Hi guys,
we are having bad rainstorms here in California at the moment and I went out to find 2 inches of water in the rear floorboards, behind the driver's seat. I am going to gut the interior to find the leak but any suggestions where to start looking? The drivers floorboards were soaked too(with a couple of tiny wet spots on the front passenger floor too), but it had pooled behind the seat. There is a rise in the floorboards under the seat, but would that stop water getting to the rear? If it can get through, I am assuming it is leaking into the driver's floor area and pooling at the lowest point. Since the car was sitting, I can take it that it is a gravity supported leak, rather than splashing up from the ground while driving... I am guessing a dried out seam seal in the firewall area may be the culprit. Any advise or experience in this area would be appreciated. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Really need more info but it's still up to you to find the leak. You've had some wind out there too I heard.

Check all rubber boots in door jambs. You may also want to make sure drains in bottom of doors are clear. Other than that, could be lots of things. First step would be getting that wet carpet out. I believe there is a trough under the front seat front mount that water could get through. That padding will act as a wick and take water everywhere. Really need interior out. There should be drains in the rockers also. May want to check them as well. Wife's Sebring vert will flood interior if the ones in it get stopped up. Sorry can't help more, keep us posted.

 

Ripped the carpet out last night. MY GOD, that was disgusting! I have a white sticky coating on the floor on the drivers side and where I had a couple of tiny wet spots on the passenger floor, the padding underneath was SOAKED TOO! What is the best stuff to a) clean the floor and b) get the glue and jute remains off?
For those of you that have never had the carpet out; the floor boards are different shapes on each side of the car. The foot well on the passenger side is a low point, while on the driver's side, there are longitudinal channels in the floor that allow any water in the drivers footwell to run straight back and pool in the passenger well behind the seat. So you can be looking for leaks in ALL the wrong places(great idea for a country song!).

Anyway, I see some discolored jute backing on the firewall and RIGHT ABOVE IT on the outside of the car is that mesh covered hole by the wipers. I THINK I SEE A RUSTED HOLE! YIPEE! Now to see if it is the culprit! By the way, does anyone know how water getting into that hole is supposed to drain? I haven't had a chance to pull the screen and check for myself, so any advanced warning would be appreciated!

On the passenger side, I spotted a pinhole leak in the body seal I think, so I am going to dig into that area as well. What is the best stuff to use to redo the seams with? This stuff is 20 years old on my car, so I am going to strip out as much as I can, whenever I can, so as to seal this puppy back up. And god is it noisy without the carpet!!

I will keep you posted on the progress...

 

Mine did rust above where the wiring comes through the firewall but I blamed it on the rusty roof, water running down A-pillar. That area drains on each side behind the fender Best as I remember. I'm sure somewhere on this board is a pic of one without the fender. Probably rusted from leaves and junk getting in there but who knows. If you can get to it from the top side you may be able to panel bond a patch panel over it. Welding in that area, well if you don't remove the dash might get interesting. Good luck with it.

 

Found it- damn it! The cowl drain must be blocked on the driver's side. Water had pooled in it and rusted where the floor of the drain met the firewall. Then it had rusted through the firewall. Some previous owner had bondoed the area, drilled the bondo(!) for cable access, siliconed the holes and then painted over the mess!! SOAB!! Now I have to a) cut an access panel in the top of the cowl, b) cut part of the firewall out and then c) weld in the firewall patch, weld in the floor replacement for the drain and patch the access panel in the top of the cowl. And I can't weld!!! Is there any way to access the drain area from behind the fenders or...?

 

IIRC with the fender off you will see the drain for the cowl. There's not much room to do a lot of work in that hole. Sounds like you have the right idea of how to repair it already. Just be sure and keep corrosion protection in mind when doing repair. Don't want to do it again in 5 years. Good luck