Interior Water Accumulation - Why?

[Latitude48]

My S2 currently sits outside on a sloped driveway since the 951 is in the garage (along with thousands of my kids stored records). Being in the Pacific NW and having one of the wettest springs in years I went to go for a drive after a few days of heavy rain and what do you know... I had a couple of lakes behind the front seats... like 3" of water.

Any ideas how it gets there? As far as I know the front sunroof drains empty into the engine compartment and then drain through the side holes. The two rear drains have tubes that run through the rear cubbies and discharge onto the ground.

My windshield was replaced last August. Could it have a leak? Seems unlikely since this water accumulation is a recent issue.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Spring44]

Remove the battery and check for rust pinholes in the sheetmetal underneath it.

Could be an overflowing ac drain pan but not likely since you hadn't been driving it much before the water appeared.

Check for dried up / leaking rubber door seals by sliding a dollar bill around the perimeter of a closed door and looking for loose sealing.

[Tom]

Battery tray rust holes, bad rear hatch seals, bad door seals, bad window seal (and more) have all been known to cause this. Park it in the driveway, get in, and have someone flood all areas with a garden hose or two. Chances are, you'll find it fast....

[Latitude48]

Thanks for the replies. The first time this happened the passenger side had the most water. As I recall when I opened the door there was moisture dripping from the forward door seal area around the carpets so bad door seals may be part of the issue.

After vacuuming out all the water we had another rainstorm and this time there was only water accumulation on the driver's side. When I opened the door water drained out of the door.

I know the battery area is in great shape so that's not the issue. The rear hatch seal needs replacement as there are times, I also get water in the right-side cubby.

Guess I'll take Tom's advice and sit inside and let my wife spray down the car. I have a set of new door seals and new hatch and sunroof seals but was going to use them for whatever car I get painted, and right now I'm leaning towards doing the 951 as part of a major restoration/upgrade project.

[Tom]

Thanks for the replies. The first time this happened the passenger side had the most water. As I recall when I opened the door there was moisture dripping from the forward door seal area around the carpets so bad door seals may be part of the issue.

After vacuuming out all the water we had another rainstorm and this time there was only water accumulation on the driver's side. When I opened the door water drained out of the door.

I know the battery area is in great shape so that's not the issue. The rear hatch seal needs replacement as there are times, I also get water in the right-side cubby.

Guess I'll take Tom's advice and sit inside and let my wife spray down the car. I have a set of new door seals and new hatch and sunroof seals but was going to use them for whatever car I get painted, and right now I'm leaning towards doing the 951 as part of a major restoration/upgrade project.

I 'thought' my battery box was in great shape, but eventually learned that someone had smeared silicon on top of rust and then painted it red to match the car. To make it worse, the hole that was leaking was under the battery hold-down bracket, so couldn't be seen from any angle unless you removed the glove box and looked up. That said, if the battery box is leaking, your DME will get wet and the car will occassionally leave you stranded in the worst rainstorm of the year. Ask me how I know..... The garden hose trick isn't mine. My first brand new car was an rx7. Brand new, it had soggy carpets whenever it rained. The whiz-bang factory techs tore half the car apart trying to find it. It was a crusty old mechanic at a gas station with a deep southern accent who figured it out. I was drying the carpet with their paper towels, and he came out and told me to get in and roll up the windows. He started hosing down the car and it became very obvious very fast that the windshield seal wasn't sealing -- at all.

[stitch2k1]

Pull the battery, look underneath for water. Look for rust holes. Pull the sunroof out, inspect the seal, use weedwacker wire to clear the 4 drains on each corners -- be very careful because friction holds those hoses to the holes, if you feel resistance stop. You risk pushing the hose off, and sending water straight into the body. Hatch seal can leak too but that's probably not why you're getting water in this case. Hatch splitting can also do that too, but doubt that's why.

[Latitude48]

I washed my S2 today and gave it a good soaking. When I opened the driver's side door a ton of water came out. The passenger side was slightly less. Therefore, it looks like water is getting past the door seals and collecting at the bottom door sill, and then runs into the interior and accumulates behind the seats.

[stitch2k1]

Water getting stuck under the door (but outside of the seal) is normal, you sure the seal itself failed? The 924S I am fixing up has swiss cheese looking door seals (lots of like, almost pitting?) but they are sealing perfect.