Leak on Passenger Side Floor

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone....

Can you please help?? I seem to have problem with my MRS - 2000 yom in terms of the passsenger side floor is wet and starting to smell... I cannot work out where it is coming from???

Its only the passengers side of the vehicle and it is mainly the side furthest away from the door... its seems to be ok nearest the door..

Any ideas??

Thanks in advance   s:D s:D

[roger]

Sounds very much like a leak from the heater matrix or pipes thereabouts.

I'm afraid it will be a head down in the footwell job to check it out.

[mrzwei]

Also, keep an eye on the coolant level. Are you having to top it up?

[Anonymous]

Water level is fine and the worst of the leak seems to be behind the passengers side seat !!

[StuC]

Sounds like you might need to clear out your drains.

If you slowly open your soft top, from the outside look in where the hood mechanism is. Can you see or feel and water?

[Anonymous]

Any water in the storage compartments behind the seats?

[Anonymous]

No water in storage compartment... Used to be but we cleaned the drain out that is behind the passenger side compartment.. May have to double check it again though

[trooper99]

Did a search and found this old post!
My 2004 has got a soaking wet floor, under the passenger seat. the roof appears to be sound, the top of the drain 'plug hole' is clear, as is the outlet behind (both) intakes, I've run a wire through both sides, totally dry and clear.
The luggage bins are both bone dry, as is the drivers side. Its just like someone has opened the passenger door and poured in a few pints of clean water under the seat!
My next plan is to somehow get behind the seats, and get a mate to hose the roof down....

[Fin]

May seem like a silly question, but... Do you park facing downhill? The seals at the top of the windows have been known to let water seep by, and down the door pillar if it runs from the back to the front...
Also, worth checking that the collection bags haven't split. They are made of the same stuff as the roof, and become brittle with time.

[trooper99]

Hi, the car was kept in a garage before I bought it, even right up to the minute I went for it...yet another fault the 'genuine seller' obviously forgot about...
I have been parking it with the front slightly higher than the back, with the passenger side about 75mm higher than the drivers, due to being half on a low pavement.
I've pulled out a blanking plug in the floor, about 150mm in from the outside of the sill, and just below the back of the seat rail, must have let out 1 litre of water just doing this! I've used a rigid plastic straight edge to squeeze out about the same again, but its still soaking wet!
I had a look down the sides of the roof, I can see the (passenger side) 'plug hole' down inside the rear panel, its bone dry. Its rained a lot since I tried to get the water out, without driving the car, and its full of water again   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  
Its clean water, no coolant or suchlike in it, defo rainwater.
It stinks inside now, after 4 weeks of being kept outside. I'm now thinking of selling it as is, selling the Cobra exhaust I've just bought, and getting a nice, easily tuneable, and cheaper, MX-5!   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:   Plus, I can get a full Spax coilover set for £395, the MR2 similar kit is £1500   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:

[jonbill]

The water is going to collect at the lowest point, so not necessarily a guide to what's leaking. Have you checked the vapour barrier between the door card and door frame? If the adhesive seal fails then water can leak in between door frame and card.

[Carolyn]

Jonbill makes a good suggestion.
Check to see if the carpet high up in the foot-well is wet. Then it's coming from around the windshield or pillar (unlikely).
If that ain't it, then why not go on a little voyage of discovery?  Rather than 'get behind' the passenger seat - take it out (four bolts, five minutes).  Pop off the plastic sill cover (30 secs), remove the plastic liner at the outside of the foot-well (5 mins), remove the upright plastic behind the door (2 mins), remove the luggage compartment door (5 mins), remove the plastic liner at the out side of the compartment by popping the two little pull knobs (2 mins), remove the compartment liner (two more bolts and a bit of fiddling (5 mins) peel the edge of the carpet back. Sit in the driver's seat and get your mate to hose the car down.  Look for the dribble.
It all goes back together as easily as it comes apart and you'll get to see quite a lot of what's under the skin.
You can do it, just stay patient and you'll get there.

