Finally Fixed a Water Leak!

[gsmiller]

Wanted to share this in case helps anyone else out there.

I had water leaking into the area behind the passenger seat when it would rain. I cleared the drains as recommended but it continued. I finally got fed up with it and poured some water in the drain area with a bowl underneath to see if everything poured in came out. Sure enough it didn't, but it also showed me exactly where it was going. There was a small rip in the lining around the drain that the water could seep through. If it did, it would soak in through the foam to the area behind the seat. A little silicon on the rip fixed it right up! Pictures are attached.

[loudes13]

How do you get access to this area?

[faverymi]

You have to place the convertible top in the service position. Then unhook the liner and the 2 attachments wires.

[Steve986]

Amazing that Porsche relies on this material for this important feature! This foam can't last forever. Makes one wonder how many important other design features rely on materials that don't age well.

My cousins owned a well known auto auction company (the one Jay Leno bought many of his cars from), so I grew-up around premium classic cars my whole life. Except for the obvious soft material i.e rag tops, upholstery, hoses, tires etc. the important design features were made out of stuff that lasts... mostly metal. When I see materials like this foam on our modern cars it make me wonder if the cars of today can even last long enough to be a "classic".

[jluetjen]

Very helpful article. I found virtually the same issue on the same side (passenger side) of my 2002. The only things that I would add are...

1) Use a normal household vacuum cleaner over the drain holes to suck out any debris which might be clogging it. Using this method there shouldn't be any need to stick tubes or wires down the drain holes. Alternatively, use compressed air up the drain tubing -- i.e. from the bottom of the car. You still might want to use a vacuum cleaner to vacuum up anything that comes out. I wouldn't use compressed air down the drain because if there is a clog, pushing harder on it may not be helpful, and the compressed air will try to find a way out, and may actually create a leak at the weakest part of the drains.

2) I am going to make a point of vacuuming the area under the folding roof once or twice a year. It only takes a few minutes, and if there is no debris in that area, it won't end up clogging up the drain. I'd most likely do the area around the front drains too.

[husker boxster]

Looks like the OP sneezed.

[jluetjen]

One more piece of new information. A number of sources have said that Boxsters have 4 drains, 2 in the front and two in the back -- one of which is pictured in gsmiller's post.

I found another pair of drains for the real drip-rails that should most likely also be checked to make sure that they are cleared. Here's a picture of where you can find the drain on the right rear of the car.



It's right up front, next to the central hinge for the roof. For reference, in the picture I have the roof in the service position.

[adrianw]

Hi,

I had this issue - one of the arms from the converible hood got lose and punched a hole in that liner. (Note to all don't ignore any clunks from the convertible when it is in use - find out what they are.)

I got a second hand replacement from a breakers.

What you also need to be wary about is that looking at the back of the car, the left hand seat has the alarm/immobiliser circuits under neath it on the floor.

If you let the water gather in there for too long then it can all get very expensive.

I had to use a de-humidifier in the car for about 5 days solid to dry it all out.

But all OK apart form that.

Cheers

Adrian

[jluetjen]

The plot thickens! First I pulled the carpet back and removing the upholstery and storage bins behind the seats. Then I spread some talcum powder around. It looked like Pablo Escobar's car!

I had the car sit outside overnight in the rain, and no water!

So I took it for a drive today in the rain, and when I got back there was starting to be some water appearing.

The good news is that it wasn't coming down the firewall. But it did appear to be coming in from the door side of the compartment. For reference, this picture is looking down along the B pillar (which you can see in the lower right side of the picture)



After I got the plastic support out, it was easier to see that it was actually coming from under the metal gusset that you can see above my index finger in the above picture.

Looking further forward, I discovered that it was wet under the front floor mat, even though I couldn't feel it through on the top side.



BTW - this picture is rotated 90 degrees to the left. The passenger door sill is running across the top of the picture, and the wet leaf is on the floor. It appears that the water is collecting in the front and then flowing to the back when it reaches a certain depth and the car is under acceleration.

So the water has been coming in from the front! In order to pull the front carpeting up further I'll need to pull the seat out since it's bolted through the carpet. I guess I'll need to wait a few days for the E-12 socket to arrive in the mail.

I've got two theories:

1. The water is coming in through a grommet around some wires from the outside
2. Coming down the ventilation system.

Anyone ever see anything similar?

[jluetjen]

I got most of the footwell carpeting pulled back. Yup - this is where the water is coming from!

(Note that the picture rotated itself to the left by 90 degrees again! )



Given the leaves and things, I'm guessing that it was a clogged drain -- which I've previously vacuumed out.

I'll start checking those for flow next.

[jluetjen]

OK -- I finally determined that the drain in front of the passenger foot well was still clogged. But in so doing I discovered why it's always the passenger side that floods. There are actually 2 drains on the driver's side -- one in clear view and one under the master cylinder. So the driver's side has a "back-up" and twice the draining capacity. The passenger side has only one drain, and no redundancy.

So for those who are keeping count -- there are actually 7 drains in the car, not 4 like everyone says.

- 2 underneath the pivots for the soft-top (one on each side)
- 2 at the front of the rain drain just underneath the hard cover over the soft-top
- 2 in front of the driver's footwell, one in the open and one under the master cylinder
- 1 in front of the passenger's footwell, partially under the battery tray.

I'd recommend that these should all be cleaned out and tested that they flow water after every oil change.

[ISO100]

7 drains ?!? Geez. I have a similar water issue presenting in behind passenger seat. Carpet thoroughly soaked, it has taken 3 days with a small heater inside car to almost completely dry. I just purchased a 06 boxster s and getting it sorted out over rhe winter as PO didnt do much upkeep in the last 18 mos or so.

[jluetjen]

I've found that you can get water out of the floor mats by putting a towel or similar material underneath the mats and then press on the carpets. The water comes out of the foam fairly quickly when the foam is compressed.

[jluetjen]

BTW - I copied the screen idea that was posted over on the this thread on the 986 forum web site. It seemed pretty clever.

I've got my carpets down again and I'm keeping an eye on the drains to see if this idea works as I think it should.

[jluetjen]

If anyone is wondering how the the lining rips -- I just found out when one of the push-rods fell off of the ball -- and poked a hole in the lining. It's still wedged in there.

A new project for today.

[lefteyehot]

I quit worrying with the drains and drip trays. I cut the carpet behind the seats out. Behind each seat is an access panel in the floor board. I drilled two 3/4" holes in each to let water drain out to the ground. I have wine bottle corks to stick in the holes if need be. Also have the CLO Immoblizer laying in a one and a half inch tall tray from a frozen food package in case water gets under the driver's seat. The CLO computer is $1600.00.

[JFP in PA]

A bit of overkill. I have a 2001 car, which has had the optional factory drain screen covers over the factory drains since it was new, I have never had a water collection problem and never found anything in any of the drains. And the factory drain screen covers were a deal for about $12 at the time.

[CarGuyNeil]

They are still available from Porsche.

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