Technical Leak In Passenger Footwell!

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Technical Leak In Passenger Footwell!

Robtroll

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Hey Guys,

This is my first car, a Fiat Brava 1.4SX 1998.

I have a leak in the passenger footwell only and have no idea as to where it is coming from. I've heard somewhere that it could be a drainage hole in the engine bay somewhere has gotten blocked. I've had a look for it and cant find it.

Any ideas how and where to find it? Also if you think this may not be the case, any suggestions?

I'm going to try and pull up the carpet to see if i can see anything and I will let you know.

As I said, this is my first car so please explain any techincal jargon :p

Thanks for all help. Much appreciated.

Rob
 
Hey Guys,

This is my first car, a Fiat Brava 1.4SX 1998.

I have a leak in the passenger footwell only and have no idea as to where it is coming from. I've heard somewhere that it could be a drainage hole in the engine bay somewhere has gotten blocked. I've had a look for it and cant find it.

Any ideas how and where to find it? Also if you think this may not be the case, any suggestions?

I'm going to try and pull up the carpet to see if i can see anything and I will let you know.

As I said, this is my first car so please explain any techincal jargon :p

Thanks for all help. Much appreciated.

Rob

Have a look for leaves and other rubbish piled up in the engine bay right up by the bulkhead, water should drain away there, if its full of rubbish it wont.

Also, check for missing grommets in the bulkhead or grommets that have had holes made in them to allow wire to go through for accessories. Replace as and if required. No holes in the floor? Check to make sure, it can happen from jack abuse or kirb damage. Also take a look under the wheel arches for holes.
 
Thanks for the quick reply :)

I've cleared the leaves at the top. There wasn't that much to be honest. Not enough to cause a blockage I don't think. I've lifted ther carpet and there was a type of underlay, I think, that was broken and soaked. So I have removed it and tried to soak up any excess water. Going to leave it overnight to see if it now dries up. As far as I can see no holes.
 
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Thanks for the quick reply :)

I've cleared the leaves at the top. There wasn't that much to be honest. Not enough to cause a blockage I don't think. I've lifted ther carpet and there was a type of underlay, I think, that was broken and soaked. So I have removed it and tried to soak up any excess water. Going to leave it overnight to see if it now dries up. As far as I can see no holes.

OK. Do you have a sunroof? If so it could be the drain holes for that are blocked. If no sunroof at worst the leak could be from around the windscreen as water always falls to the lowest point you will only see clearly where it gathers in volume.

If all else fails, remove the front seats, carpets and underlay, dry it out and sprinkle talcum powder on as many surfaces as you can. Try the hose pipe test on the windows and front bodywork and with luck you should spot the water trail from the leak source. If you cant see the water trail the water may be being thrown up from the road by the wheels somewhere in wet weather driving conditions. Dont forget to check your door seals too...
 
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Yup. I have a sunroof.

Weather permitting, I'll take out the seat and everything as you said.

Thanks :)
 
The water could be coming from the heater matrix behind the dash.
Is the water in your footwell just rain water or does it have coolant in?

The sunroof tray has four rubber pipes. one in each corner one could be blocked. Try poring water into each corner of the sunroof tray and you should get a puddle of water under each wheel arch, If not one pipe is blocked or loose.

My sunroof used to let water in as a temporary fix ive put Vaseline around the seal. Its worked perfectly no rain gets in at all. A lot of people pull the headlining out and use sealant round the sunroof tray, ive yet to try myself.

Could also be the aerial mount letting water in.
 
Hi There

I have exactly the same problem.

It has occured twice now. the first I had no idea where to start but the second time I noticed it was the day after filling the radiator fluid tank, which may have some relevance as Adrian_Bravo_96 has mentioned the coolant. Would that be a brownish kind of sticky/oily substance about the same consistency as water but not as nice?

Anyhow, i'm afriad at present I don't have an exact answer as to how to solve it, but try topping up the radiator coolant with water (the one next to the windscreen spray tank) and see if it happens again. Once mine is less than half full the problem seems to go away.

Let me know if you find the problem, i could do with fixing it too!

Thanks
Ads
 
i have a fiat brava s reg. I'm having the trouble with the water in the footwell. 1st i thought it was the drainage holes under the plastic grill where the windscreen meets the bonnet cleaned that out. but still got water in the footwell from a heavy rain fall last night. after sitting in the car with the hose pipe going i tracted the leak from the sun roof to the door seal into the footwell so taking it to garage to get that fixed
 
The sunroof is rubbish from new to be fair. Garage might not be able to sort it. You could try something on the rubber seal like autoglym vinyl and rubber care to soften it up again.

The aerial mount is another place that can leak, Ive put silicone permanently flexible sealant underneath mine. You can remove the aerial by taking the courtesy light out (2 screws) then undoing the one 10mm bolt that holds it on.

Some people have had problems with the roof gutters and fixed it with sealant.
 
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