Found my Leak at Last

[mojobaby]

I know that quite a few forum members have found puddles in their footwells after rain and have struggled to find the source of the leak.
Mostly, people think that is the windscreen seals that are leaking and put sealant between the glass and rubber. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.

Whenever I wash my car, I get a puddle as well.

Yesterday I was determined to find the leak, so I used a hose pipe and wet her thoroughly and this is what I found, which was very unexpected.

Water runs down the channel and then into the door gap


If the rubber seal on the door is damaged, worn or a bad fit the water runs down to the sill, takes the corner and runs along the top of the sill towards the front wheel. When it comes to the end it turns right and then drops down into the footwell.




Quite a lot of water!!!!

hope this might help someone who has the same problem as me

 

[Jurjenz]

Thanks for sharing! Glad you found it.

 

[petak]

That might be it.....I have also suspected on that place. BUt could not detected it to be 100% sure

On first picture, where your finger is pointing mojobaby, is the widest gap between doors and pillar. And if door rubber is poor or wrongly glued than when heavy rain is falling there could be leak

I usually find small puddle in front of that A pillar on the first bolt that holds body to chassis. Same on left and right side.

Also, if rain is really heavy while i drive or if i wash car with pressure washer and turn nozzle to vent below windscreen then i got water inside thru cabin heater opening.

 

[mojobaby]

Petak, the water stream went to that first bolt and made a small puddle (like you found) then turned right towards the pedals and then dropped down into the footwell.

I keep the hose pipe away from that vent below the windscreen because I also have that problem. Water came in even when the vent was closed. But these days I usually wash my car with a bucket of water and a sponge.

I used to go to the car wash place in town but afterwards I found that all my seats were wet, so yes I definitely need to replace those door rubbers.

 

[petak]

Thank you mojobaby. Info about puddle at first bolt is Golden info.

Than i am certain my car is leasing at that same place. Will double door rubber at that point.

If i wash car with washerpreasure than i got Bubbles around window frames.

Solution is, as you find out mojobaby, sponge bath for our elder loving ones.

 

[angel]

The box section of the body just below the windscreen and behind the dashboard will leak water in, mostly through the vent flap / grille.

The exit points are the large openings above the heater, that are there to carry fresh air through the heater core. Water eventually gathers at the bottom af the heater box, and gets out of the car from the drain pipe and rubber tube visible behind the timing chain cover.
It's self-explanatory that this pipe should be clear (often it gets kinked), and that the pipe on the body is not clogged by mud or debris.

Equally important is that any hole or thread on the box section behind the dashboard is properly sealed. These are the handbrake and choke bracket fixing bolts (pre-83 cars), the wiring harness fixing plate screws, and two screws holding a deflector over the steering column fixing bracket. These are already sealed at the factory, but may have been removed at once. Look at other holes drilled in order to fix accessories with sheet metal screws, such as a radio under the passener side of the dashboard.
It's amazing how much water can enter from such unsealed holes, I eye-witnessed it by looking under the dashboard with a light, while another person poured water without pressure over the windscreen.

 

[mojobaby]

That front vent is half the size of the front windscreen and will collect a lot of water if you use a hosepipe or bucket when you wash your car. Thats one of the reasons why I use a sponge.

And as Angel says, make sure that the drain hose is clear otherwise flooding will occur

any water on the front windscreen is supposed to drop into the little gutter beneath the vent and then run to either side, left or right, and then pass through a small gap and run down a channel/lip within the front fenders and exit behind the front wheels.

any mud thrown up by the front wheels sometimes blocks the channel and retains moisture which leads to rust.

in the photos below, you can see the narrow gutter and the holes on the side where water is supposed to escape.

You can also see the repairs that I had to do, after the inside channels/lip were blocked by mud which caused the rust.

This is a common place for R4's to rust, and the problem is repeated on the join of the back fender to the body, also caused by mud thrown up by the wheels.

 

[JASPER94]

Thanks for the tips .most helpful .will check out on mine asap x

 

[petak]

Drain pipe from heater matrix is clear. IT is just amount of water that pass thru windscreen vent when you splash it with hose so it fills up bucket and hose can not let it thru all of the sudden.

holes in front fenders are clear also.

water goes in somewhere below that point.
Or around door rubber, or on some bolt that holds inner front fender and shelf inside car.

 

[mojobaby]

So difficult to find a leak, I've been looking for 5 years to find it. At times I felt like putting a hosepipe in my car and filling it up with water and then watching where it comes out.

 

[petak]

That would be easier was to find leak.

Strange is that sometimes after heavy rain there is nothing, and sometimes after slightly raindrop there is puddle under pedals and on the crossmember.