Water ingress front passenger footwell - solved!
I've a serious water ingress problem on my ZS. The water is running down the seam to the left of the heater fan unit. I've removed the plastic trim over the scuttle, the wheel arch liner, the glovebox, the passenger seat (to help in the drying process) and the heater fan itself. When I pour water into the scuttle, it runs freely out of the end of the troughed part, but also comes into the car. Not much, just a drip, but with all the rain we have had these drips have accumulated over the winter to about two pints of water in the footwell. I am sure that the leak is nothing to do with the upstanding lip around the heater inlet because the foam there is dry. When I lie on my back and look up, the fan housing means that I can't see right up to the corner but I can feel that is where the water is coming in. I've concluded that when the water passes out of the exit from the scuttle, it's somehow wetting a seam under the scuttle and getting into the car.
When one looks up inside the wheel arch, there is an inner cover over the end of the scuttle with an opening at the bottom where the draining water passes out. Removing the wing will not get me any closer to the leak because it is boxed in.
I've read lots of threads about water ingress, some of which describe a similar problem but I've not been able to find one with a solution.
As the source of the leak is completely inaccessible, it struck me that the best way to deal with it would be to install some sort of tube or duct, sealed to the scuttle exit and emerging low down in the wheel arch. I found a thread regarding a 600 which had a tractor inner tube attached for this purpose, and I see that the ZT / 75 has such a thing installed as new. I can foresee great practical difficulty in doing this due to the very restricted access. It would also have to be constructed in such a way that it wouldn't block with leaves and the like.
As an alternative to a tube which might get blocked, another possibility would be an extended lip attached to the end of the scuttle outlet, pointing downwards, encouraging the water to drip down and off the end rather than into the body.
My question is, has anyone ever done this? Any tips or suggestions?
Andrew
I've a serious water ingress problem on my ZS. The water is running down the seam to the left of the heater fan unit. I've removed the plastic trim over the scuttle, the wheel arch liner, the glovebox, the passenger seat (to help in the drying process) and the heater fan itself. When I pour water into the scuttle, it runs freely out of the end of the troughed part, but also comes into the car. Not much, just a drip, but with all the rain we have had these drips have accumulated over the winter to about two pints of water in the footwell. I am sure that the leak is nothing to do with the upstanding lip around the heater inlet because the foam there is dry. When I lie on my back and look up, the fan housing means that I can't see right up to the corner but I can feel that is where the water is coming in. I've concluded that when the water passes out of the exit from the scuttle, it's somehow wetting a seam under the scuttle and getting into the car.
When one looks up inside the wheel arch, there is an inner cover over the end of the scuttle with an opening at the bottom where the draining water passes out. Removing the wing will not get me any closer to the leak because it is boxed in.
I've read lots of threads about water ingress, some of which describe a similar problem but I've not been able to find one with a solution.
As the source of the leak is completely inaccessible, it struck me that the best way to deal with it would be to install some sort of tube or duct, sealed to the scuttle exit and emerging low down in the wheel arch. I found a thread regarding a 600 which had a tractor inner tube attached for this purpose, and I see that the ZT / 75 has such a thing installed as new. I can foresee great practical difficulty in doing this due to the very restricted access. It would also have to be constructed in such a way that it wouldn't block with leaves and the like.
As an alternative to a tube which might get blocked, another possibility would be an extended lip attached to the end of the scuttle outlet, pointing downwards, encouraging the water to drip down and off the end rather than into the body.
My question is, has anyone ever done this? Any tips or suggestions?
Andrew