In case of any interest to others, I've recently (hopefully) resolved a leak problem that was causing a buildup of water in the passenger footwell during periods of medium/heavy rain. Been niggling me for two years ever since I bought the car. Contributory factor was that the car is parked on a sloping drive, nose pointing down.
My local indy (Cridfords) had several goes at trying to find the problem. Eventually, they removed the wipers and windscreen scuttle panel and noticed the gasket under the cabin air filter housing hadn't been fitted properly, leaving a gap which might allow water in. May well have been like that since new. They were half right - they replaced the gasket - but rain still came in.
In the end, I bought a wiper puller, removed the wipers, scuttle panel and air filter housing to have a look myself. I found that water was accumulating in the duct below the air filter. On closer inspection, the base of the air filter housing wouldn't sit flat, presumably having been distorted by sitting on the old badly fitted gasket, thus leaving a gap even with a new gasket.
So, I bought and fitted a new filter housing and another new gasket (only £8 so why not) which I think has finally stopped the leak.
As a final twist, the housing has a foam cover with a raised front edge lip, presumably to stop water dripping off the windscreen onto the air filter (and into the duct below). Just in case excess water builds up on the cover due to my parking on a slope, I trimmed the front lip off the old housing cover and glued it onto the front of the new housing cover, effectively doubling the height of the lip, and the car's been dry as a bone ever since.
So, if you are puzzled by a leak into your footwell, try removing the cabin air filter and stick your fingers into the duct below. About 4" below the filter, theres a 90' bend where water can accumulate. If you can feel water sitting in the bend, it means water is probably coming in through the filter, meaning the leak could be something to do with the housing, cover or gasket. BTW the new air filter housing was about £55 and the new gasket £8
My local indy (Cridfords) had several goes at trying to find the problem. Eventually, they removed the wipers and windscreen scuttle panel and noticed the gasket under the cabin air filter housing hadn't been fitted properly, leaving a gap which might allow water in. May well have been like that since new. They were half right - they replaced the gasket - but rain still came in.
In the end, I bought a wiper puller, removed the wipers, scuttle panel and air filter housing to have a look myself. I found that water was accumulating in the duct below the air filter. On closer inspection, the base of the air filter housing wouldn't sit flat, presumably having been distorted by sitting on the old badly fitted gasket, thus leaving a gap even with a new gasket.
So, I bought and fitted a new filter housing and another new gasket (only £8 so why not) which I think has finally stopped the leak.
As a final twist, the housing has a foam cover with a raised front edge lip, presumably to stop water dripping off the windscreen onto the air filter (and into the duct below). Just in case excess water builds up on the cover due to my parking on a slope, I trimmed the front lip off the old housing cover and glued it onto the front of the new housing cover, effectively doubling the height of the lip, and the car's been dry as a bone ever since.
So, if you are puzzled by a leak into your footwell, try removing the cabin air filter and stick your fingers into the duct below. About 4" below the filter, theres a 90' bend where water can accumulate. If you can feel water sitting in the bend, it means water is probably coming in through the filter, meaning the leak could be something to do with the housing, cover or gasket. BTW the new air filter housing was about £55 and the new gasket £8
