water leaks - help

[Matt]

anyone had the experience of water getting into the interior whilst driving - appearing in the gap between the air vent on the RHS of the sterring wheel and the piece of dashboard below it?
it happened during torrential rain on saturday, on the m'way at about 60 with loads of spray and stuff. seemed to stop as the rain got lighter.

it was not enough to start dripping out or anything - but enough for me to jam a napkin in the crack to soak it up.

any clues would be really helpful

thanks

matt

 

[John H]

Probably the heater planum chamber vents blocked, or at least this would be the first thing to check.
This chamber is the space between the engine bulkhead and the bottom of the windscreen. In each corner, on the engine bulkhead, low down, you will find two vent holes, usually with rubber valves. These are very prone to getting blocked by leaves at this time of year.

JH

 

[Matt]

thanks john - i'll have a look tonight.

btw i adjusted the front wheel bearings - one was ok, the other quite loose - sounds a lot better now.

suprised to take off the cap and find a visually exactly the same bearing adjustment system as my old 1966 Beetle....in fact almost as suprised as when i took off the 964's headlamp and found the same system of keeping the glass in place as the aforementioned Beetle....

 

[CAROLCOLE]

Hi all,

I am beginning to think water leaks on 968 s are a common thing. Firstly I have a permanent wet patch under the handbrake and last week I took the car into the garage to have the cambelt changed and they found a gallon of water in the spare wheel well. No one seems to know where it's coming from and the car is currently off the road until it can be found. Has anyone had this experience and if so what was the result.

BTW my cambelt was in a terrible state and just about to go...so I think ive had a lucky escape.

Anyway..MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL..AND ROLL ON SUMMER ![8D]

Carol (grounded black 968 sport)

 

[Guest]

John, Is this the area where the heater plenum chamber drains to ? I've heard this mentioned a number of times but i can only find these, one each side at the bottom corner of the windscreen below the fuse box, under the bonnet support strut. I had to clean up the area with a power wash to get a clean picture of the drain hole in the bottom left hand photo.

In the bottom right hand photo, this is where the water comes down from underneath that drain area in the engine compartment. It runs down from above the bonnet release catch and the boot switch. Yet if i get a power wash and shove it down there, it doesn't get wet inside [], so it's coming from somewhere else. If this isn't the heater chamber plenum then i still have a chance when i find that one.

My car gets wet on the drivers side footwell (LHD), if left for days in heavy rain, it can be above the level of the carpet. It also gets wet driving in the rain. It's driving me mad, the cars front and rear screens are constanly wet. I've checked and cleaned out every drain on the car, there's 9 that i can find so far and they all drain to the correct places.

Del.

 

[John H]

First off, my apologies ... I got it wrong!

I remembered doing this job, cleaning out the drains, but now that I look at my 968, I realise I was thinking of my 924S. Never trust your memory!

In the 924S, water in the heater plenum chamber vents forward through the bulkhead, into the engine bay. These vents do not exist in the 968, and as Del shows above, this area now vents to either side, presumably into the wing void, but above the wing liner. If you look above these vents, there is a steel pipe, about 10mm in diameter, which is the drain outlet for the front vents for the sunroof, so it obviously critical to keep this area clean and free of debris.

I know that if I put water into this area on my car, it dribbles out of the bottom rear of the front wing, although by exactly what means it get from one area to the other, I don't know.

I guess we all need to find out though!

JH

 

[John H]

BTW my cambelt was in a terrible state and just about to go...so I think ive had a lucky escape.

And how Carole! What mileage was on the car? Had the belt been done before?

JH

 

[John H]

I checked the 944 forum, and unsurprisingly they all seem to have the same problem. Try this ...

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=30433

 

[Guest]

Thanks John, it appears then that i can cross off the mysterious heater chamber plenum drains as a probable source of the leak. So i'll concentrate on the area below the bonnet hinge.

I've spent hours, over several days with a hose pipe trying to recreate the leak but nothing ever comes in, it's weird.

Del.

 

[John H]

I've spent hours, over several days with a hose pipe trying to recreate the leak but nothing ever comes in, it's weird.

Which probably means there is now 40 gallons of water hiding in some secret compartment [] ... just waiting to surprise you []

JH

 

[Guest]

Carol,

How did you get on with the leaks?

My Sport has had a wet carpet in the boot since I picked it up, which I thought I'd traced to a problem with a repair to the rear wing, but I've fixed that and the carpet is still wet around the flaps either side of the boot.

It appears to be coming in at the seals around the catches. I'm going to replace those two seals and see how I get on.

Chris
'94 Sport

 

[944Turbo]

From a few years of 944 list reading on leaks (so might not all be 968 relevant)

My windscreen was replaced by Autoglass and leaks in heavy rain.

Water can also come in the rear side windows.

The rear hatch can let water in if seals are worn or hatch pins badly adjusted (these also wear) assuming they are the same as 944 there should be a drainhose from the catches to the side 'wells'. Spare wheel well and side wells should have drain holes in the bottom.

The sunroof has a drain in each corner there is a rubber pipe between metal pipes at each end. these can become blocked or detached. they should be rodded carefully from the bottom with strimmer wire or similar. If they are detached pouring water in the top it will come out by routes other than the pipes which exit through each well in the rear and below the windscreen at the front. Reattaching requires carefull removal of a section of roof lining (its fragile).

The petrol filler area also has a drain which links into the sunroof pipe on that corner - in my experience this is the one most likely to be blocked but least likely to cause a problem inside.

Sunroof seals are another favorite as the car gets older might just be affecting the earliest 968's, also water leaching under the trim that is left when the sunroof is removed.

The heater fan has a mastic seal which if not complete will allow water onto the floor in the front.

Bert Gear also reported on the titanic list some time ago IIRC finding a crack in the metal work on the sunroof apeture which let water in.

On the 944 the rear lights are sealed with a mastic strip if this is damaged water will come into the boot area - obviously 968 lights are different but I would imagine an effective seal is still required.

Finally with Aircon if the drain becomes blocked (behind the cubby below the radio) water will come out of the airvents themselves - especially with the sunroof open at high speed.
edited to add (when running with the a/c on humid days)


Good Luck

Tony

 

[John H]

Very helpful post ... many thanks Tony.

JH

(I'd forgotten about the drains from the hatch locks!)

 

[Guest]

Yeah thanks Tony, that's very helpful.

Cheers

Chris

 

[CAROLCOLE]

ORIGINAL: 968Sport

Carol,

How did you get on with the leaks?

Thanks for the reply. i think it's coming in through the rubber inserts at the back of the car and dribbling down into the wheel well. I',m not sure what they are called?! I dont know if there is anything I can do, perhaps you guys may have some ideas. I looked yesterday and there didn't appear to be any build up of water...very strange.

Carol.

 

[2alexcoo]

ORIGINAL: 968Sport

Carol,

How did you get on with the leaks?

My Sport has had a wet carpet in the boot since I picked it up, which I thought I'd traced to a problem with a repair to the rear wing, but I've fixed that and the carpet is still wet around the flaps either side of the boot.

It appears to be coming in at the seals around the catches. I'm going to replace those two seals and see how I get on.

Chris
'94 Sport

Now I'm confused! I have water collecting in the spare wheel well (probably for years, which explains the rusty toolkit), but the boot carpet never seems to be wet. This doesn't make sense as I assume it would get into the well through the carpet.

Still, it seems I have it easier than others here. Good luck with the catch seals Chris, I might try that. Come to think of it, the nearside catch is reluctant to open when opening the hatch, so I may try adjusting that first.

Regards