Water in footwell

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D366Y
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Water in footwell

Post by D366Y »

Morning all,

Had the delight this morning to get in the car and discover that the passenger footwell was totally drenched. Carpets were sodden, and upon lifting them up there was a small pond underneath just swimming around.

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas about what could be causing the water to get in? I plan to check underneath the car along the sills etc. in case it's coming from underneath, but otherwise don't know where else it could be coming from apart from the door seals....?? Just wanted to see if there was anywhere else you would recommend checking as well

Thanks!
Danny
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Jasonmarie »

All sorry to here that Dan , could be a few places the screen being number one then the heater matrix inside but you would have seen a loss in coolant .
But here’s the stinger a common place is the inner wing on the drivers side get somebody to hose water in the gaps with the bonnet , wing , door . As they can get a small hole on the inner wing a quick fix is get some filler up inside under the dash .

I would try getting the carpet and underlay out so it can dry . Bloody water gets everywhere .
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by pbar »

That's a bummer Danny, but knowing your calm and powerful approach to problems I'm sure you will have it under control very quickly. In addition to Jason's sound advice above, water can come from lots of places but you would usually have a warning or can see it getting slowly worse, so for it to go from nothing (I assume) to a pond quickly, it must mean that something has failed, so I'd be looking at door seals I think, as you suggest. Perhaps you have had the door open recently, or had a passenger, and a section of the seal has come off, something like that?

Dirty rain water often leaves a trail too, so perhaps look out for a tell tale sign of where it is travelling from.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by D366Y »

Thanks guys, it doesn't look like the heater matrix as it was closer to the door edge of the passenger side rather than towards the centre section so will have to look at the door seal and inner wing sections

In the meantime I'll have to take the front passenger seat out (hope the Mrs doesn't mind feeling like I'm a chauffeur) along with the carpet, glove box and kick panels and see what I can find...

Cheers
Danny
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by pbar »

Good luck Danny, hoping for an easy fix!
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by stevemarl »

I`d think it unlikely to be the heater as you`d smell the antifreeze? Has it been driven in the wet lately (some people do) which suggests floor, inner wing, or has it just been `rained on` in which case more likely windscreen, scuttle, door seals etc. As Paul says, leaks usually develop over time and will leave a trail of rusty/dirty stain.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by D366Y »

stevemarl wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 12:16 pm I`d think it unlikely to be the heater as you`d smell the antifreeze? Has it been driven in the wet lately (some people do) which suggests floor, inner wing, or has it just been `rained on` in which case more likely windscreen, scuttle, door seals etc. As Paul says, leaks usually develop over time and will leave a trail of rusty/dirty stain.
It gets driven every day so yes was out in the rain all day yesterday and I only noticed it this morning, so thinking windscreen/scuttle/door seals - will give it a gander later if I get time - need to get the diff cover back on the other one at some point when the paint is done!
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by andyd »

Hate water leaks! It also causes condensation inside and smells nasty too :(

Couldn't trace one that was flooding the boot in the old Focus, so sold it.

:goodluck:
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Another day, another problem.…

Sound advice from the others, by the way. If you take the carpets out but can't see any trace of a leak it might be an idea to sprinkle some talc around. When the water comes in it will leave a tell-tale trace in the talc.
:goodluck: :D

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Re: Water in footwell

Post by D366Y »

Andrew 2.8i wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 4:47 pm Another day, another problem.…

Sound advice from the others, by the way. If you take the carpets out but can't see any trace of a leak it might be an idea to sprinkle some talc around. When the water comes in it will leave a tell-tale trace in the talc.
:goodluck: :D

Andrew.
Top notch idea there Andrew! I was just going to cry and give up :lol:
Definitely identified a leaky sunroof at the same time - I was lucky enough to have a second shower this morning on the way to work :roll:
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

D366Y wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 5:03 pm Top notch idea there
It had to happen sooner or later! :lol:
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Bug »

Don't forget that the sunroof drains empty into the sills too. If the sill drains block then they eventually fill up.
Can happen when good intentioned people fill them up with waxoyl.

However, I would agree that culprit number one is usually the drain hole in the bottom corner of the windscreen under the seal. Rots around it and in pours the water.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by stevemarl »

i suppose, on the bright side, you can rule out the floor as that must be watertight to maintain your little pond?
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Mr B »

Hi guy's,

Not exactly sure how to describe this but here goes, the grill in the scuttle panel is where the heater draws in the fresh air, at the bottom of the compartment is a drain off for water that goes down the grill when it rains, if this drain off becomes blocked with debris like leafs etc. it will flood and allow water to flow into the car through the heater vents by your feet, the drain off is under the bonnet and is held on to the bulkhead by 2 screws and sort of funnel shaped and made of rubber, if this is the cause of your issue it just needs removing and all the debris will come out with some prodding, the screws securing it to the bulkhead can be awkward to remove though

Hope this helps

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Re: Water in footwell

Post by D366Y »

Thanks for the extra suggestions guys - will try and get out over the weekend to identify the culprit!
No sure my sunroof actually has drains on it though - it looks like an 80's aftermarket number which would explain why it won't bloody stop leaking!

Will let you know how I get on!
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Jasonmarie »

D366Y wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:01 am Thanks for the extra suggestions guys - will try and get out over the weekend to identify the culprit!
No sure my sunroof actually has drains on it though - it looks like an 80's aftermarket number which would explain why it won't bloody stop leaking!

Will let you know how I get on!
Keep us posted Mr Dan and hope it’s a easy fix ...... :cool:
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Bug »

D366Y wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:01 am Thanks for the extra suggestions guys - will try and get out over the weekend to identify the culprit!
No sure my sunroof actually has drains on it though - it looks like an 80's aftermarket number which would explain why it won't bloody stop leaking!

Will let you know how I get on!
Ah, ok, well forget that then.

But that's a good call for clearing out the scuttle panel drain thingummy on the engine bay bulkhead.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by STEVEW »

Hello D 336Y

My son's Capri also had water in the footwell. When it was washed a trickle of water could be seen coming from the heater area.
I poured water into the intake slots and sure enough water appeared inside the car under the heater unit.
It had been off the road for at least 4 years and also suffered from heater-not-working syndrome. Consequently, we overhauled the heater unit and at the same time changed the two bulkhead seals, which were grotty.
A second water test through the slots showed the leak had stopped.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by Major_Tom »

D366Y wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 11:55 am Thanks guys, it doesn't look like the heater matrix as it was closer to the door edge of the passenger side rather than towards the centre section so will have to look at the door seal and inner wing sections

In the meantime I'll have to take the front passenger seat out (hope the Mrs doesn't mind feeling like I'm a chauffeur) along with the carpet, glove box and kick panels and see what I can find...

Cheers
Danny
Take the plug in the footwell out too until you sort it - so long as the water can get out agian youre ok.
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Re: Water in footwell

Post by ollyw »

Major_Tom wrote: Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:42 pm

Take the plug in the footwell out too until you sort it - so long as the water can get out agian youre ok.
😂
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