LukeP Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Hi. I have a bad problem that I discovered yesterday with water underneath the floormat and seat on the drivers side. I initially thought it was only underneath the floormat area and it was also wet close to the center console/gear shifter area.Today I got a rude awakening when I noticed it was totally wet underneath the drivers seat also and had started to mildew. When I was getting the water up with paper towels I could hear "squishing" as in there was water trapped underneath the carpeting also.The car has been idle over the winter months and I only bought it last summer. It is a 88' with only 60k. It initially had a issue with water getting up underneath the headliner and someone here suggested putting rubber tubing underneath the seals around the window(s). I had the headliner fixed and have had no problems with water leaks there, but I am wondering if I made another problem by solving that issue?Has anyone else here had this problem and where are some typical places water could be coming in from?thanks,Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBS0 Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Do you have a sunroof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWC Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 My son has a Pontiac Grand Prix and had the same problem, and all it was is the drain tube going down the A pillar was plugged I took my compressor and blew out all the junk and he hasn't had the problem since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 No, no sunroof. I plan to get out there tomorrow and wash it down and look for any leaks. And then I will get the water up and put a heater in there until everything is dry. BTW, the water seemed to be the worst directly underneath the seat as it was pooling up there. JWC....can you point me to the drain tube that you are refering to? That was my thought too, that maybe there was a drain that was plugged or something as I did not notice any excess moisture on the passenger side, and if it was due to the tubing I used to push the window seals out, it would had leaked into the cabin on both sides.Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex_houston Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I would bet on either the door was not completely shut or the window was partly down. Tha will flood the floor every time in a rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EDBS0 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 drain tube refers to sunroof only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 Well I noticed some water on the passenger side also, but not nearly as much as the drivers side. I am pretty good about closing the doors tight and the window was all of the way up I am pretty sure but I cannot say positively. Any other things to look for? Is it possible that there is some kind of drainage hole under the windshield by the fresh air intake and it became clogged and water came in that way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWC Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 The drain tube on my sons car was around the hinge area, it could be seen once the door was open. Good luck on tracking down the leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 I was out there today cleaning up some of the water and I noticed that it seems as if water is coming from the front drivers-side to the right of the foot pedals. I assume it is pooling up in the back seat(s). I would assume that it is a leaky windshield or some kind of plugged drain or such? Any guesses?I had talked to a detail shop last month about detailing my car and also dying my seats, and they also do water/mold damage repair. He said that if there is water underneath the carpet in the pad, and there is, that it would need to come out. That is once they tracked down the leak and fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 The service manual is not much help ... but you could have a leak in the heater/a/c area.Water that comes in the fresh air inlet is supposed to drain out the right and left side at the front of the rocker panels. Some water can get into the air plenum but is supposed to drain out the same drain the evaporator uses. I would pull the carpet back at the front of the drivers side and spray water into the fresh air intake. Check for water coming into the passanger compartment. There are several possible causes. Years of dust, dirt, small leaves, and animal hair collecting in the duct and plugging the drain. It is also possible the the right or left main drain has become plugged and heavy rain will back up and flood into the passanger compartment.When you spray water into the fresh air intake, try most of the flow to the drivers side and look for it draining out, then do the passanger side. You should be getting a good flow of water out those drains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Some water can get into the air plenum but is supposed to drain out the same drain the evaporator uses. </div></div>This brings to mind something that happened to an '84 T-Bird my wife had. We were traveling through the northern Arkansas/ Missouri one hot humid summer on our way back up to White Bear Lake, MN. when we started getting water dribbling into the cockpit of the car out of the lower heater ducts on either side of the center console. The longer we drove, the more water came poring out. It got so bad that we were using a plastic slurpy cup to bail out the water at every rest stop. Once we arrived home I was able to investigate the cause further. I located the evaporator drain tube protruding from the firewall and ran an untwisted coat hanger up through the tube. I didn't push it in too far before about a quart or more of black, gunky water came gushing out. Maybe you have a similar condition. I was just outside looking at the firewall of my car to try and see if I could locate a similar tube on the Reatta. I did not. Also, like Barney said, the manual doesn't help in locating the drain. At least I couldn't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thanks for the tips. I would not be surprised if it was a clogged drain from the air intake. When I bought the car there was a good amount of pine needles and such in there. The car had obviously been sitting ununsed for a few years. I will give the detail shop this info and if anyone can give me the location of the drain tube I will pass this on also. