Water in footwell
15 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Pray its not the heater matrix.............
Does it smell like Antifreeze? My +2 had a small water ingress for a while and i couldn't figure it out until one day a was doing some thing under the bonnet (can't remember what tbh) knocked the rubber heater matrix hoses and it fell off complete with one steel matrix pipe........ which made my day ..........
lotus-chassis-f36/heater-t15490.html
All that said, No elan is exactly water tight. Where exactly is it wet? I know drivers foot well but near the door, trans tunnel, Peddles or further back near the seat etc
Does it smell like Antifreeze? My +2 had a small water ingress for a while and i couldn't figure it out until one day a was doing some thing under the bonnet (can't remember what tbh) knocked the rubber heater matrix hoses and it fell off complete with one steel matrix pipe........ which made my day ..........
lotus-chassis-f36/heater-t15490.html
All that said, No elan is exactly water tight. Where exactly is it wet? I know drivers foot well but near the door, trans tunnel, Peddles or further back near the seat etc
Last edited by Grizzly on Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Chris
-
Grizzly - Coveted Fifth Gear
- Posts: 2023
- Joined: 13 Jun 2010
Assuming this is an Elan rather than Plu 2, have you got the rain deflectors fitted under the horizontal part of the front of the upper door aperture. The seals are discussed on a recent thread here.
Steve
Silence is Golden; Duct Tape is Silver
Silence is Golden; Duct Tape is Silver
-
elanfan1 - Coveted Fifth Gear
- Posts: 2239
- Joined: 13 Jan 2004
elanfan1 wrote:Assuming this is an Elan rather than Plu 2, have you got the rain deflectors fitted under the horizontal part of the front of the upper door aperture. The seals are discussed on a recent thread here.
It's in the +2 section
Chris
-
Grizzly - Coveted Fifth Gear
- Posts: 2023
- Joined: 13 Jun 2010
Actually tho, it is a relevant comment, as the door has a similar shape and is usually missing the horizontal seal
The water will come in the light switch, and appear in the area of the interior door handle.
Other areas it can come in are the bonnet latches, windshield wiper holes and any other firewall hole
The water will come in the light switch, and appear in the area of the interior door handle.
Other areas it can come in are the bonnet latches, windshield wiper holes and any other firewall hole
- gus
- Fourth Gear
- Posts: 726
- Joined: 05 May 2011
Cas, there are a great nany holes above and in the footwells! The steering column bolts go through as well as the handbrake on later cars, then of course there is the pdal cage that needs to be sealed along with many rubber grommets that will harden and shrink with age!
Don't forget to check your closing plates behind the front wheels as when these corrode away road spray will get to where the door hinges bolt up and leak water in there behind the carpet! There is very little sealing there other than a bit of foam rubber, bit like a bath sponge!
Problem with these cars is there is nothing to stop water running through the engine bay between the bonnet and the panel work so any poor sealing up will usually be found with your feet, or water dripping on your legs when driving!
Don't forget to check your closing plates behind the front wheels as when these corrode away road spray will get to where the door hinges bolt up and leak water in there behind the carpet! There is very little sealing there other than a bit of foam rubber, bit like a bath sponge!
Problem with these cars is there is nothing to stop water running through the engine bay between the bonnet and the panel work so any poor sealing up will usually be found with your feet, or water dripping on your legs when driving!
- vxah
- Third Gear
- Posts: 386
- Joined: 08 Nov 2012
Hi Cas,
I had similar problems a while ago.
I found that the holes left in the bulkhead from previous fittings were letting in enough water to ruin the underlay in the footwell, which will quickly smell if not addressed soon.
I used a bright light source to expose the gaps. There were quite a few well hidden holes so be prepared to get right into the footwell, an I phone can help to video those hard to reach areas.
To fill the holes; I used various materials including:
Rubber sheeting from eBay to address the steering column ingress as Vxah pointed out in his response. I second that as a good place to start.
Fibre glass for larger areas, (chopped or fine sheeting), again eBay is an easy source.
Good old clear silicone sealant for the majority of sealing.
Then there's Butyl tape, which was recommended to me on this forum and I've never looked back. For less than ?5 on eBay it has proved a great way to plug water ingress. However, that said, I'd stay clear of areas with high temperatures as it's bitumen based and probably a fire hazard if used for engine bay leak sealing.
Good luck... I hope this helps.
Si
I had similar problems a while ago.
I found that the holes left in the bulkhead from previous fittings were letting in enough water to ruin the underlay in the footwell, which will quickly smell if not addressed soon.
I used a bright light source to expose the gaps. There were quite a few well hidden holes so be prepared to get right into the footwell, an I phone can help to video those hard to reach areas.
To fill the holes; I used various materials including:
Rubber sheeting from eBay to address the steering column ingress as Vxah pointed out in his response. I second that as a good place to start.
Fibre glass for larger areas, (chopped or fine sheeting), again eBay is an easy source.
Good old clear silicone sealant for the majority of sealing.
Then there's Butyl tape, which was recommended to me on this forum and I've never looked back. For less than ?5 on eBay it has proved a great way to plug water ingress. However, that said, I'd stay clear of areas with high temperatures as it's bitumen based and probably a fire hazard if used for engine bay leak sealing.
Good luck... I hope this helps.
Si
-
Si Geen - First Gear
- Posts: 46
- Joined: 13 Oct 2013
Hi to all ' sorry for slow reply been away on holiday. So I left the elan outside while away , had some heavy rain here in London , found no sign of damp floor . So I'm sort of hoping that the chap I bought it off had power washed or put a hose pipe over her before I viewed her . . Buy the way it was the Alan man coloured . Red/ gold elan on eBay recently. Thank you all for your help .
Cas .
Cas .
- Cas
- First Gear
- Posts: 22
- Joined: 06 Jul 2015
I get a puddle on the heel pad after washing the car and a damp right leg when driving in a heavy downpour.
My problem is caused by the peddle box sealing. I've tried making gaskets, using sealants - including the Lotus specified 'Prestick' but to no avail. The actual problem is that the fibreglass has worn and cracked so much around the peddle box mounting points that it needs new glassing to make the aperture smaller and the mounting holes tighter.
Suggest a head in the footwell and a friend outside with a hose...
My problem is caused by the peddle box sealing. I've tried making gaskets, using sealants - including the Lotus specified 'Prestick' but to no avail. The actual problem is that the fibreglass has worn and cracked so much around the peddle box mounting points that it needs new glassing to make the aperture smaller and the mounting holes tighter.
Suggest a head in the footwell and a friend outside with a hose...
-
Robbie693 - Coveted Fifth Gear
- Posts: 1638
- Joined: 08 Oct 2003
15 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Total Online:
Users browsing this forum: smiths everest and 29 guests