Water leak - drivers footwell?

[mk2xr2]

Hi all.

 

I have a water leak into the drivers footwell off my 1999 mk6 Escort, which is making the carpet soaking wet, so must be a fairly major leak. I have currently got the carpet up with a small heater in the car to dry it out, and a small dehumidifier to take the moister away. At first I thought it was comming in thru the floor as there was a small orange rust mark coming from the edge of the tar sound deadning pad near the plastic bung in the floor. I scrapped the tar up, and found a small area of rust, which did require a bit of welding. This has been done, but I went out to the car this morning (its currently raining again), and I have two small puddles of water right at the front were the floor meets the bulkhead (you can see the run of water down at the bottom of the bulkhead). So it looks like it's coming in from higher up, and running down onto the floor. So all I can think of is prehaps the front screen is leaking?

 

But if anyone else has had a similer problem with water into the drivers front footwell. Can they post up were I need to look etc.

 

Thanks,

Rob.

[westy2310]

hi there m8 ive got the same problem as you,i have to peel the carpet back every now again and dry the carpet and floor out with the hairdryer,and its in exactly the same place as where u get yours on the drivers floor where the floor meets the bulkhead,thought at 1 stage it may b comin in down side of the sill trim but had a look and to no avail,i think it must b a typical thing with escorts m8 ive even tried puttin some clear silicone round the edge of the windscreen on the outside but no still leaks,let me now if u have any joy m8,its like the puddle of water appears from out of nowhere,my floor aint rotten at all all solid had a look,like i say let me now westy

[cabbstar]

not much help this but in most buider materials suppliers they stock a sealant called ct1 excellent stuff can use it under water etc etc about 36 a tube i think

 

have you got sun roofs? if so your drain channel could be blocked on the drivers side so the water is dispersing every where else.

 

or it could be worth checking the seals around the clutch,brake and accelerator cables to see if its coming in via there

[LiamGTR]

I too have this aI have this aswell so look forward to an answer

[shawdreamer]

I too have this aI have this aswell so look forward to an answer

 

if all possible inlets for water have been ruled out...

 

door seal

sunroof seal

window seals

heater matrix

firewall seals

etc

 

then Id suggest that in all likelyhood the problem is being caused by excessive condensation that freezes overnight then thaws in the morning dropping the water down into the footwells.

 

symptoms common to the above cause are....

 

footwells only dampened in the forward section of the cab

inside aswell of outside freezes overnight.

dampness only notable in colder seasons of the year

 

bare in mind that even if your interior is bone dry you still get condensationon on a cold morning, this is simply from the moisture in the air, its that moisture that builds up over time in cold weather and starts freezing to the inside of the window, each time it does it it gets progressively thicker until eventually it literally soaks the carpet on thaw.

 

theres really only one way to combat this pain in the arse thing and thats with preventative measure.

 

I personally use a small tupperware tub of silca gel with pin holes in the lid (that stuff you get in the box when you get new trainers) that I leave in the boot overnight in cold weather....aslong as the interior isnt already sopping wet then the gel soaks up a percentage of the moisture in the air before it gets a chance to freeze... slows down the issue if not stops it entirely

 

this all has reminded me that I need to pick some gel up myself as the stuff thats currently in the car is starting to struggle.... had a light layer of frozen condensation on the windscreen last night and surface dampness on the floor this morning

[LiamGTR]

I think I know what you mean Shaw, don't halfords sell a similar product for only a pound or so (refillable)? Might pop down and get one today and try it overnight

[henrykx125]

I to have this same problem, and in the morning after a rainy night, there is a small trail of water down the interior plastic sill trim. My theory was that when it rains, the rainwater hitting the front drivers side door window (most used / worn out window), runs down the very small gap that you have at the end of the bottom window seal and trickles down the inside of the door, then runs through the small drain hole in the bottom of the door and into the drivers footwell, so a solution would therefor be a new window sealey thing that the window runs up and down in. I havent completely sussed it yet but every morning the underside of the drivers door is wet but the passenger one isnt.

[shawdreamer]

I to have this same problem, and in the morning after a rainy night, there is a small trail of water down the interior plastic sill trim. My theory was that when it rains, the rainwater hitting the front drivers side door window (most used / worn out window), runs down the very small gap that you have at the end of the bottom window seal and trickles down the inside of the door, then runs through the small drain hole in the bottom of the door and into the drivers footwell, so a solution would therefor be a new window sealey thing that the window runs up and down in. I havent completely sussed it yet but every morning the underside of the drivers door is wet but the passenger one isnt.

 

The outer bottom window sills on ford escorts aernt really water sealed (on closer examination you'll note there actually felt facia'd to protect the glass during movement) and therefore a certian amount of water often finds its way into the door cavity and eventually out the drain holes in the doors base which are position so as the escaping water falls outside the door seal lip not inside so even if the door seals screwed it wouldnt allow water to gain entry that way, you might have some leakage from water going around the door itself (and I do mean very minor) but not through.

 

Liam, likely the Halfords stuff is based on Silca Gel too but make sure you dry the car out first before you bother with them as all you'll find is the gel we get drenched and useless within hours of putting it in there...its designed to absorb air moisture essentially and if you stick it in a overly wet enviroment straight off the bat it wont stand a chance.

Edited February 21, 2010 by shawdreamer

[mk2xr2]

Thanks all to you for your replys. Seems like I thought it would be, its a common problem with the Escorts, and not just mk5&6 Escorts. I also have a mk2 Orion (mk4 escort shape) and the underside of the boot gets covered in condensation which drips onto the boot carpet and soaks it. Fitted a new boot seal which has helped allot, but still get it a bit.

 

As for my MK6 Escort. It is a Finesse, and does not have a sunroof (aircon as standard) so I can rule out the drain pipes from that. The water I can see running into the footwell is no were near the door, so I am happy to say its not water getting in from around the door. I dont get condensation in the car, so im sure its not that freezing and then melting. The amount of water in the carpet would be to much for condensation. I am also confident its not coolant as my coolant level does not go down, and the water in the carpet would have that antifreeze smell as well. I like the suggestion of checking all the bulkhead grommets and seals were wirring and cables pass thru which would be my next place to check. Failing that I suppose I will remove the plastic grill below the windscreen, and have a look around there.

 

If I find anything out. I will ofcourse post it up here.

 

Rob.

[danposs86]

Have you looked under the battery, I know that my old mk5b developed a huge hole under the battery tray and leaked like a good 'un.

[meekstaaa]

i highly doubt its due to condensation. There has to be something wrong. Ive never had condensation issues in any car i've owned

[Craig855S]

I say check your battery tray and sunroof channels first, and your heater matrix (whats your water level like?)

[kevscort15]

Usually with a heater matrix leaking ,especially with the car which should be antifreezed ,it would be the colour of the antifreeze ,pink,green ,blue ,etc,or taste it if its sweet its antifreeze

[tezmanian devil]

check under your battery, and also, might seem weird, but check in the boot where the floor meet's the inner arch bit, i found a hole either side of my old mk5 and the water used to run from there down into the rear passenger foot well bit and the front one.

[[ . D a r k // ]]

Had this problem on my mk6 van, The metal underneath the windscreen had rotted out. Where it had rusted it had left a hole and was letting water in. i only found out how bad it was when I had to have a new windscreen fitted.