Progress on my soundproofing/sound system refit was halted by a water leak into the front passenger footwell
The carpet is out, exposing the bare floor, and I noticed that after days parked in heavy rain, there was a few mm depth of water along the side of the floor, all the way back to the seat crossmember.
When I removed the carpet several days ago, it was dry, and I hadn't noticed any wet footwell/misting up problems in the last few months, so this was a minor water leak. But I knew it would need fixing. Particularly as I have added polyurethane expanding foam to the bottom of the front pillars - I don't want it getting wet... it was all quite depressing. And no, there are no drain holes in the bottom of that pillar (I checked). Water is not supposed to be in there and I would probably never have noticed if I hadn't left the car parked outside with the carpets removed.
I spent a while poking around with a torch and hosing water into the front scuttle/heater chamber area, and at one time, I managed to get a trickle of water coming out of the front pillar (the one that has the door hinges). But since there was now water everywhere, I wasn't certain where the water was getting in - only that it was getting into the pillar and then running out into the floor. I dried the floor and tried hosing all sorts of places separately, including the gaps around the front-left wing and even the sides of the roof and windscreen. The floor stayed dry.
I found this in a Google search: http://www.fiat500owners.com/forum/...orum/1296-water-infiltration-3.html#post10199
So I removed the wipers and the panel under the wipers (lost one of the front three clips and broke another one - the centre part is supposed to unscrew, but it didn't
), and then I spotted a poorly-sealed seam behind the bonnet hinge, left side. This is a terrible area to try and photograph, as it is obscured by the hinge, but if you see the unsealed seam in the red circle below, and imagine that extended forward behind the hinge, that's the area that lets the water in.
After checking the floor was still dry, I hosed water just into that seam. Bingo, a significant puddle quickly appeared on the floor. What satisfaction!
Of course, that might not be the only place that water gets into that pillar, but it seems the most likely, especially as someone else had the same problem and sealing it was the solution in the end (though no-one was particularly happy about that solution). I expect water runs down the bonnet hinge, particularly when the bonnet is shut.
It seems that area under the windscreen is a tricky spot for water control, as it pours through the plastic trim and literally goes everywhere - such as all over the suspension mounts (as we know already...)
To fix this properly, I shall remove the bonnet (pity I'll have to crack the paint on the nuts) and then the left bonnet hinge, so that the untidy sealant can be dug out and re-done in a tidy fashion (unlike for the Canadian customer). I'll use a polyurethane sealant. First I have to wait for everything to dry out... it looks like we shall get a couple of sunny days, so I hope to get over this hurdle on Friday. I thought about doing the right-side hinge too, but I suppose it's best not to fix what isn't broken...
Anyway - hopefully this might help someone else trying to find a water leak into the footwell...
-Alex
When I removed the carpet several days ago, it was dry, and I hadn't noticed any wet footwell/misting up problems in the last few months, so this was a minor water leak. But I knew it would need fixing. Particularly as I have added polyurethane expanding foam to the bottom of the front pillars - I don't want it getting wet... it was all quite depressing. And no, there are no drain holes in the bottom of that pillar (I checked). Water is not supposed to be in there and I would probably never have noticed if I hadn't left the car parked outside with the carpets removed.
I spent a while poking around with a torch and hosing water into the front scuttle/heater chamber area, and at one time, I managed to get a trickle of water coming out of the front pillar (the one that has the door hinges). But since there was now water everywhere, I wasn't certain where the water was getting in - only that it was getting into the pillar and then running out into the floor. I dried the floor and tried hosing all sorts of places separately, including the gaps around the front-left wing and even the sides of the roof and windscreen. The floor stayed dry.
I found this in a Google search: http://www.fiat500owners.com/forum/...orum/1296-water-infiltration-3.html#post10199
So I removed the wipers and the panel under the wipers (lost one of the front three clips and broke another one - the centre part is supposed to unscrew, but it didn't
After checking the floor was still dry, I hosed water just into that seam. Bingo, a significant puddle quickly appeared on the floor. What satisfaction!
Of course, that might not be the only place that water gets into that pillar, but it seems the most likely, especially as someone else had the same problem and sealing it was the solution in the end (though no-one was particularly happy about that solution). I expect water runs down the bonnet hinge, particularly when the bonnet is shut.
It seems that area under the windscreen is a tricky spot for water control, as it pours through the plastic trim and literally goes everywhere - such as all over the suspension mounts (as we know already...)
To fix this properly, I shall remove the bonnet (pity I'll have to crack the paint on the nuts) and then the left bonnet hinge, so that the untidy sealant can be dug out and re-done in a tidy fashion (unlike for the Canadian customer). I'll use a polyurethane sealant. First I have to wait for everything to dry out... it looks like we shall get a couple of sunny days, so I hope to get over this hurdle on Friday. I thought about doing the right-side hinge too, but I suppose it's best not to fix what isn't broken...
Anyway - hopefully this might help someone else trying to find a water leak into the footwell...
-Alex
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