Water in rear footwell

[IBN]

Hi

I would appreciate some advice on how I can track-down the source of dampness in my rear footwell.

I have a 1990 W129 300SL that is almost pristine but I have a problem with dampness (small amounts of water) in the footwell behind my seat.

There are some "rusty" marks on the carpet and some corrosion on the seat runner and flakey white gunge on the metallic bits under the seat.

I've lifted the carpet (which feels damp) and looked at the floor ... I can't see any splits or missing grommets.

I've looked underneath the car and again all seems to be fine.

Could the hood be leaking ? I never use hardtop because I like the hood down on all but the coldest or wet days.

Any suggestions as to how I can track down the source of the leak(?) would be appreciated.

 

[lordlee]

Your R129 could well be leaking from the hood. Check the seals around the plastic windows are ok. Have you had the doorcard off at all recently?

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
Is the boot wet? Can,t see or think of anything else that could make the back wet other than the softtop, as rust in these cars is almost unheard of.
I know you said you don,t like the hardtop on but in this instance I think I would put it on so you can eliminate the soft top.
Maybe someone else has some ideas.

 

[b16ray]

Soft top leaking? Door sealing to roof?

Try and sit in it when its raining/get a friend to use a steam cleaner on the soft top (if it doesnt leak with that, it prob wont leak thru rain) and look with a torch to see if you can see any water ingress.

If that fails to identify cause, then it could be drain tubes blocked (cant remember if 129 had these)?

I'd start with the door/roof and then look at roof/drainage

 

[Coggers]

I had this in an old VW golf of mine. It turned out that the door seals had gone so might be worth looking at.

They were going to be expensive to replace, so I just got a drill and 'added' some drainage holes to the footwell. Worked a treat, however, caused a few problems in large puddles.