Leak into passenger footwell

[jerzybondov]

Right - here's another one of my problems. I removed my new mats today and found that the passenger footwell was soaked. It wasn't wet in Norfolk, so it must have been from the torrential rain on the journey back down (it's been under a cover since).

I spoke to Dave H on the phone because he'd mentioned a problem to me before where the little hose that drains out onto the fuel tank gets blocked and then the fan motor fills up with water and leaks onto the floor. I blew into the hose at the end over the fuel tank, and while it wasn't completely blocked I'd have quickly died if I was relying on it to breathe air underwater. Dave H then suggested to take the 3 screws off the bottom of the fan motor (I think this is what it is, upside down above the passenger footwell, next to the side of the car) so I did that but found it was sealed on and I didn't fancy cutting it off.

After having trawled the US forums it seems that there's another drainage bit that can get blocked - this is about an inch across, and is a hole above the fuel tank which you can feel if you take off the spare wheel cover etc. Apparently this is the one that rain water drains through, the other is the one water drains through when the aircon is on. Have I understood this right? Does this second, 1 inch diameter drainage hole exist? If so I expect this is blocked on mine as my aircon doesnt work (and that fan motor seemed pretty well sealed to have leaked that much water out of it).

The other thing that could be causing it is unsealed screws in the fibreglass underneath the carpet. Is this possible? Do I need to take seats and carpet out and start putting sealant on everything?

Cheers all!

(apologies for the duplicate post, I don't know how many swingers there are yet )

[Rich H]

Could be

1. Water leaking down the screws which fix the grille on under the windscreen
2. Random and pointless holes in the fibreglass under the grille
3. Leaks around the bonnet stop
4. Leaks around the windscreen wiper fittings

If your air con doesn't work then it's not going to be the drain hole that comes out just over the tank (that you blew down). The 90 degree pipe at the base of the blower motor is an air pipe and is meant to cool the motor when operating.

The best way to locate the leak is to use a hose pipe or watering can and throw water all over the area and then jump inside and play 'spot the drip' :lol:

It might be the plenum drain hole that's blocked. The plenum is the cavity where air enters the interiror. There's a big hole roughly in the middle of the windscreen underneath the grille - dirt, leaves, sand and other stuff falls into the plenum and blocks the drain hole.

To get to it you will need to remove the panel underneath the spare wheel (it's held on with about a dozen screws) then right in the middle of the bulkhead just above the tank you'll find the drain hole. It might have a pipe in it which looks like this: http://www.delorean.com/store/p-7667-pl ... -tube.aspx

I found the best way to unblock it was for Rich Hanlon to scoop out some of the mud (cheers Rich) and to then dump a couple of buckets of water straight into the chamber. The volume of water blasts all the crap out through the hole - but unfortunately all over the fuel tank! I was confident of the seals of my fuel sender and fuel pump, so I just hosed it off the tank afterwards, you may want to try catching the water, or putting a polyethene sheet over the tank.

I have had a similar leak problem and thought I'd cured it. Only to discover a damp drivers side carpet again These leaks can be buggers to fix!!

[jerzybondov]

Rich, AWESOME advice. Thank you

I will print this out when I get on the case today and report on my findings later...

[Tourettes Tony]

Mine leaked when i got mine, it turned out to be coming from the air intake for the heating/aircon under the wiper grill thingy TT

[Birksie]

I had an inch of water in mine after I had her only a few weeks. I left her out in the rain one night to find the water in the passenger footwell the next day.
I traced it back to the rear window seal!
Water had seeped under the window, down the back wall past the battery compartment and on to the floor.
I used some clear silicone sealant and it did the trick.

[jerzybondov]

RichH Wrote:Could be

1. Water leaking down the screws which fix the grille on under the windscreen
2. Random and pointless holes in the fibreglass under the grille
3. Leaks around the bonnet stop
4. Leaks around the windscreen wiper fittings

Well I went over the car with Dan yesterday and we're pretty sure the leak isn't coming from the front. The plenum hole is fine, happily shoots water out directly onto the top of the fuel tank cap!

We poured water all over the front of the car and not a drip to be seen or any wetness seeping in.

It's possible that it's came from a dodgy old windscreen seal, and now the windscreen has been replaced this is solved... But equally it could be coming in from the back like Birksie's so I'll check this this afternoon.

I drove back in the rain last night, and the footwell didn't seem to get any damper than it already was so I'm hoping the new windscreen has fixed it! (Although given that it's a DeLorean it almost certainly won't have done )

[Tourettes Tony]

i found the easiest way to dry these cars out is by using petrol and a zippo :lol: TT

[Guinney1971]

trust you Tony!! lol

Flopsy leaks water through the roof and the front door (A-Pillar area), but I think thats
more down to missing/knackered rubber seals then anything else.

Another on the 'jobs to do when I can get around to it' list..... :roll:

[Rich H]

How's it looking Gez?

[jerzybondov]

Well I don't think it got any damper after the rainy journey - but then it's a hard thing to tell when it's already damp. I'm doing my best to dry it all out and then I'll know if it's the new windscreen or not. If the leak comes in through the grille somehow, would it go directly down the fibreglass (under the carpet) or onto the carpet itself?

Cheers!