Mysterious water- where did it come from.

[Chief]

In another post I said that on finally getting our car started a big load of water came flooding out of the box section- well we finally had a look and the box section is stone dry, no dampness, never wet. So here's the Q. where could it have come from- the actually splash seemed to come just past the middle of the car towards the back on the passenger side door- it was orange with rust (worrying) and certainly didnt come from the box section- so can water when washing the car (or with very bad rain) get inside the sills (only about 2/3 years old now) and could it be rusting them away while on the outside all looks perfect- because otherwise where could it have come from - we had drained the boot earlier (no comments please :p;)) in the day but could the boot well be leaking water down into places or has anyone got an idea where this water could have been settling- thanks

[chickenjohn]

You're going to need the help of a friend= sit in the car with the rear seat up and shine a torch into the holes of that box section, and watch.

get friend to squirt car with hose pipe, from top, around windows, then finally underneath, moving along with the hose section by section.

When the water starts to enter, thats your culprit!

[Chief]

As I said though- i dont think it was in the box section as the section (when we used a torch) we found it dry as anyone could hope for and from past experience there's no way it could have dried fully in such a short time (before the new rear screen rubbers several months back it took over a week to get the section fully dry and that was with electric heaters running inside the car)-though it's definately worth doing just in case:)

[SR]

ello mate ,are u talking about the box inside the car what the rear seat sits on ? if so ,have u got trafficators on your car, im gonna seal mine up as its a fantastic place for wash/rainwater to get in box and sills eventually,steve

[Chief]

I was originally (in a different post) saying I thought it was in the box section (rear seat area) but it cant be as it's too dry, therefore is there anywhere else a large amount of water could sit undisturbed for several months (never had the weather for doing repairs ) other than the box section (which is dry).

[SR]

if itsa 2 door water would collect in rear quater panel, which is outside the sill/inner chassis rail ,cop for the pic on my weblink ,top row 2nd from the left to see what can happen in this area ,otherwise its in the chassis rail, where exactly did water exit from?

[Chief]

it's a 4 door, but it exited just after the centre of the car passenger side near the back (in line with box section which is why I originally thought it was there) the reason im worrying about it is the chassis is only 3 years old now

[Willie]

I once got about four pints of water out of one of my Jaguar
doors when I poked a wire up the drain holes!! Was yours from
a door??

[Chief]

ah-now there's an idea, it was around a door (only in one corner) but yes that's certainly an idea- the only problem is my car doesnt have door drainage holes (looks like they were never drilled but there are circles to show where they're meant to go) which if it did come from the doors would mean there's a rust hole. However you'd think that the water wouldnt all come flooding out when the car gets moving but would (if there was a hole) empty through the bottom while going in through the top.

[SR]

whats next then bruv ,drill bit and jenolite ,then puor some used engine oil in until it comes out of new drain holes,soooooooorrrrted!!!

[rayofleamington]

so can water when washing the car (or with very bad rain) get inside

Have you remove the sill covers (kick plates) to see what it is like in there?
The sill box section extends along the bottom of the rear inner wing and finishes at the back of the car either side of the boot floor (it is called the rear chassis extension in this area).
Under heavy braking it is not impossible for water to travel from the rear chassis extensions into the main sill area.

the sills (only about 2/3 years old now) and could it be rusting them away while on the outside all looks perfect-

Sills virtually always rot away from the inside - unprotected sills can last up ~10 years if they were done well, but if you are unlucky they will only last 5 (or less if there were no drain holes in them)! Therefore they should be protected with waxoil but if they are full of rust flakes and debris the waxoil won't have much effect so they need to be cleaned out first.
The advantage oif having a 4 door is that you can access these areas much more easily

[rupert]

I've had the "no drain holes in the door" problem. The window seals were really bad and about 4" of water got into the rear doors. I never used to use the back doors much just driving myself around and only found the water when the car was parked on a slope which was enough to get it moving. Once I found it, it was really obvious when you moved the door in and out. The bottom of the doors weren't water tight, (as it could seep through hte seam at the bottom) but it didn't "flow" unless there had been a lot of rain and enough water to build up a decent head!

like SR says - get drilling!

Rupert