stays water tight. Thoughts?
I would not use a liquid/silicone sealant. One suggestion is simply to reassemble and be sure everything is tightened down properly. Another suggestion is to either replace the gasket or make another gasket of thin soft (waterproof/tight) material, so that the fasteners are still able to do their jobs.
As I was buttoning things up, I was pouring water to ensure good drainage... from what I can tell, there's 4 drains from the engine bay ... if I assume they're numbered 1 - 4, left to right looking at car, passenger side to driver's side, #3 seems to drain awful slow... but I can't even see this drain... I can see the water pool, can see it slowly trickle out under the car, but it does seem to be slow... but there are so many hoses and things running, I looked for 15 mins and couldn't find it. Next time I'm under the car, I'll see if I can see it from the bottom, and I'll pull the rubber thing out so it drains better.
Might be too late now that you have it back together, but next time try pushing a piece of string trimmer (weed whacker) line down the drain hole to clear it. Or very heavy fishing line, 75# test or heavier.
I would not use a liquid/silicone sealant. One suggestion is simply to reassemble and be sure everything is tightened down properly. Another suggestion is to either replace the gasket or make another gasket of thin soft (waterproof/tight) material, so that the fasteners are still able to do their jobs.
God, I HATE when previous owners see a leak and just glop silicone or RTV all over everything.
50% of the time it doesn't work.
50% of the time, it works for a little while.
100% of the time it ruins the part and causes hours of me cussing when I inevitably have to fix their ****ty hack-job.
Just buy a gawd-damn new gasket and torque it to spec.
I reassembled everything as designed by the engineers, right wrong or indifferent.
I want to test it out, but I've enjoyed the car for more than 10 mins for the first time since owning it, and I don't want to ruin my momentum... so I'll just hand wash it for a while.... lol
Hello! Did you have any other problems with the water intrusion from the engine bay? What is the name of that part? The mechanic just found this very same leak in my car and he can't find the part, so I was going to do my own investigating. Thanks!
Hello! Did you have any other problems with the water intrusion from the engine bay? What is the name of that part? The mechanic just found this very same leak in my car and he can't find the part, so I was going to do my own investigating. Thanks!
Yes I was able to fix mine and seal out any water. I don't remember replacing anything, just disassembled and used a waterproof sealant when putting it back together... it was a major PITA but not impossible, you're just working blind - entirely by feel.
You need to pull off the black plastic under the glove box, as if you were replacing the cabin filter. From there, remove the 4 screws holding in the blower fan and remove it... then, if you reach up in there and feel where the air is pulled in from the engine bay, you'll feel 2 clips.. I don't know the official name, but the type on a lunchbox or small toolbox... unclip those.
In the engine bay you need to take off the plastic cowl... to do this, it requires removal of the wiper arms iirc... then the intake scoop is easily accessed.... if unclipped from the inside, it comes right off.... clean up, use a sealant between box and firewall and reassemble the inside clips.
Interesting to stumble upon your post. I found a wet patch on the right side rear passenger floor. There was no obvious leakage point (not from the roof, for example) I dried it out and so far did not see it back. Mystery.
Interesting to stumble upon your post. I found a wet patch on the right side rear passenger floor. There was no obvious leakage point (not from the roof, for example) I dried it out and so far did not see it back. Mystery.
Seems your leakage was in the front side ?
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for me, it was the front. I was able to track the wetness by just blindly feeling around under the carpets.... I think I recall reading of issues with the rear, but don't recall where people found it was coming from.
04-28-2023, 05:05 PM
