bizzare leakage on rear passenger floor

pipedream · #1 11-07-2006, 05:39 PM

hey guys-

well its winter here in oregon which means.... rain. and lots of it. usually i park in a garage, but when im at work, my car sits out on the street all day soaking up the rain.

the floor matts undernear the driver seat more towards the rear passenger floor space is completely soaked through with water. I'm not talking a little bit, but I mean it is literally soaked through. There is no apparent leak from the ceiling or anywhere else, it appears as if its actually coming up THROUGH the floor somehow. Does this mean there is a hole in the bottom of my car? I did a quick initial expection and didn't see anything very unusual- of course, its kind of hard to really examine the undercarriage when its soaked just from normal driving through puddles and water.

I guess I was wondering if anyone else has experienced a leakage problem similar like this, and of course, what solution they arrived at.. if any.

thanks guys..
-Eric

Hocrest · #2 11-07-2006, 06:13 PM

My first thought is that one of the drains from the sunroof is leaking.

pipedream · #3 11-07-2006, 06:17 PM

sounds plausible to me. how do you check the sunroof drains?

Hohopirates · #4 11-07-2006, 06:17 PM

My car did the same thing a few years ago, it was parked on the street and the water got close to two feet deep near the curb. It almost ruined my ABS computer, I would recommend checking it. I could not find where the water came in probably just around a bolt or something. From now on I watch where I park.

pipedream · #5 11-07-2006, 06:27 PM

hmm interesting. so it might be as simple as due to my behavior of liking to drive through huge ass puddles, that its just surging up underneath? that seems to be more plausible... i guess ill have to check for loose? bolts underneath the car...

hm.

pipedream · #6 11-07-2006, 06:27 PM

ps: my abs breaks seem to work pretty good still, i tested them last night

Hocrest · #7 11-07-2006, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pipedream

sounds plausible to me. how do you check the sunroof drains?

Pull off the rear interior side panel on the affected side. The tubes run down the "A" and "C" pillar on each side. So if the leak is in the back, I'd suspect the tube in the "C" pillar.

Once the panel is off, climb inside and have someone hold a hose onto the roof of the car while you check out if that is the source.

Hohopirates · #8 11-07-2006, 06:33 PM

I took some roof sealant and just gooped it on around any possible areas. I had to pull up my carpet and figured I might as well do it. I have not wanted to test it so have been careful where I parked since then. Steve

It's Just Eric · #9 11-07-2006, 07:50 PM

I had a similar problem, but the water never accumulated. Turned out that it was just from driving with the windows down (Apperently the driver stays dry, but not the back seat!)
Also might wanna check for moisture on the front part of the floor, as water could be coming in from there, traveling (Either through or possibly under the carpet) and pooling up in the back.

Also may want to test and see if your door seals are waterproof. Just sit in the car and have someone spray all the door edges with a hose and look for leaks. a slightly tweaked door frame would cause such a leak (You can probly neanderthol it straight if that is such the case)

msvx95 · #10 11-08-2006, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hocrest

Pull off the rear interior side panel on the affected side. The tubes run down the "A" and "C" pillar on each side. So if the leak is in the back, I'd suspect the tube in the "C" pillar.

Once the panel is off, climb inside and have someone hold a hose onto the roof of the car while you check out if that is the source.

I can just picture this.....water everywhere.....LOL

Earthworm · #11 11-08-2006, 08:19 AM

I also had a similar problem. It turned out to be one of the plastic covers in the frame rails under the car was missing. Replaced it and no more water.

pipedream · #12 11-08-2006, 10:48 AM

hmph. well it looks like ill be doing some investigating tonight. When I got into the car it was still pretty thoroughly soaked on the floor. I suspect it could be related to many of the reasons that were mentioned- maybe it is as simple as the water is just getting in under the door frame. it is clearly not very water tight, because i remember that when i would take the car through a car wash, that i could sometimes see the soap trying to creep through under the doors.

thanks for all of the help.

-eric

SilverSpear · #13 11-09-2006, 12:24 AM

Eric, remove the rear side panels and check if your car has transparent sealants to let the water run into the lower car frames and not inside it. It could be that the water holes in the frame (the ones that let the water out) are plugged and the water is accumulating until the frames are filled and water starts pouring inside the car.

Check all the suggestions mentioned above by all members and start from easy to hard...

pipedream · #14 11-09-2006, 10:57 AM

thanks silverspear, that sounds like a very good thing to check. I still haven't had time to tear into the car yet, ugh, time is not on my side right now.

the annoying part about sitting water in your car is the lovely smell it starts to make after a few days of just sitting there. I really need to take care of this.

ill try and tear things apart tonight and post my results.

trieck1232 · #15 11-11-2006, 10:03 AM

you could always put in a bilge pump