OK, here's a ridiculously-technical question but one which will change the course of my day tomorrow (putting my Uno Turbo back together)...

I've done a floor-renovation (yes, to fix rust at the edges of the floor) and this includes stripping out the cracked sound-deadening pads (to be replaced). Some of the underlay-felt was also soaked, not helping matters...

There are numerous 'tabs' on the Uno floor that form drains in the footwells. These are covered over by the factory, when the deadening pads are stuck down, and they don't attempt to open them.

In the past on other Unos I've usually cut slits etc. to open the drains. However on my Uno Turbo, someone has actually removed some of the deadening and then sealed the drains with silicone - but only at the back of the driver's footwell!

So - the question - is it better to have the drains, or to seal them up? Is there a greater risk of water coming in than of airflow/moisture out? I just can't decide, but I'm sure, with the more severe conditions in the UK, that someone will know for certain

Thanks!
-Alex

Hi alex i know the tabs your going on about, when i removed all the sound deadening (bit by bit with a scraper) as it was old and brittle, like a load of old broken biscuits, i threw it and the horsehair smelly old craap underlay in the bin and replaced it with new sound pads and a set of thick car mats over the top which were a perfect fit, and refitted the carpet, now it feels very comfy underfoot as the carpet is very thin, leave the tabs open as all cars have them for a purpose to let water out, they are all open on all the cars ive worked on in the uk, as all cars rust inside out (condensation) helps the car to breath, dont forget to waxoil while its all apart in the sills, rear quarter panel, over the wheel arches as thats where the metal moth likes to work! I removed part of the carpet a few weeks back to fit new audio wires, and checked how its all going, and is nice and dry all looks well, and its been horrible weather very wet and windy! good luck Ant!

Great - knew you'd know Ant

That's the evidence I need; that you've had them open without problems. Seeing someone go to the trouble of silicone sealing them had made me wonder! I'll be opening the drains but carefully adjusting the tabs for small slits facing rearwards, as I think the problems might start when they're bent out of shape like a couple of mine were due to some dork with a hoist-rail jack (the crossbar type, probably at a testing station).

Well, that and the water caught in the 'broken biscuits' - a natty description! I thought about whether to stick the new material over the old - the more the better? - and decided that if hardened and cracked, it's probably not absorbing vibrations anyway, and is instead going to trap water. So it's all come off, just the same as you describe, though it flew off in big chunks once I got a rhythm going with the hammer and the gasket scraper. The crossmember under the seats now sports a few dings

And, I've got the shutz-gun loaded with wax ready for tomorrow. 'Waxoyl' not available in NZ but K&H (Australian company) sell a cavity wax for $20 or so, in the canister for the shutz-gun (plastic screw thread on top, gun pressurises the canister for great results and a huge mess )

It's comforting to know that there is someone else in the world who has put soundproofing INTO an Uno Turbo, rather than removing it in the interests of saving a few kilograms...

-Alex

When, if i have to go though a flood, i see water come in and go out as i have no carpet!

Tom

Rallyslag he he!!

I have noticed, these tabs to always be blocked up. Either sealed with underseal from factory or rendered useless in some way, pushed in etc. I dont believe they will give much in the way of draining anyway as the water gets soaked into the carpet and worse, the underley. Once that's wet it wont dry, drain or not. I think the risk of letting moisture in is quite high.

When I did the rust in my floor the underley had left surface rust where ever it was, and it was not even wet. I did my best to treat it.

I worked on a Golf VR6 not long ago that had a small flood on the inside due to an open window. There were no drains. There were rubber plugs in the floor that could be removed but they were factory covered with underseal. It was quite an effort to remove them to drain the water. Oh yeah it was quite rusty after that.

Take from that what you want. The best advice I can give it to clean the floor and remove the underley and sound proofing. Having open drains is probably a good thing without underley (and carpet etc if you wish)