Trying to trace footwell water leak

[240znz]

After washing my Zed, I find that I have a pool of water in the passenger footwell. Tracing it is fast becoming a major PITA.

It's not the heater core as I have bypassed that at the block

It's not a leak in the winscreen rubber as I have run silicon along it.

The only thing I can think of is maybe water is coming in from the airvent grill between the bonnet and windscreen.

I've had a look up under the footwell and noticed a right angle rubber hose which could be a drain from the airvent? Is this what it is? No water is coming from that though.

Any ideas/thoughts???

Cheers

[sjcurtis]

This problem can vary depending how the water splashes.

I had my front screen seal changed at repaint, my first sealer application with SELLEYS balck screen sealer. I did my sealing with the metal trims out, forcing sealant in around the screen on the window surface, then around the outside up under the seal, put in heaps. I reinstalled the metals cleaned the edges, let it cure , then washed the car. I got the same problem but not as bad, repeated all steps and reduced it to nil. I consider I was lucky.

I must now resind Annette just walked up and looked over my shoulder and said what is this "I" $^!#? BUSTED yes "I" was a team event.

If a re sealing of the screen does not bring success consider these, an opening in the fire wallthat has been missed, windscreen seal again, heater fan inlet duct bringing air in from outside(this is a vertical drop in to the fan, should be damp in the fan housing. another is a bolt up high at the rear of the front guard ( visible with the door open ) if it has been removed or loosened it provides abn effective water trail.

I recommend lying in the Zed while someone poors water around it may cut the fault finding by a whole heap.

Good luck

Steve:classic:

[tanny]

I'm currently in the process of replacing the main door seals. I could see the water where it dribbled down the right and left hand ends of the dash beginning up on the door rubber. Good luck and it would be good to know where your leak originates for future reference. Victor.

ps If you have a 240 and should happen to order new door seals, try to get the door seals with the incorporated clip. I got the cheaper one without the clip and I don't think it's going to hold up as well and I had to reglue the headliner vinyl where it fit under the old cip so that it wouldn't hang loose after I installed the new clipless seals.

[Gav240z]

Something steve missed it that it could be the door seal.

Unless under your wiper assembly there is a rusted hole water should not come in from there but it may find a way as water does. :classic:

[mdbrandy]

When I stripped my car down, under the dash on the passenger side, I found a small hole rusted through from the cowl area. Inside the cowl area, you can barely get to this hole, and there was a big piece of some kind of dried up "sealer" over it anyway. Never would have found it without removing the dash. Undoubtedly was leaking water into the passenger compartment.

Good luck.

[240 in OZ]

Hello

After experiencing and repairing water leaks in both my old 75 260z 2+2 and my current 71 240z I think that i have the necessary experience to offer some assistance on this matter.

The key to tracing waterleaks is determining exactly what becomes wet in the footwells. There are two scenarios: (1) The tops of the floor mats are wet and have soaked completely through from the top side; (2) Only the undersides of the floor mats are wet, and the tops are bone dry.

Scenario (1) was experienced by myself in my old 2+2. After close inspection done by sitting in the car and someone hosing it down I determined that I has a small leak in the windshield weatherstrip, between the glass and the rubber on either lower side of the screen. I bought a windscreen sealant from the parts store and resealed it myself. I used the complete tube doing both the front and rear screen; had a heck of a time with the clean up but got there in the end.

I thought that was it, but it wasnt. I was still getting a little in there. Decided to pull the upper cowl/scuttle panel for a closer look. I found that the fresh air "chimney" for want of a better description was rusted through where it meets the base of the scuttle panel and I also found two small holes. I sealed them temporary with slilcon and all was well after that.

Another potential source of scenario (1) may be the seam sealer used by the factory in this area may be dry and cracked and allowing water to leak in there, but this wasnt the case with mine. The drain hoses that the dude in NZ mentioned may also be split, so look at them closely.

To try and stem the cause of scenario (1) I suggest to fellow owners that they remove the upper scuttle/cowl panel and clean out the cowl every 6 months or so. It is surprising just the amount of crud and muck that accumulates in there.

Scenario (2) was experienced a few years back when I first got my 240z. It really drove me crazy. The top sides of the floor mats would be bone dry, yet the undersides of them and the floor itself was always wet after washing the car.

