Water leak in footwells - my solution
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 7:52 pm
After suffering a massive leak into the drivers side footwell, I did battle with it - firstly dying the carpets/ sound proofing and then unblocking the drains for the scuttle (cause of the water entering the car). Hope this helps others out. I assume this is similar to the hatchbacks, so perhaps could be put on that section of the forum too?
Firstly, the "floor" behind the front seat consists of approximately 3 inches of soundproofing, which is excellent at soaking up the water that leaks in through the scuttle, when the drain tubes get blocked! I removed the rear seat base( held by three clips along the front lower edge, pull up the base as close as possible to each clip - 1 in the centre and 1 eat each end) and front seat, along with the sill kick strip and lower seat belt mounting. the carpet can be lifted as well as the soundproofing. I disconnected the battery before removing the front seat, as you have to disconnect the connnector to the seat for the airbag - did n't want to chance it going off accidently! I squeezed the soundproofing the remove as much water as possible and mopped the water from the floor of the car using rags. I then used an hair dryer to dry out the carpet and soundproofing -it took about an hour!
Then, I moved on to the front and discovered that the "floor" is just asquare of plywood! Beneath this was a cavity which was the real floor, and resembed a minature swimming pool, which in my case help about 1/2 inch of water. Again I squeezed out as much water as possible from the soundproofing on the front bulkhead under the dashboardand the mopped out the water from the floor of the car, and dryed the carpet and soundproofing using the hair dryer.
Reassemble the interior and reconnect the battery.
Next move on to the drains on the scuttle.
Remove the wiper arms and plastic grille. Then you will see the drains.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063862966/in/set-72157631714241412
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063864844/in/set-72157631714241412
The outlets are here for the drivers side, behind a cover the goes across the bulkhead:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063861373/in/set-72157631714241412
And here, for the passenger side behind the wheelarch liner:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063865370/in/set-72157631714241412
I have included the links to my flickr album so you can see the photos full size.
I used a metal rod (old coat hanger) to poke into the top of the drain as far as possible to clear as much as I could. I found although water now drained from the scuttle it was very slow. If you get access to the bottom of the drains, you will find a flap across the bottom (why?) . If you pull the flap down you will find loads of dirt, clear out this & I bent the flap down so it didi n't close off the bottom of the drain. Also it is worth pointing out that the drain tube as at least two bends in it!! You will see in the photo of the nearside drain that it is also used as a grommet for the wiring from the wiper motor, another French design classic!
After this if you the pour water into the scuttle it should drain straight out, as in the video here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063938990/in/set-72157631714241412
Firstly, the "floor" behind the front seat consists of approximately 3 inches of soundproofing, which is excellent at soaking up the water that leaks in through the scuttle, when the drain tubes get blocked! I removed the rear seat base( held by three clips along the front lower edge, pull up the base as close as possible to each clip - 1 in the centre and 1 eat each end) and front seat, along with the sill kick strip and lower seat belt mounting. the carpet can be lifted as well as the soundproofing. I disconnected the battery before removing the front seat, as you have to disconnect the connnector to the seat for the airbag - did n't want to chance it going off accidently! I squeezed the soundproofing the remove as much water as possible and mopped the water from the floor of the car using rags. I then used an hair dryer to dry out the carpet and soundproofing -it took about an hour!
Then, I moved on to the front and discovered that the "floor" is just asquare of plywood! Beneath this was a cavity which was the real floor, and resembed a minature swimming pool, which in my case help about 1/2 inch of water. Again I squeezed out as much water as possible from the soundproofing on the front bulkhead under the dashboardand the mopped out the water from the floor of the car, and dryed the carpet and soundproofing using the hair dryer.
Reassemble the interior and reconnect the battery.
Next move on to the drains on the scuttle.
Remove the wiper arms and plastic grille. Then you will see the drains.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063862966/in/set-72157631714241412
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063864844/in/set-72157631714241412
The outlets are here for the drivers side, behind a cover the goes across the bulkhead:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063861373/in/set-72157631714241412
And here, for the passenger side behind the wheelarch liner:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063865370/in/set-72157631714241412
I have included the links to my flickr album so you can see the photos full size.
I used a metal rod (old coat hanger) to poke into the top of the drain as far as possible to clear as much as I could. I found although water now drained from the scuttle it was very slow. If you get access to the bottom of the drains, you will find a flap across the bottom (why?) . If you pull the flap down you will find loads of dirt, clear out this & I bent the flap down so it didi n't close off the bottom of the drain. Also it is worth pointing out that the drain tube as at least two bends in it!! You will see in the photo of the nearside drain that it is also used as a grommet for the wiring from the wiper motor, another French design classic!
After this if you the pour water into the scuttle it should drain straight out, as in the video here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jak671230/8063938990/in/set-72157631714241412