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Garage => Mechanicals => Topic started by: 1980sdga on 25 May 2011, 08:14 PM

Title: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 25 May 2011, 08:14 PM
Well, I can't remember the last time I saw rain so it must be the AC.  I'm thinking I have a drain hose from the evaporator off or broken.  I've been running the AC a lot the past few days so I take it that the condensation is a sign that the compressor is doing it's job?

Any hints on where the drain lines are?  I'm thinking I'll have to pull the console to get to the drains?

Thanks,
Jon
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 25 May 2011, 10:09 PM
Jon,

Your car should have 4 drains. If you don't want to remove the center console, try and poke a piece of electrical wire thru the drain hoses from underneath the car, if they are clogged you will see a lot of water coming down, ideally you want to remove the  hoses from the a/c box to do a better cleaning job but that's only possible with some serious work...

Tks,

Joe
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 25 May 2011, 10:32 PM
Do you know where to look under the car?  I don't see any draining condensation when I park the car so it must be the drains. My windows are also REALLY fogged up on the inside in the mornings.  Turning the AC on has been clearing it up but I need to resolve this.

On a side note. My back glass has been the most fogged up for some reason  ???  I'm sure it's because the evaporator compartment must be full of water when I park and maybe the temp of the back glass causes a lot of condensation...  I wonder if this has something to do with the rusty rear seat springs that some of these cars suffer from?  Maybe the horsehair in the back seat absorbs a lot of moisture which causes deterioration of the pad and rust on the springs.

The rust on those springs is perplexing to me. No rust anywhere else behind the back seat. Not on the floorpan, nothing... Just the springs.
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 25 May 2011, 10:50 PM
Jon,

The drains can be seen in the direction of the front part of the console and they come out thru the transmission tunel, two will be close to the transmission bell two a little farther back.

If you don't see any condensation coming out of the car there is no question your drains are seriously clogged. The windows being fogged in the morning supports that diagnostic.

The rear window being more fogged up probably has something to do with the way air circulates inside the car as well as the temperature issue you mentioned. I don't think that would have anything to do with the rusted seat springs though.

Tks,

Joe
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 26 May 2011, 10:27 AM
Thanks Joe!  I'll check it out and report back.
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 26 May 2011, 02:25 PM
Got it!  They were right where you said.  They aren't just open hoses like I was expecting. They have the ends flattened like a fish mouth. I was expecting insect nests in them but bugs would have a hard time getting in there. Good design!

I got soaking wet so I guess we have a winner  ;D

Probably wouldn't be a bad to check these out periodically.  Are all 4 for the AC?  I got a good bit of water out of all 4 of mine  :o

I'm shutting the car down for a couple of days while I go out of town but I'm thinking about leaving it in the garage with a small heater running on low in the car and the windows cracked. Both the drivers side and passenger side footwells are wet.  I could just leave it in the sun with the windows cracked but it may rain...
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 26 May 2011, 03:14 PM
Cool Jon!

I wasn't sure how to call the shape of the hose tips, fish mouth is a perfect description!

Yes, all 4 are for the a/c, originally 116's had 2 drains only, but some time in 78 MB started using 4, I suspect this happened because of complaints that there was so much condensate in the drain tray that 2 drains were just not enough and under certain conditions water would actually spill and wet the floor or even an occupants legs.

Since you have probably been having this problem for a while I suggest you remove your carpets and the floor insulation and let everything dry out in your garage or in the sun when you are around. The floor insulation gets ultra soaked and it will not dry out unless you remove it. To check how soaked it is, push on it with your fingers and see if it squishes water, if so, got to remove them...

It is a pain to get them out because of the floor ducts but with patience and care it can be done, ideally you want to remove the ducts but that's tricky too since they attach to the a/c box under the console and if you force them out you may actually damage the console itself. You want to be careful not to rip the insulation by pulling on it too hard either. The technique I have used is to loosen the screws that attach the ducts to the floor, remove the plastic side strips that cover the vacuum lines near the door sill and start working your hands under the insulation to loosen it from the floor. Your hands will get cut, scored, your fingers may want to brake into pieces.... but that's how it's done. A wooden or plastic spatula may help too, you push it under the insulation carefully working your way through.

Have fun and congrats on the successful fix of the a/c drains!

Tks,

Joe

 

Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 26 May 2011, 04:04 PM
Thanks Joe.  I'll be working the next several days with no extra time soooo No fun with the car.  I was planning on pulling the carpets for cleaning at some time so I guess the time is now!  It'll be fun because I haven't done ANY cleaning of ANYTHING since I got the car.  Strictly mechanical stuff.

I was really surprised at the amount of water that came out!  If that same amount is in the carpet then I'm afraid of what I may find. I did notice a lot of pretty light to moderate rust on a screw with a big washer near the accelerator. I didn't really investigate further but I guess I will now.
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jjb-w116-hu on 26 May 2011, 10:53 PM
hi Joe, can you tell me the best way or thing to use to replace the perished / rotten guff that sits between the chassis and the moulded foam/carpet? ive seen some suggestions but it seems rather thick and i am unsure how to make the carpet/moulded insulation fit back in properly?

thanks :) JJB
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 26 May 2011, 11:24 PM
jjb, if you are reffering to the insulation that sits between the car's floor  and the carpet, it is still available from MB, albeit at a price....

