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Water in driver footwell

SjaakBraaksmaak

SjaakBraaksmaak

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2023
Location
The Netherlands
Hey y'all,

I've been having issues with a leak that seemed to be impossible to find. I checked the drains, window seal, gutter and after testing I was adamant it was the window seal. Sprayed it with water and everytime that seemed to be where the leak was.

Today I was routing a vacuumline through the firewall when I noticed rust in the most sneaky of corners. Now I wonder what line is coming out of the firewall? It seems to be the cause of the rust. I will probably let my shop go to town with this as i'm not trusted with welding anything, really.


WhatsApp Image 2024-11-28 at 22.30.21.jpeg
 
SjaakBraaksmaak said:
Yeeah, but I wouldnt know any other way to permanently fix this. My car has been moist on the inside for a while now fogging up windows, its been really annoying.
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It is achieveable. Just not something for the inexperienced welder.

If I remember correctly there is foam insulation on the inside of the firewall. Make sure that is out of the way or the welder could burn your car to the ground trying to fix the leak. You could just clean up the rust, treat it with acid, use POR 15 or some other coating like that and then seam seal the area. It isn't going to make your car any less structurally sound.
 
Very likely it's coming from the square plug #1
GR-59646.jpg
 
You can only access it from the inside. Remove the plastic panel that's next to your left foot and look for that plug. Does the car have a sunroof?
 
PCH said:
You can only access it from the inside. Remove the plastic panel that's next to your left foot and look for that plug. Does the car have a sunroof?
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If I follow the water from the inside it seems to be coming from higher up in the corner, like all the way up behind the hard leathery isolation stuff
 
I have a rust hole in the exact same spot, and it caused the same leak. I cleaned off all rust on both sides, used POR 15, and then filled the hole with spray foam and then applied silicone around it for extra water protection. It's ugly but it's worked for the past 5 years.
 
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IBlowSeals said:
I have a rust hole in the exact same spot, and it caused the same leak. I cleaned off all rust on both sides, used POR 15, and then filled the hole with spray foam and then applied silicone around it for extra water protection. It's ugly but it's worked for the past 5 years.
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Aaah, thanks! How much of the interior did you need to remove?
 
SjaakBraaksmaak said:
Aaah, thanks! How much of the interior did you need to remove?
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If I remember correctly, I had to remove the plastic panel in the wheel well as well as a few panels under and near the dash to look into the area where the hole was. Just start removing anything that obstructs your view of the area where the hole is.
 
With rust in that corner, it will be really hard to get in there unless you’re really patient.

Rust Bullet makes a silver rust encapsulator that might be a good option (maybe sort of color match). Scrape off the loose rust, treat it with Ospho or KrudKutter metal prep, then brush/roll on some rust encapsulator. Then seam seal gaps where the encapsulator didn’t cover and seal.
 
I take it this is a rhd car, correct? So the leak is on the right side if sitting in the seat, yes? If so, I had a leak there which has just been fixed by a new windshield and sealant. I had temp fixed it by taping around the ws, and then the windshield was cracked so in the replacement it was seen that there was a gap in the sealant along the bottom.
Bonus, the car is now quieter also.
Not saying this is the case for you, but just offering one event.
 
jerryc said:
I take it this is a rhd car, correct? So the leak is on the right side if sitting in the seat, yes? If so, I had a leak there which has just been fixed by a new windshield and sealant. I had temp fixed it by taping around the ws, and then the windshield was cracked so in the replacement it was seen that there was a gap in the sealant along the bottom.
Bonus, the car is now quieter also.
Not saying this is the case for you, but just offering one event.
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Nope, lhd. I'm 99% sure my window seals are fine, After testing yesterday water was coming in when I sprayed the corner of my engine bay. Hopefully your comment will help some poor bloke in the future, though!

I've been riding around bare bottom front driver seat for almost a year now, must sound gloriously quiet when everything is put back in haha. Can't wait till it's fixed
 
culberro said:
With rust in that corner, it will be really hard to get in there unless you’re really patient.

Rust Bullet makes a silver rust encapsulator that might be a good option (maybe sort of color match). Scrape off the loose rust, treat it with Ospho or KrudKutter metal prep, then brush/roll on some rust encapsulator. Then seam seal gaps where the encapsulator didn’t cover and seal.
Click to expand...
Oooh thanks! This actually sounds really doable, gonna look if I can get my hands on that stuff
 
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