R129 water in the footwell.

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MarkyC71

New Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2014
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16
Car
300 SL
I have a 92 R129 SL300-24. Water has started appearing in the passengers footwell. My usual mechanic has had a look but can't find where the water is getting in. Has anyone got any suggestions or suggest someone in the Leeds area that can investigate.
I had planned to replace the roof but would like to understand what the problem is before I spend money on a roof. It would be a shame to just get rid of it as it is now running spot on.
 
I'm guessing you have checked the roof and that is ok? So have you tried lifting the carpet and pressure washing the inner arch - see if water is coming through there somehow? Other than that - could the windscreen need refitting with new seals?
 
You have blind grommets in each foot-well front and rear. theses just disintegrate with time, you can probably push your finger through them.

I replaced all 4, no more wet carpets. Pennies to buy and seconds to fit (from underneath) . From memory I think they're 30mm, but best to measure.

If it's anything like mine the insulation under the carpet will be saturated, it took days to dry out.
 
In my R129, water drips down the A Pillar and ends up in the footwell (Driver side)
 
In my R129, water drips down the A Pillar and ends up in the footwell (Driver side)

A little Gummi Pflege applied around the seals works wonders for this. :)
 
Thanks for the replies. Garage has checked roof and had carpets up with a hose still saying they can't see anything. I will have another root round myself at the weekend,
 
If it's the grommets in the floor pan, its not immediately obvious until you touch them.

You will be able to see/reach them without raising the car. Lying on your back with a torch ought to be good enough. The garage wouldn't have been spraying water there.

I expect the garage would have already checked the drains in the front scuttle with the hose, but worth looking at anyway. The other thing could be a leaking heater core, the garage should have checked this, a smell of coolant and frequent topping up would be the clue here.

Do you drive the car in the rain much? Is the car stood outside? Is this recent?
 
don't believe it is heater matrix never had to top up the water . The car isn't used in the rain much. Yes it is stood outside have started using a car cover to prevent the water getting in but would like to get to the bottom of it.
 
If it's getting in from underneath you would need to have driven the car in the wet. The insulation under the carpets can hold loads of moisture, so it wouldn't have to be recently. Check the grommets (I think they bung up holes where paint drains off during the production process) it'll only take a second to have a good poke.

If the insulation is sodden and the carpet damp it's coming from underneath. It the carpet is sodden but the insulation is only damp it's coming from the top.

You have a few drains in the scuttle, the most obvious ones are in the corners. Poke a bit of wire down and put some water down to make sure it runs off. Any water sloshing about in the scuttle and you've found your problem.


Water that comes in past the window seal is quite obvious, it drips onto the door handle. If you haven't already, Gummi Pflege all the rubber seals (not Vaseline this rots them) Apart from everything else it makes the seals quieter. I've tried generic silicon lubes but nothing I've found is as good as Gummi Pflege. :)
 

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