water in the rear footwells

[Bratman47]

 I have a 116 1979 300SD I get water in the back foot wells any tips?

[olliparr]

Hi there,
Did you look under the carpets in the footwells? I had the same problem - turned out that there was a hole (a nicely drilled hole not sure of its purpose...) under one of them. Also could be damaged seals on rear window/doors/boot.

[WGB]

I assume it's related to wet weather - if not the air-con drains may block and water would go to the lowest point.

If it's rain and all the rubber seals are sound Rust will let water in - look around rear window, rear quarter panels and rocker panels.

In the rear quarter panels there are oblong rubber bungs near the edge of the seat squab following the line of the wheelarch. If these are removed for repairs, not replaced  and subsequent rust allows perforation of the wheelarch water can track down into the rear of the car sight unseen.

Hope it's simple.

Bill Babe

[Mforcer]

I get water in the back foot wells any tips?

Depending on the angle the car is parked, it is possible that water is entering from the front of the car and flowing into the rear footwells.

I had the same problem - turned out that there was a hole (a nicely drilled hole not sure of its purpose...) under one of them. Also could be damaged seals on rear window/doors/boot.

Is it possible that the holes drilled into the footwells were done so as to let the water drain out? There are some rubber drain valves in the boot (these may exist in the footwells too) that I simply removed as they were dirty and not letting water drain out. Once removed, I have never had a problem with pools of water in the boot again.

[Bratman47]

Thank you for the replies, I will be checking out this weekend. Water gets in standing still.

[Peter Anderson]

In the rear quarter panels there are oblong rubber bungs near the edge of the seat squab following the line of the wheelarch. If these are removed for repairs, not replaced  and subsequent rust allows perforation of the wheelarch water can track down into the rear of the car sight unseen.

Any chance of a photo hightlighting where this bung is? I have a swimming pool in the driver's side rear footwell. I can't see any rust and the door seals look OK.

Cheers

[WGB]

If you take out the rear seat squab you will see either two or three oblong rubber bungs that follow the line of the wheelarch. I will try to get a photo in the next few days as the rear seat is out of my car at the present time.
My car had had a hit in the left rear quarter repaired and the rubber bungs had not been replaced.
I have cut the whole panel out and replaced it with another and put the bungs that came with the "New" panel. I prchased a left rear quarter from a wrecker and cut out what I needed.

Bill Babe