Funky Smell After Heavy Rain

[Ouzo12]

Good day to all and happy new year, here's to good motoring in 2012!

After a hard rain my interior smells like a gym locker room and mists up alot more than I remeber, especially around the base of the windshield. The roof is not wet to the touch after heavy rain and i cant find any evidence of rain entering the cockpit. I realize that the car is 10 years old now so things like seals tend to go bad. While looking at the base of the windshield there is a ruber strip that has pulled from being flush from the windsheild. would this cause the problem?

Thanks guys!

[bar10dah]

My first step would be to check under the seats for any water! Perhaps your drains are clogged?

[harryrcb]

Originally Posted by Ouzo12

Good day to all and happy new year, here's to good motoring in 2012!

After a hard rain my interior smells like a gym locker room and mists up alot more than I remeber, especially around the base of the windshield. The roof is not wet to the touch after heavy rain and i cant find any evidence of rain entering the cockpit. I realize that the car is 10 years old now so things like seals tend to go bad. While looking at the base of the windshield there is a ruber strip that has pulled from being flush from the windsheild. would this cause the problem?

Thanks guys!

Happy New Year to you as well. the first thing i would check are the 5 water drains. three in the front trunk and 2 under the convertible cover, these get clogged with leaves and bugs and then the water can leak in at unsuspecting places.

[Ouzo12]

I'll check to find these drains and see what I find... Thanks guys for the help! I'm going on 4 years with the boxster and am at a point where I need to decide if I should let her go or put some $$ into her to make things right for the next 70k. These cars are just too much fun to drive though to make that decision easy ; )

[messex]

My wife says that there is a funny smell in the car every time we go and eat Mexican. Not sure that is the same issue here. I would check the drains. Sounds like one or more are clogged.

[Ouzo12]

I should have clarified, the smell comes with rain and after eating Laotian papaya salad ; ) drains will be checked, tx

[Wayne 962]

100% certain you have a lot of water getting into your cockpit. Check the front and *rear* behind the seats, that is common for the water to seep in there. As mentioned previously, the drains are the culprit typically.

-Wayne

[John99Boxster]

Check the foam around the rear drains also.

Even though the drain may be clear, if the foam is ripped (from a push rod coming off or other mechanical problem) you will still get water in the car.

Black Silicone works wonders here.

[gsmiller]

Completely agree with John99Boxster. My issue turned out to be a rip in the foam (and I fixed it with silicone). If you do the common test of pouring a known amount of water into the drain area, collecting it with a bowl underneath at the other end and seeing if it all went through, that will tell you a lot. When I did it, I dumped about a cup of water in and only saw 2/3 of that come out the other end... the rest was seeping through the rip and behind my passenger seat.

[messex]

Originally Posted by gsmiller

Completely agree with John99Boxster. My issue turned out to be a rip in the foam (and I fixed it with silicone). If you do the common test of pouring a known amount of water into the drain area, collecting it with a bowl underneath at the other end and seeing if it all went through, that will tell you a lot. When I did it, I dumped about a cup of water in and only saw 2/3 of that come out the other end... the rest was seeping through the rip and behind my passenger seat.

Good test...I'd give this a try.