I discovered after much frustration that the leak was being caused by two problems. The first was the windshield weatherstrip where the rubber joins the body on the roof edge. Water was getting in there, running out to the sides. down the roof pillars (A pillars) and behind the jute padding on the firewall and underneath the floor mats and soaking them from the bottom upwards. I resealed the screen and that stopped 90% of the problem.

I then discovered that water was getting in between the door seal and the door jamb. It was getting in the front top edge of the door, where the little stubby weatherstrip is, running around the periphery of the door to the base and then dripping down to the floor underneath the mat and again soaking it from the bottom upwards. I havent stopped this 100% as yet but feel with new weatherstrips on the top edges of the doors it will be cured.

You could always caulk them temporary to try and stop the water.

One suggested cure for this problem is not to drive the car in the rain and was it by hand using the two bucket method rather than with a hose.

I hope this sheds some pretty common water leaking problems on the z car and saves someone from going insane trying to track them down.

[26ounce]

This must be a relatively common problem because my Z was doing the exact same thing before I stripped it down. The carpet on the passenger side was getting soaked with no visible leaks causing the soaking.

I have a suspicion that it may have been due to the aircon plumbing. If you don't have air-con then read no further.

If your Z has an AC like mine you will find two heater hoses running from the air-con unit back into the passenger side wheel arch. The hoses pass cut thru the wheel arch on their way to the humungous air con thing under the dash on the passenger side. ie You should be able to see the two hoses behind the front wheel under the wheel arch.

They cut holes, about the size of a 20 cent coin, in the wheel arch to put these hoses thru, then sealed around the hoses with rubber grommets - the rubber grommets are probably quite corroded by now. If you have been driving in the wet the tire could be spraying water at these corroded grommets and then leaking into the passenger footwell.

Needless to say, I don't like the way they fitted my air-con.:tapemouth

[240znz]

Thanks all,

It's pouring outside and is forcast to do so for the next 5 days.....and some are having a heatwave!!!!!...geez. So I won't be trying to find the leak until it fines up somewhat.

One thing that I do know is that I have a rust hole in the sill that could be letting in water. Maybe it is running in along that seam.

I don't have any jute underlay. I have removed all the factory tar paper/sealant stuff. Came off real easy with a large blunt screwdriver and as a result a blister in the middle of my palm. I'm thinking that the surface rust made it easier to remove. There is a large amount of white silicon sealant around the left hand corner where the firewall meets the floor and left hand panel. I'm sure that silicon wasn't around in 1971 and that means that someone might have tried to stop this before me to what success???

My heater doesn't work so I'll pull that apart and at the same time open up the air-vent grill and have a poke around to see what I can see. Odds are that I will find rust.

[sjcurtis]

To that silicone where the floor meets the firewall, are you sure it is whit silicone as the factory used a pourus off white body sealer as the joint compound. If you have any sections of floor in that forward area that are knocked up this could cause seperation at the joint letting water through. sounds like a bitte of work on the floors. Behind the seats at the rear floor joint should be more similar white sealant.

cheers

Steve :classic:

[240znz]

Thanks Steve,

Yes the silicon is an off white colour. I guess it must be the original factory applied sealant as you have pointed out.

Under the tar covering, the metal is a red oxide colour (I guess this is the factory rust protection). The white sealant is near the front and rear mounts for the seats as well.

That makes me feel a little better now as I was beginning to think that the previous owner had made a botch job of a repair there. I know that I have rust in this car but I've stopped poking around with my screw driver as I need to keep it on the road. What I have found I will fix for now then I'll get the screwdriver out again. The lucky thing is that I haven't found any rust in the chassis rails...yet! This car has been left out in the rain for some time and is showing all the signs of it.

[sjcurtis]

Im glad it was factory sealant, the resto is always a very slow proccess. Good to here you are going to keep the Zed on the road.

You need to be able to get in the Zed and have a blast occasionally to keep your sanity.

good luck

Steve :classic:

[tanny]

I just found a cause for the leak into my floor pan on both sides of the car. When I applied water to the outside of the door, water was getting by the roll up window seal(the flap that clips to the door and presses against the glass at the bottom of the window), dribbling onto the mechanisms inside the door, and making its way down the inside of the door metal underneath the vinyl interior door panel, and then dribbled on down to the floor pan. Apparently someone had taken off the plastic liner between the vinyl door panel and the metal door. I cut up some heavy plastic sheeting and sealed off the access holes in the door and that stopped the leak. Victor.