The 2nd best option would be to use  Dynamat or a similar material, which you can usually buy either in rolls or sheets. It provides excellent noise and heat insulation.

I usually recommend clients to go for the factory stuff, let me know if you would like a quote.

Tks,

Joe
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jjb-w116-hu on 26 May 2011, 11:52 PM
Dynamat- thats what ive been told before but it looks much thinner than the "whateva-that-stuff-is" thats in there originally and i wondered how one would make the moulded carpet etc fit.

as its only under the front carpets it would be worth it wouldn't it?
i can always add a bit of dynamt to the the rear floor for sound/insulation
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 27 May 2011, 12:28 AM
jjb,

I have heard only good things about Dynamat, and being a pretty modern material I suspect it works pretty well even though its thinner and the original insulation,  which by the way is made out of some kind of heavy foam/rubber.

Let me get prices for the factory pieces and I''ll let you know

As far as I know Euro 116's do not have any floor insulation in the rear, just the carpet piece with its foam backing.

Tks,

Joe





Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jjb-w116-hu on 27 May 2011, 01:30 AM
but then if the dynamat is thinner wont that interefere with the moulded carpet base? ie will it sit right Joe?
appreciate your expertise mate
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 27 May 2011, 01:46 AM
It shouldn't.  Remember that the original insulation goes underneath the floor ducts and the molded carpet back goes on top of the duct so I don't see how a thinner floor insulation will interfere.

I have asked the Classic Center to quote me the original insulation for both sides and will post it here.

Tks,

Joe
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: KenM on 28 May 2011, 02:18 AM
Jon I second Joe's recommendation about getting your carpets and the under mats up, if you have water in them they will never ever dry out of their own accord. If you have the original matting the stuff is a giant sponge, I

took mine out just as Joe describes, hung em up in the sun for 3 weeks just to get dry, its amazing how much thinner and lighter they are then. It's worth the effort because it will be harbouring rust underneath for sure.


Cheers,
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: TestJet on 28 May 2011, 10:09 PM
Hi guys im pretty new to this sight but have been driving my 6.9 for over 15 years. i had the same problem with water in my floor boards from stopped up drain lines. i cleaned them out but found out that didnt stop my problem. It seems the water froze at some point and cracked the A/C compartment plastic housing. I tried every way possible to seal the darn thing but it always started leaking again. last year i took the A/C compartment apart found the cracks and sealed it with JB Weld. Happy to report no more problems. Jon i sure hope you dont have that big of a problem.   
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: ColMustard on 29 May 2011, 09:13 PM
Its funny, im dealing with this now too. It took me about 15 minutes or so to pull both of em out. Of course I had already removed all the interior already looking for the source of the leak  ;D. I can tell you though that I literally mutilated that layer of foam with the rubber on top of it. It was more than rotted. That bolt that holds down the accelerator was rusted pretty bad, but fortunately just minor surface rust in other places. Drying out the mats now, gonna goto the glass place tomorrow to make sure they fix it properly. After im sure the source of the leak is gone (tomorrow) gonna start putting it back together
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 29 May 2011, 09:32 PM
Yea, I'm gonna be doing the foam rubber boogie next week  ;D

I left the front windows down about 1/4"  (Probably 5 mm to you bonnet guys ;D) with the car out of the garage when I left home. I don't think it's rained there but the gutters should keep any more water from coming in. And maybe the heat dried out some of the water in the mats.  The car was starting to smell musty and the windows were fogging so I'll bet I have a lot of water.

Does the water stay in the front footwells or can it get under the seats?

My car split time between Nebraska and Florida with most of it's life in Florida so hopefully I don't have any freeze damage but thanks for the heads up!
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 29 May 2011, 10:35 PM
Jon,

Water will get under the seats and usually run to the rear foot wells  so check to see if the back carpets aren't soaked.

Tks,

Joe

Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: 1980sdga on 31 May 2011, 05:51 PM
I just pulled it apart and boy was it soggy  :o  There was noooo way it was going to dry out on it's own any time soon.

The foam rubber/tarpaper material (second layer deep, under the carpet) looked intact but the rubber/tar paper started crumbling as I manipulated it so I think I'll give up on it  ::)  The bottom pads look pretty good so I put them on the shingle roof of a shed in my yard. It's supposed to be about 100 deg F here the next day or so so they should get a good baking.

Very little rust so I'm happy  :D  

Thanks for the tips guys!  It started to make sense as I got in there.

I just wanted to add that it is possible to remove the drain lines without pulling the console. There is a plastic tab on the pass. side (US) that once unscrewed allows the console "wings" to open up enough to visualize the hoses. I was able to remove them mostly by feel and clean them out. Even with pushing a wire through the bottom there was still a lot of crud in there and I think I would have had the same problem in the future had I not removed/cleaned the hoses.

There is a screw by the accelerator pedal that you remove to get behind the drivers side panel. It's a little harder because the pedal is in the way but it's doable.

The front drain bungs can be seen through the leg ducts that go to the doors once all the under-dash ducts have been removed. Look in towards the console and you'll see them. These must be the drains that Joe mentioned which were added later.
Title: Re: Water in the drivers footwell...
Post by: jbrasile on 01 June 2011, 11:23 PM
Jon,

That's a great tip on moving the console wings to get to the drains! Just hadn't thought of that!

Tks,

Joe