Carpets flooded

[Gareth.Richards]

Originally Posted by Rsnail

Hi guys, today as I entered the car, I noticed that for my LHD R75, the footwells from the drivers side and the rear seat behind the driver's one are flooded up to the carpet, the carpet was soaking wet. As I pulled the carpet up after removing the driver's seat, I found about an inch of water in the footwells (noticing again that I have a LHD car, hence the driver's side is on the left). I've had water in the boot about a month ago but the problem was that the seal going around the boot was misplaced in a spot and there's where the water was slipping into the boot, fixed that and the boot is all dry now. I'm 100% sure that the water is rain water (it rained heavily for the last 2 days in Italy where I live). Besides the boot, plenum is also not flooded and cleared out of any blockages, any ideas what this could be?

I had a similar issue a few years ago, the cause turned out to be the rear light seal and the boot filling up with water then with capilliary action the water travelled through to the rear footwell then the front footwell, only way to dry out the carpets was to remove it completely!

[Rsnail]

There is just a bit of water in the boot too, but if the boot is not already full of water it'd be impossible that the water would travel first all the way to the rear and then front footwells, right (before the boot being completely filled up first I mean)?

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by It runs

Had the exact same thing.
Scuttle clips don't enter the car . So no worries
Drivers side plenum must have water inside and leaking from under dash . Il bet your car is parked tilting to the left . Get the blockage cleaned it's under ECU on passenger side under scuttle it's a right royal !!! To get to while it's out Change pollen filter.
Carpet will soon dry if you put heating up

The tilt of the car when parked is indeed important to consider. Depending on that 'tilt' or angle created by a hill or road camber when parked, any water getting in from any of the common entry points can run the entire length of the car on that side. If your carpets are obviously wet, there is over half a gallon of water absorbed into them and more underneath. The top can later appear dry, yet still be very wet underneath as the underlay is like a giant sponge. As Trikey points out this can damage the air bag sensors and other wiring under the carpets. Very hard to dry out thoroughly without removing them, but it can be done. A slow process which needs some patience assuming all the leak(s) are fixed. You'll need lots of absorbent towels, lifting all corners of the carpets and keeping them raised up with wooden blocks to ventilate or even suction water out with an aquavac if it's really bad. Needs a lengthy spell of dry weather or a dry garage and can be speeded up by placing a dehumidifier in the car if available. Lots of good advice on this forum over the years on how to fix the leaks which really helped me. Took me a while to find all the leaks in my ZT, but it was worth the effort in the end. Good luck

[Rsnail]

And where exactly was yours leaking? This is the big question here, what are the areas to look for?

[trikey]

And if the boot is wet, the water will run forwards under braking and enter the cabin.

[Arctic]

Hi Blagoja
take a look here it should solve your sunroof leaking problem into the cabin, and going under the carpet and seats.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...d.php?t=118622

Take a look at these video of the water that can accumulate gradually over time, then start showing through the carpet.

http://youtu.be/qAZW71691Tk

http://youtu.be/OFEMDlejjiU

http://youtu.be/ktfz_e4eCV8

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by Rsnail

And where exactly was yours leaking? This is the big question here, what are the areas to look for?

