Topic: water passenger footwell

[w116john]

hi all

i have recently had some water ingress in the front passenger footwell. i am trying to attach a pic of the source.

not sure if that is working

[w116john]

ok so that worked,  there is water getting in to this, is it the blower motor? and dripping from the bottom seam i would be grateful for any advice, is this water coming from the cowl?

the area around it and on top feels dry, there is what looks like a cabin filter which is dry.
regards
john

[revilla]

Hello John,

Long time.

I can’t figure out whether the pic was taken on your parking break side (RHD vehicle I’m assuming) or not.
If on your parking break side, according to my water ingress search experience you can look at the following:
- Under the fuse box. This is a well known spot as the interior gasket is famous for letting water in.
- Parking break arm. It’s held by 4 screws that in my case were letting water in.
- There a 2 screws also that hold the plastic brackets for the footrest in place. These screws are visible from the inside of the wheel well.
- Little screw that holds the Vertical plastic trim just under the A pillar.
- Door rubber piece that let water in and then the drops runs over the 2 vacuum lines depicted in your image. Parallel to the A pillar where there’s a bracket that holds 3-4 aluminum cube relays.

That’s all I can think of by firsthand experience.  Worth checking. Patience. It takes time. Hose, spray water bottle and a flashlight are mandatory. 2 people working together it’s ideal.

In the first 4 cases, I added windshield sealant and that took care of the problem. Better to add rather on the outside where the water starts its way in.

Good luck

Robert

[w116john]

thanks robert

hope all is well, the car is left hand drive and this leak is on the passenger side.

i have had leaks in the past where you mention by the fuse box, bonnet release grommet and the drain hole on the driver side.

i know the picture is not great but water appears to be getting into the blower motor and dripping out from the seam.

i have attached another pic to show the area.

it looks like there are pop rivets on the cowl cover, i will order a few clips and take it off and see what it is like in there.


regards
john

[revilla]

Ah, I understand better now John.

In that case, also based on personal experience, check the 4-5 spots under the windshield motor grill where there are hoses and cables and screws with grommets coming into that area in the cockpit. For that you need to remove the grill. Then remove the wipers motor (not difficult) to reveal all the spots where water can get it.  Again, windshield sealant outside and in did the trick for me.

Additionally, I can’t recall if your car is AC equipped. If yes, I once had one on the 2 drains clogged. This filled the plastic reservoir with water unable to flow downstream to the transmission tunnel. Every time the car turned right water overflowed the reservoir (the one with rivets) and finished on the spot you mentioned on the passenger side foot well. To test that theory, I put a small hose inside that plastic piece and flowed water in. Nothing was coming out of the hose rubber piece on the trans tunnel which proved it was clogged. I then proceeded delicately with a small but long screwdriver from the tunnel upwards until the drain was clear/clean. A lot of crap came out I recall.

Again, good luck. If you need more details explanations/pictures let me know.

Regards

Robert

[w116john]

hi Robert

thanks again, i will remove that grill and have a look around and check hoses and grommets, hopefully the leak will be obvious.

the car has A/C but it has never worked and the belt is removed, i had initially thought to fix it and bought a compressor for it, but it and the cruise control are at the bottom of the to do list.

regards
john

[daantjie]

Also check the large grommet holding the cable for the wiper motor.  As revilla has advised I agree you will likely find the culprit in the air intake section under the chrome grille below the wipers.  Also check that the 2 large drain holes in this section run clear, they exit into the engine compartment visible as the 2x "elephant trunk" hoses.

[w116john]

hi Daniel

thanks, i will head in there with a bit more confidence thanks to yere advice, the elephant trunks are clear. i poured a few buckets of water n last week and no leak,  so perhaps it is around the wiper grommets and not rust.

i have ordered a few clips online and if i get a few dry days i will have a look, i will let ye know.

thanks for the tips
regards
john

[Rolo]

My windshield gasket has developed cracks and is separating from the glass right above the dashboard.  I squirted in some liquid gasket and it seem watertight now.  But, I'll soon be replacing windshield and all seals soon.

[w116john]

hi rolo

its definitely not the screen i had that replaced last year with a new seal from MB, it was leaking before i replaced it.

this water is getting in via the cowl I'm pretty confident of that.

regards

[ptashek]

My vote also goes for the water box, i.e. the cabin air intake recess under the centre chrome garnish where the wiper motor sits. These are known to rust through into the cabin.
A couple years back SquiggleDog made a nice (as usual!) thread about locating and fixing the issue from inside the cabin. I can't find it with a cursory check though.

[w116john]

hi lukas

hope all is well, i will have search for that, i didnt think to look at it from the inside.

searching the forum can be like looking for a needle in a haystack sometimes but you can be lucky.

john

[w116john]

just a follow up, i had the cowl cover off and that box inspected and after a bit of cleaning out no rust or leaks found.

now i have noticed that after replacing the screen and seal last year there is a lip on the rubber which comes out over the chrome trim and on both lower corners of the screen it acts like a shelf and rain water just sits there, even though the car is parked at a slight incline.

i suspect some is wicking its way through, i will put some windscreen sealant there and see how it goes.