[cabbydave]

Get a hose pipe and spray water round the side window and over the rear of the hood. Have someone inside looking for leaks. If its not the drains my money is side window where it meets the screen

[trooper99]

Thanks again peeps! I'll follow Carolyns (and cabbydave's) advice and pull out the insides then trace the leak: Hopefully I'll find something! I hate water leaks, I'm a Plumber and cannot stand to even hear a dripping tap, its the worse thing ever in my work!

[trooper99]

After a massive downpour over the last few hours, I've been and had a look inside my car: the sides of the roof are all dry, can't see any trace of water ingress anywhere, I was looking for water marks or stains but nothing visible...yet there's now 2" of water under my passenger seat! Unreal amount of water, I've removed a grommet from the floor as described earlier, yet its still filling up!   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:
Might be time I sold this on and got myself another nice dry MX5!

[1979scotte]

If you feel that way go, off you go i wont miss you  s;) s;)

[trooper99]

You are a bit of a happy chap, aren't you? "Go off you go" doesn't even make sense!    s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:  
I bet my 1996 MX   5 is still bone dry inside ....  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[1979scotte]

Rusted to  sfuck fuck sfuck  too.

Please note the wink.

Does the comma appease you at all?

Mine never leaks.
Blows turbos
hand brake never works
rad gone
subframe rot
Leak never.

Get your head out of Uranus and fix the damn thing.   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Carolyn]

The only thing, I can think of, that could let in that much, that fast, would be the drain=bag either holed or not fitted correctly.

[MR Roadie 2]

Could be a long shot, but I had a leak in my car when I first got it.
The water was getting between the rubber seal and the A-frame. I fixed this by wiping some silicon grease between the A-frame and the rubber seal. I have had no leaks since.

My leak was at the front of the foot wells.
  l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=57865 l

Is the window frame perhaps leaking and the water running onto the back of the dash.

[paulj]

Mine leaks on the passengers side when parked facing downhill.  Uphill fixes it.  The water comes in where the roof frame meets the top of the window glass, there is a hinge joint with rubber seating.  On mine the water dripped onto the seat (could soak it overnight) but I guess on another angle it could drip between the seat and door straight onto the carpet.

Stick with the two, hopefully you will find it worth it!

[mikek]

Kate's did this. I stripped it all out and got it dry. Took the rear bins out which were bone dry to find a swimming pool underneath them. Poured water on the roof and found a hole in the vinyl attached to the body were the water just poured in (near the hinge when the roof is down). Patched hole. Put dry interior back In. Treated all the rubber seals while i was at it. Problem sorted. Just takes a little time and effort.

[trooper99]

Thanks for the helpful replies   s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:  
I've removed the luggage box and trims, theres a drain hole under the luggage box which has got a little puddle of water around it, but its not blocked.
Inside the roof, there is a flap of material that was creased up, I've tucked it down into the gap between the roof skin and the steel frame, so its the same as the OS.
What is the drain bag? I can see clear plastic that covers a pair of relays and connectors, but thats it.
The flap has got a 3" long strap on it with a press stud to attach to something, but what? Theres also shorter straps with press studs higher up, that dont appear to do anything   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  
I'm going to try and take a pic or 2, see if I can get a clear image
I've also turned the car round, it's now parked pointing slightly downhill, the OS rear corner is the highest point, been the other way round since I've had it so will see what happens next...

[mikek]

The poppers need to be connected as this forms the drain bag I think. The drain bag collects the water running from the roof and feeds it into the drains in the side vents. If the poppers aren't connected chances are that the bags are not  functioning properly causing a leak.

[Carolyn]

The fabric that leads down to the drain is the 'bag',  It catches the run-off from the roof, thus dealing with a lot of water.  Sounds like it came away from the side of the car and the run-off was not being caught.  It needs to be secured in place.  Take a good look at that area and the drain and you'll see how it works.
The other stuff you mention sounds like the attachments that raise and lower the parcel shelf as the roof goes up and down..  It's handy to have that stuff all attached and working.
Slow down a bit and have a proper look and you'll see how it all works.