Water Leaks on floor boards

[mytc05]

Anyone know the common leak places that cause the floor to get wet in both the driver's side and passenger side floor boards? My TC has been doing this for a few years now, and I can't seem to find where the leak is, despite checking some of the places people mentioned might be the cause. The only places I really notice getting all the water is the floorboards under the mat on both sides. Doesn't seem to be water coming in from around the windows, as I don't typically find much water besides a good amount on the floorboards. I've read others having the same problems. So, thinking this might be a somewhat common problem. So, trying to figure out what the usual cause is and how to fix? Would definitely appreciate some guidance, as this has been hard for me to pin down the cause.

[Nile]

I'm assuming you literally have water with no coolant as a heater core would be a likely, and very ugly culprit if your liquid contained anti=freeze.  My best guess is a problem with the AC drain - hose disconnected, plugged, maybe a hole, something like that.  Remember the AC turns on with the defroster, so you would not have to deliberately turn on the AC to have this happen.  Good luck.

[mytc05]

On 3/5/2023 at 3:44 PM, Nile said:

I'm assuming you literally have water with no coolant as a heater core would be a likely, and very ugly culprit if your liquid contained anti=freeze.  My best guess is a problem with the AC drain - hose disconnected, plugged, maybe a hole, something like that.  Remember the AC turns on with the defroster, so you would not have to deliberately turn on the AC to have this happen.  Good luck.

Hi Nile,

It's actually a water leak from the outside into the cabin. I'm getting soaked carpet on the driver's side and sometimes the passenger's side at different points, especially after it rains. It does this with both the hardtop on and also with the  soft top on. So, the water is leaking in from somewhere, but I can't see a path of water anywhere. So, it doesn't appear to be anywhere around the windows or the tops.

[Hemi Dude]

16 hours ago, mytc05 said:

Hi Nile,

It's actually a water leak from the outside into the cabin. I'm getting soaked carpet on the driver's side and sometimes the passenger's side at different points, especially after it rains. It does this with both the hardtop on and also with the  soft top on. So, the water is leaking in from somewhere, but I can't see a path of water anywhere. So, it doesn't appear to be anywhere around the windows or the tops.

Will you tell us WHEN you have the leak?   WHEN you wash your car? WHEN you drive in the rain?

WHEN the A/C is on?   We can not diagnose a leak without seeing it, that should be obvious, so you need to give us some useful input information.  There is no magic FIX.  I drive an early built 89 and it leaks at the 2 corners of the top attachment to the upper part of the windshield. This is a common point of leakage. I don’t even fuss with it.  I just carry a large towel to put over the sun visors if I run into rain.

[mytc05]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:08 PM, Hemi Dude said:

Will you tell us WHEN you have the leak?   WHEN you wash your car? WHEN you drive in the rain?

WHEN the A/C is on?   We can not diagnose a leak without seeing it, that should be obvious, so you need to give us some useful input information.  There is no magic FIX.  I drive an early built 89 and it leaks at the 2 corners of the top attachment to the upper part of the windshield. This is a common point of leakage. I don’t even fuss with it.  I just carry a large towel to put over the sun visors if I run into rain.

Sure, sorry @Hemi Dude. It doesn't seem to be the usual leak around the corners of the top attachment. I occasionally get that as well when driving through heavy rain, but this floor wetness happens after it's sat parked out in the rain. I will find the floorboards on one side or the other (or sometimes both) pretty soaked, but the glass, door panels, seats, dash, a-pillar all seem dry. And it's generally just the bottom of the floor carpeting in front of the seats. I can't feel it being wet going up the sides anywher around the floor area. So, it's making it hard to diagnose if it's running down from somewhere. I know someone mentioned in the past checking drain tubes in the tonneau area to see if they're plugged, as I guess this can be the culprit, but they seem to be fine. Its been a problem for a few years now, and it's just been really hard to diagnose.

[mensanguy]

Part A

Have you ever considered sitting in the car the next time it rains to see where water is coming from?  Get a few cold (or hot) ones, turn on the radio and have a relaxing time while patiently waiting for drops or small streams to appear on the carpets or perhaps under the dash or down a piece of trim. A layer of paper towels can be a great tell-tale indicator. A wonderful  way to relax AND find a leak.

 

Part B

If your carpets are wet there's a great chance that the padding underneath is soaked and moldy, rotted or worse. One TC i owned had a strange funk in the cabin, which was  soggy passenger side padding, that  also really messed up some of the electrical wiring under the flooring. Plus helped the rust to accelerate . Remove the kick-panel molding and reach under to see. If its wet, prepare to remove the seats to get to it all, not a big job, but it will allow you pull out padding to dry, AND possible see where the water could be coming from. 

 

if you've got the time and desire, remove the seats and all of the carpeting and padding to really find out where the water is coming from.

I have been chasing water leaks for nearly half a century, and they can be a real challenge.