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981.4 3dr Water leak into passenger footwell - nfield750
Does anyone have experience of the likely water ingress points on these Swindon built models? The car leaks when stationary and does not have to be driven. The sound proofing on the footwell bulkhead is damp at the bottom (as its sitting in a puddle) but dry in the middle. The door seal is fine. I'm currently drying it our with newspapers to get some idea of where it gets wet first.

Thanks in anticipation

Edited by Pugugly on 05/10/2008 at 22:52

1998 1.4 Water leak into passenger footwell 3 door - nfield750
Just to mention, its certainly rain water, the car has no a/c and the coolant is fine
981.4 3dr Water leak into passenger footwell - MantaGuy
If there is a blockage by the wipers near the air vent intake, water can find it's way into the fan unit. This is situated behind the glovebox, you can take this out to get a better look, and can be a cause of water ingress. There is a hole in the side of it where water can come out when driving aswell, you can feel if any water is coming out of it and see inside if you put the internal air circulation on(it lifts a lid on the side of the unit), it may also make a slushing sound when you turn the fans on due to the water. Pulling out any leaves and pipe cleaners down all the drainage holes and lots of very soap water a few times over a few days usually does the trick

Another option is a leaky windscreen seal, as this can happen to many cars after a number of years. Check carefully around all parts of the seal when it's raining, pressing the glass slightly so that you can see where any drops may be seeping through.

Also if you have a sunroof, there are drainage tubes which run down the A pillar by the windscreen, these tubes can become perforated over time or come loose(in which case pushing the connections closer together can fix it), you can also find this by removing the glove box and looking up towards the windscreen edge from the passenger footwell.