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NEMO Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Remove blower motor, 4 or 5 screws, from the firewall,vaccum out all the slop.It is most likely full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex_houston Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 What kind of car are we talking about? Back seats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 NEMO, is the blower motor easily accessible from the engine compartment, or is hidden underneath the dash somewhere? I know in my old Volvo 240 that the blower motor was a 4 hour job as the mechanic would basically have to disassemble the whole dash to get at it. If it is easy to get to I could probably do this myself. I am fairly handy with a screwdriver but have limitations thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NEMO Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 The motor is very easy to remove from firewall,you might have to tilt the engine,by removing the dog bone motor mount to tilt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 As NEMO said it's an easy job. Did it myself several months ago on my '89. Seemed to be enough clearance without having to resort to moving the engine. Will need a nut driver or, more likely, a socket (probably an 8mm or 5/16" don't remember exactly.) and ratchet with extension Not at home right now but will be @ 6:30pm Central time. I took pictures when I pulled the blower. Will post them when I get home. (Hope I can find them.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 OK... My daughter in law finally got done with her Ebay stuff and let me have my computer back.Here's the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Thanks for the pics John. Not sure if I have the right tools to remove it. I have a basic socket set but no extensions. I am going to look at it this morning and see if it is feasible. At least I have a few ideas now of where the water is coming from. And that seems to be the area where the water could plausibly be coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Here... you can use mine. Al kidding aside, For what you'd pay someone to do it for you you could get a decent set, a couple of extensions and a six pack. If you have a Harbor Freight or even a Big Lots store you could get what you need cheap. Plan on doing any serious wrenching (if you own a Reatta long enough you will)and you might just as well go get some Craftsman tools at K-Mart or Sears. Or, if you want to really spend some money, flag down a Matco, or better yet, a Snap-on truck and they'll be happy to take all the money you can throw at them.Anyway... good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ragtop Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I own a 90 convertible with a leak problem and floorboard flooding that I have been chasing for years. One thing that happened to me and could happen to you. There is a thick bundle of wire that run under the seats. corrosion ate through the ground wire junction and caused all kinds of faults. Took me a while to figure out what was going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 We probably should not confuse thing by mixing coupe and convertible leak problems. The convertible has a completely different set of potential problems. A coupe can have a leaking back window and the water can run down the bulkhead under the window, across the floor under the storage compartments and puddle under the seats.A convertible can leak around the boot seal....but GM put a gutter on the rear wheel wells and a drain at the front. If the drain is plugged, you can get water under the seats or in the trunk. Ragtop mentinoned the wiring corrosion.... this is usually under the passanger seat and it is the ground splice that gives problems. There are several ground wires crimped together and moisture can do a trick on it..... wires themselves can run through water and if there are no breaks in the insulation, it is not a problem. But if you have a connector, or splice and water you will have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeP Posted February 29, 2008 Author Share Posted February 29, 2008 Hello Barney and everyone....well after taking the car to the detail place who also does water damage repair, he said that they could not find a leak after a high pressure water test. They did replace the padding underneath the carpet though and I am worried about a repeat, even though the rains have subsided here.I called a auto glass place and they said to properly reseal the back windshield it would have to come out and that they could not do it because the glass was worth more than the car (their words). Also, someone previous mentioned the motor blower as a possible source of water coming in. In that case does the water only come into the cabin when the blower is operational say when I am using the heater?I would just as soon buy a nice car cover for it but I am pretty sure the local authorities have some kind of policies against this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 If the drain for the blower is plugged you Can get water coming int the cabin on the passengers side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim NotreDame IN Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 i haven't looked and i've never done this, so i may be entirely wrong, but i think that the blower motor is accessible from under the dash, behind the glove box. most vehicles have the heater core accessible under the hood though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jim ND IN</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> most vehicles have the heater core accessible under the hood though. </div></div>It would have saved me countless hours of work if you were right about that. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right place for the access door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now