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[Titanium]

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are all well. I'm looking for some advice about a perplexing and very annoying leak into my passenger footwell. (2002, Saloon, 3.2, Elite.)

A few months ago I noticed the carpet was slightly wet in the passenger footwell after I'd washed the car. I know all about the scuttle drain getting blocked and the water pouring in through the heater air intake. I have already had this issue about 10 years ago and had to replace the blower motor as a result. I therefore keep the scuttle drain clear and have not had an issue until recently.

The water seems to come from somewhere behind the dash and runs BEHIND the thick insulation/foam which is under the carpet. Initially it also seemed to be running down the wiring loom in the left-hand corner of the footwell. I've removed the glovebox, but there's so many wires, pipes and plastic parts in there it's hard to see right to the top or back.

I read on another post that it may be coming in where the wiring looms pass through the bulkhead and into the car. I have therefore cleaned and sealed all around these with CT1 after removing the plastic scuttle cover to get access. This seems to have stopped some of the water running down the wiring loom, but I'm still getting water ingress.

I thought it may be the heater matrix, but there is no obvious coolant loss from the header tank, the water doesn't smell like its got antifreeze in it, and I cant see any wetness on the drivers side.

There is also a 'flap' in the foam about half way up and if you remove this you can see a black plastic section attached to the bulkhead. No sign of a leak from this. My next step is to cut out the foam so I can see more, but before I do this I want to ask everyone here if they have seen anything like this before? I cant see any evidence of rust either.

The water ingress happens when the car is standing still, so I don't think it's coming from under the wheel arch. I think its coming from the outside in and running down, maybe from the windscreen or maybe some other issue with the bulkhead/scuttle.

At the moment the carpet has been up in the passenger footwell for about 4 months and I want to get it sorted.

Any ideas or previous experience with this would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Gary

[Doctor Gollum]

Firstly have you checked the sunroof drains are clear and draining freely?

If yes and no change, then consider the following:

When the car was built, the shells are ambidextrous.

What makes it right or left hand drive is a sheet metal panel assembly that is bonded in after painting. The black metal you see on the firewall/bulkhead/scuttle is this piece.

Over time dirt and detritus in the scuttle sits and traps water around these seams and eventually it rusts through. It's not properly painted an sealed like the rest of the body so isn't as durable, but equally it's pretty well protected from the elements until water starts collecting where it shouldn't.

Glovebox, blower motor and passenger airbag out will give you a better view of the affected area. The vent piece of the dash also comes away.

The underlay holds about ten times more water than the carpet, so you'll need to remove that to dry it out if you like having floor metal.

It's also not that unusual for the windscreen aperture to rust in the bottom corners and along the top of the previously mentioned insert piece... The top flange of this is what the screen sits on.

Omegas have been scrapped for alot less.

[TheBoy]

You may find it is the surround of the scuttle drain - pull back carpet in that area and prod the thin painted steel plate with something, and if it falls to bits, thats the answer.

[ronnyd]

You may find it is the surround of the scuttle drain - pull back carpet in that area and prod the thin painted steel plate with something, and if it falls to bits, thats the answer.

Do you mean just the thin plate or the whole car? 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I had similaron mine a few years ago. Found a rotten area about the size of a 50p piece.
Chopped out the rot and welded a little plate over the hole, problem solved.