HELP! Drowning in car

[Gareth 161]

Have now noticed a largish amount(3-4 cup fulls) of rainwater in the drivers footwell and about 1/2 cup in passenger side.Does not seem to be coming from rear as carpets dry under seat & I park facing forwards on a slope, so presumably coming in from the front of the roof somewhere.
Will get the missus to spray car with hose while I sit inside but has anyone got any ideas where to start looking/treating.
Thanks
Gareth

[TR4man]

Gareth

The website search engine is your friend here.

You will see that water ingress into the cabin is one of the most popular questions asked. Most probably coming in as a result of the old window seal losing its effectiveness above the "quarterlight"

Regards

Peter

[Gareth 161]

Thanks for the info Peter and I will have a search
Have had a further look and I think it is coming in from the rear somewhere as parcel shelf behind rollbars is wet and it looks as if if is running forward from the sides.However top edge of parcel shelf is dry?
Possibly it is the window leaking that I put in (rather badly ) myself a couple of years ago and has never looked very good.
Will test with a hose tomorrow but may have to get a new hood as also covered in algae.
Can anyone recomend a good place near to Cornwall?
Thanks
Gareth

[Jonco]

..........However top edge of parcel shelf is dry?.............

Maybe worth checking the drain holes ar either side - where the hood rubbers run round to the rear of the door jambs .

[Del]

Just to throw another idea at you when I first got my car, the bottom corners of the rear window had come unstuck and untucked and rain was constantly dribbling in - I had two little patches of moss on the piece of carpet.

After cleaning the edges up and re-sticking and re-tucking them under the plastic strip - it completely stopped.

[Gareth 161]

Thanks and I will check the corners tomorrow.
Not wanting to appear any more stupid than usual - but where exactly are the drainage holes as I certainly have never checked them & that might be the problem.
Thanks in advance to all you experts out there.
Gareth

[TomH84]

A few things that might help:

- give the rubber hood frame and door seals a good clean with rubber restorer. I use Autoglym bumper car (green goo). The seals get really old and give up. 5 mins of attention all round really helps keep the water out. Also, you can try a little petroleum jelly (but only a little!). This eats away at the rubber, which can be useful if your seals are really shot. Probably best just to stick with bumper restorer.

- clean the glass too! You don't get a watertight seal between glass and rubber if it's dirty. It's easy to overlook this.

- inspect the windscreen seal, wipers etc for obvious damage. It only takes a tiny leak to get a puddle in the footwell. I've found leak finding liquid products useful solutions to tiny cracks in windscreen seals.

Hang in there. Water leaks are frustrating, but often easy fixes. 5 years of running an old MG (now watertight) have taught me that.

[wonderloaf]

Thanks and I will check the corners tomorrow.
Not wanting to appear any more stupid than usual - but where exactly are the drainage holes as I certainly have never checked them & that might be the problem.
Thanks in advance to all you experts out there.
Gareth

Don't know if you're talking about the drainage channels just behind the seats, but I spent an age looking for these mythical beasts myself recently until I found this link:

http://webspace.ringling.edu/~dplassma/str/str.html

The drain channel location is shown in Step 4, 3rd row of photos where the arrow with "Gutter Box" points to, the drainage hole is inside the box under the arrow with "Tack Strip Screw" annotation. This drains away the the water that runs around the join between the bottom of the hood and the bodywork. An old straightened wire coat hanger (if you can find one) is good for clearing the channel out!

[Gareth 161]

Thanks for all the handy hints-what a wealth of knowledge there is between us all!!
However I think the drainage holes are clear as I ran some water around the rear screen and water was running out from under the car so they are probably OK.
Whilst doing the above, noticed water coming in at the corners as suggested by Del.
Problem is that window not put in very well and I think a new hood is called for as there is a lot of staining et seq on it anyway.
Will now be searching internet for a good hood supplier and fitter near to Cornwall as do not fancy that job myself.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Gareth