rear passenger footwell water

[morrisminormonkey]

Hi all,

newbie here and to car mechanics and to morris minors for that matter so be gentle.

I've recently inherited my dad's 4 door 56 split screen, we took it on a road trip from birmingham to scotland and back to bournemouth over the last two weeks, on a chairty bicycle ride, almost made it! think the dynamo/alternator has given up, but that's not the reason for the post.

I have nowhere to keep it but outside for the moment until i can secure a garage to rent, and it lets in water! i know from spending time in it over the last two weeks the windscreen leaks in both bottom corners so am planning to replace the rubber on that, hopefully job done and easy enough for me to do.

the real puzzle is the rear passenger footwell that fills with water, i can't tell where it comes from as there is no obvious source, is there a common source for this kind of water feature?

Thx guys.. and gals.

[bmcecosse]

I advised you already to look under the rear seat - have you done so? And the screen rubber on a 'split screen' is anything BUT easy! Consider all other options to seal the leaks first......

[MarkyB]

Don't leave damp carpets in the car, drilling a couple of drain holes wouldn't be a bad idea either.

[morrisminormonkey]

thx for the advice.

bmc, i think you're confusing me with someone else, i've only been on here for 3 weeks and my only other post before this was to identify the age of the car i now own, i will have a look under the rear seat and let you know what i find, thank you.

as for the rubber on the window, the leaks are small so while i'm not too worried about them in the grand scheme of things, i'd like to get them remedied soon, i'm a fairly hands on sort so once i find a dry home for it i may have a go at it, i don't think i can make it any worse, can I?

The rear footwell is the urgent job, i've already peeled back the carpets but will need to unbolt the front seat in order to take them out altogether, so i'll do that soon, a couple of carefully placed drain holes might e a good idea if i can't find the source soon.

thx for the advice so far

[Boomlander]

Hi, I am selling a very nice Stormforce outdoor cover on Ebay if you're interested.
Totally waterproof and simple to fit and remove.

[mike.perry]

You can make the windscreen leak worse. Do not replace the rubber unless you really have to. Read back through the old postings and find an expert.

[kennatt]

get tube of sealer or two and a mastic gun,then lift the large interior rubber lip of the screen rubber,you will find that you can now see the edge of the metal frame of the car where the rubber slot sits on.Start in the middle at the top by the central strip and insert the tip of the mastic gun under the rubber lip up against the metal frame and inject a good bead of sealer right up against the metal lip and work you way down and round to the botom of the central strip. Both sides.You will find that if you put plenty in a beading of sealer will be pushed out of the rubber,which you can clean up afterwards(A bit messy).This in effect makes an additional joints between the frame and the inner rubber,I did mine like this about 10 years ago and have never had a screen leak on mine since,even after standing outside for two years. The only risk is that water will have got into the outer joint and may cause the metal lip to rust,but you are no worse off than now because its already getting in.Mine leaked after a new rubber fit,but I made sure the lip was well painted and protected before the rubber was fitted so mine shouldn't be too bad.This does work,but as said a bit messy<don;'t get the sealer onto the headlining mask it off with tape. (this of course is assuming the water is coming under the rubber and not over it from the glass,which is a much easier fix)

[morrisminormonkey]

so sealing it really is the best thing to do then, i was trying to think long term with a view to a re-spray a few years down the line, so getting it water tight first, then upgrading a few elements to make better for every day driving then when i was happy with how it was set-up etc get sprayed. so was a bit reluctant to start squeezing mastic everywhere but if that's the best solution then i'll gladly go down that route.

P.S. water is coming in OVER the rubber under the glass if that's easier

[ASL642]

Try Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure available from Ebay stores. It worked for my 2dr

[kennatt]

well if its coming over the rubber then its easy, just seal round the glass/rubber from the outside,even if you fit a new rubber you will still need sealer on the frame to rubber and rubber to glass,without it they will always leak,trollys aparently works not that I have ever tried it

[morrisminormonkey]

ok, i've taken out the rear seats, all looks dry to me but i'll wait for the next rain to come along and see if it helps identify the source.

i am starting to suspect that it may be coming from the direction of the sill somewhere, but without pulling off the carpet which is wrapped over and glues onto the sills i can't see too much, if i can rule out the area under the rear seats as a source maybe i'll have to resort to pulling up/off the carpets.

[bmcecosse]

Get the carpets off anyway - if they are damp. As for window seals - you would take out the windows and seals before doing a 'full' respray. So worry about new seals then.