Hi All. When I wash my Series 3 I notice that the the upper right corner of the front passenger foot well gets damp. The moisture is limited to the floor of the corner and extends vertically several inches up the right side of the foot well. Could it be a blocked sunroof drain? I recently had my windscreen removed to attend to some rust in the lower part of the channel. The corrosion was repaired and the windscreen put back in. But this issue predated that repair. Any ideas?

Also, I’d like to remove smudges from my dash wood. What products (if any) should I use to do so? Thanks.

 

It's easy to test for a blocked sunroof drain.

Open the roof and you'll see the drain hole in the corner of the sunroof tray. Now trickle some water into the drain. Within a few moments you hear and see the water hitting the ground just aft of the front wheel.

If the water flow freely through the drain hole but never hits the ground then your drain tube has broken or become dislocated somewhere along the line

Cheers
DD

 

inspect the wiper base gaskets.

inspect the a/c drain hoses.

 

Check the junction of the gutters under the hood/bonnet. If it overflows from there to under the battery, then it will do what you are describing. I even applied black gasket cement at this junction to prevent the water from overflowing into the top of the battery.

Check under the battery for holes. I found on my Series II that under the battery is where the right hand drive cars mount their brake pedal assembly and the holes were open. I fiberglassed it over.

 

Thank you all for your excellent suggestions.

 

Hi. I checked all your suggestions. No luck replicating the moisture. When I pour water down the sun roof drains the water flows out aft of the tires. But it also drips out of the horizontal seam between the front wing and the rocker panel aft of the front tires. Is this normal? Also I snaked some weed wacker cord down the drain. After several feet it gets blocked by something. This was the case on both sides. Is there a drain tube that goes all the way to the bottom of the car? Should I be able to see the wacker cord come out on the bottom somewhere?

next time I drive it I will run the Ac and see if I get water down there or not.

 

the way to check the a/c drains is raising the car on a lift and looking on the sides of the transmission for two hoses, one on each side. Stick a clothes hanger up each hose to see if anything comes out.

the area you mention as getting wet looks to be behind the drain hose for the cowl vent, below the grille between the wipers. The cowl vent could be clogged though I doubt it since the diamond mesh is effective at keeping it free of debris.

removing the grille by prying it usually breaks the two pins that keep it in place.

I use a thin guitar string or thin fishing wire sliding it under each corner until i feel it stopped by the pin, then puliing up one corner at a time.

what are smudges ? scratches? I use Pledge Lemon Furniture Polish to keep it shiny. Been using it forever on my guitar finishes and wood dashes of my two Jags.

For scratches or cracks I use clear nail polish both on guitars and dashes. Works fine. Not a British Autowood finish but looks decent.

 

Thanks Jose. I’ll check the Ac drains as you say. I dumped a bunch of water down the scupper but did not get moisture on the floor. So I think that rules that out. My wood is in great shape. I just want to take the smudges off. So pledge it is.