My original worst leaks were all four sunroof drains, but I understand you have no sunroof. My ZT also leaked water into the car from the left tail light seal, at least four of the 8 rear lower trim clips under the rear window, the boot seal, and the rear side trims. I also sealed the rear vents just in case. All the areas to check and fixing suggestions I got from searching this forum. The main point is that there are several places water can come in, but where it ends up can be anywhere depending on how the car is angled when parked. When I finished my sunroof drains I thought I'd cracked it, but then realised there was still quite a lot of water getting into my car which I'm guessing is where you are. It was very frustrating for me to fix, since I knew nothing. I just learned from the forum comments. I did light seals first. Less water ingress but still wet. Water from the tail light seals does of course run into the boot well, but can also run along and miss the well if the car is tilted. It then goes under the rear seat on that side and ends up inside the car and soaks the carpets on that side. After fixing both the light seals, I checked the window clips and decided to replace all eight of mine which was awkward as the window stopped me fitting the new clips. I had to carefully fettle the clips to get them in without taking out the rear window and added silicone sealant for good measure. Many contributors on the forum have reported they use silicone sealant or Captain Tolley's creeping crack sealant without replacing the clips and get a good result. After that, I had much less water, but it was still getting in. Then I did the rear vents which didn't seem to make much difference in my case. I looked at the boot hinges fixings but mine weren't leaking. I then looked at the rear external side trims and found some getting in there so sealed them with silicone sealant. Still some water leaking in, so I tried UV dye and a UV light but it didn't really help me. I was getting pretty disheartened at this point. Then we had a massive rainstorm and a lot got into the boot so I concluded the water had overwhelmed something and the only thing I could think of was the boot seal. I bought a new one and found it could be fitted two ways and there was no instruction on which was correct. I tried both ways and then emptied a small dustbin full of water over the back of the car. On both occasions water got into the boot even with the brand new seal from Rimmers. I checked the boot alignment and it seemed OK. So I then silicone sealed the entire fitting surface of the new boot seal. I meant to seal it with the air holes on the inside, but forgot and sealed it with the air holes on the outside. Despite my 'mistake', that was the solution for me. No water in the car since. Drying out the carpets took me four weeks since I was too lazy to take out the carpets. I used many towels, with blocks of wood to keep the carpets and underlay lifted off the metal footwells. Lucky for me it was hot dry weather most of the time. I finished off with a dehumidifier inside the car with all the doors shut! You must also check your plenum drains of course since they're a common cause of water getting into the car. Mine were fine and the plenums were dry. I did get a few leaves out though. If you're parked under a tree, the plenums will get blocked with leaves and a lot water will then enter the car.

[Rsnail]

By the rear lower trim clips under the rear window and the rear side trims you mean the chrome trims? And so far from what you're telling me, in my case it can't be possible that the problem for me is coming from the boot, as the boot is leaking on the right side, and my carpets are only soaked on the left (european driver's) side

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by Rsnail

By the rear lower trim clips under the rear window and the rear side trims you mean the chrome trims? And so far from what you're telling me, in my case it can't be possible that the problem for me is coming from the boot, as the boot is leaking on the right side, and my carpets are only soaked on the left (european driver's) side

Water could easily cross over from a tail light leak, so it's essential both tail lights have good seals. They let in a surprising amount of water if they are faulty since all the water from the rear of the roof washes down the windscreen and into the gutter around the boot seal. All this water rushes over the tail lights in a storm and straight into the car if the tail light gasket is broken in any way. You can repair the old ones, cut yourself a new one from a sheet of soft rubber or similar and I think there are suppliers of new seals on this forum. Definitely fix leaks from tail lights first.
The lower clips are the only ones that can leak water, and they are the ones that hold the lower part of the chrome trim in place. My rear panel side trims are painted the same colour as the body. The trim has no effect in sealing water out, but the eight lower clips which hold the trim have fixing holes that penetrate directly into the boot. These let water in when their foam seals perish after about 10 years. Also, check your plenum drains.

[Rsnail]

Originally Posted by edwardmk

Water could easily cross over from a tail light leak, so it's essential both tail lights have good seals. They let in a surprising amount of water if they are faulty since all the water from the rear of the roof washes down the windscreen and into the gutter around the boot seal. All this water rushes over the tail lights in a storm and straight into the car if the tail light gasket is broken in any way. You can repair the old ones, cut yourself a new one from a sheet of soft rubber or similar and I think there are suppliers of new seals on this forum. Definitely fix leaks from tail lights first.
The lower clips are the only ones that can leak water, and they are the ones that hold the lower part of the chrome trim in place. My rear panel side trims are painted the same colour as the body. The trim has no effect in sealing water out, but the eight lower clips which hold the trim have fixing holes that penetrate directly into the boot. These let water in when their foam seals perish after about 10 years. Also, check your plenum drains.

Could you please explain what lower clips are you talking about? There are so many chrome trims on this car that I can't figure out which one you mean haha. And by the rear panel side trim, are you talking about the same chrome trim? I think you mean the clips for the chrome trim at the side of the boot, right above the wheels, right? And why do you mention the lower clips? Are there also other clips (presumably higher ones) that hold the chrome trim in place?