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My ‘87 XJ6 Vanden Plas is parked outside and I’m getting funds together to take her in for the cracked head repair. Just went to inspect the car and noticed a puddle on the floor of the rear passenger area. Can’t see where the water is getting in, anyone run into this problem before? Car is not level, it’s on a driveway at a slight incline facing up.
Last edited by Quantumleap67; Dec 28, 2018 at 02:40 PM.
Reason: Adding text
check the headliner above the area for water stain. If no stain and dry, then it must be coming in thru the rear door or between the doors.
since the car is inclined, the water might be coming in from the front and settling in the rear. Investigate by putting a dry towel at the front to see if it gets soaked.
remove all carpet mats and foam pads and let dry in the sun for a while.
check the headliner above the area for water stain. If no stain and dry, then it must be coming in thru the rear door or between the doors.
since the car is inclined, the water might be coming in from the front and settling in the rear. Investigate by putting a dry towel at the front to see if it gets soaked.
remove all carpet mats and foam pads and let dry in the sun for a while.
Will definitely do that and I’ll get back with my findings
I'm experiencing the exact same issue and my 82 XJ6 is also parked with a slight incline with the front elevated. My back passenger floorboard below the carpet and padding gets soaked any time it rains and the leak has proven to be ever so elusive. The front also gets a little damp but I've removed carpet and padding front and back and have a towel up front ready to catch whatever gets into the cabin so I can determine whether the leak is behind the dash or from the B pillar (between front and back doors).
I tested the sunroof drains because that seemed to be a likely source but it is not blocked as the water drains as expected. The carpet under the scuff plate is dry also leading me to eliminate that as a possibility.
The windscreen seal and surrounding paint are in great condition so I don't assume that's where it's coming from but I'm not ruling anything out.
Hopefully we can figure out our issue together. It's going to rain tonight so I should be able to definitively update tomorrow whether the water made it to the back or not.
because both your cars are inclined at the front, and assuming there is no leak thru the windshield, another possibility is the Cowl (the grille between the wipers), filling up with water and being inclined it is not draining through the firewall hose, and water might be seeping through the lower fan blower case flap.
Check to see if the flap is wet by tapping it up with your hand. You can pull it open gently and it should go back to closed position. This is the fresh air (open flap) and recirculate (closed flap) at the bottom of the fan blower case facing the floor.
rhe default position is Closed when engine is off.
If water is indeed coming in through the fan blower case, that is not good, you need to change the angle of the car.
Jose's advice is excellent. If that doesn't work I would suggest getting it totally dry (hair dryer if necessary). In the daytime, get in the car with a flashlight, close the windows and doors and have a helper spray the car with a garden hose one location at a time until you identify where the water is coming in.
I had a similar issue, after much searching I found it, it was coming in at the base of the wipers, the nuts were not tight therefore the rubber seals were not doing their job... worth a look!
So I removed carpet and padding front and back, placed a towel up front in a way to capture any water and not allow it to get to the back. Unfortunately, the towel got a little wet in the front and there was a puddle in the back so it appears I'm dealing with two leaks - the back leaking significantly more than the front.
there is a large Pan under the rear parcel shelf behind the back of the rear seat. Accessible through the trunk.
It is a black steel pan with a drain on each side. This pan collects water, leaves, you name it, and the two drain hoses can clog.
it is a good idea to remove it and clean it every 5 years.
You have to remove the rear seat and back, two panels in the trunk, and then the sunroof motor and sunroof racks to be able to remove it. A two or three day job.
In my case, the metal window channels under the front windscreen had rotted through, so water getting past the windscreen seal was dripping into the front footwell and working it's way back to the rear carpet as well.
I removed both front and back floor carpets until I fixed the problem and laid towels and absorbent paper towel to mop / soak up the moisture in the meantime, replacing all as necessary.
Having the metal window channels professionally fixed solved the problem for me.
I took my back seats out of my 1982 XJ6 today and found water accumulated under the left rear. It's all contained un the seat pan so clearly the ingress is from the rear. It appears to me that the leak is coming from where the inner wheel arch is bolted to the floor pan (if that's a thing). I plan to seal it and then test to see if that's stopped it.
Any other suggestions? I'll dry everything out but is there a good practise for protecting the area under the seat against subsequent rust?
As ever, you unbolt something to do another job (in my case, give the seats a good clean and condition) and you end up with a whole new thing to fix. Better to know about this than proceed in blissful ignorance, I guess...
is there a good practise for protecting the area under the seat against subsequent rust?
Mark
I have had good results spraying Truck Bed Coating on the rear cowl pan, the one in the trunk that collects water. The coating is water proof and water dispersant. Note that it is NOT UNDERCOATING, that is a different coating based on petroleum.
When I first got my car I took both parts of the back seat out to give them a good clean and feed. Once it was out I could see that water had been running down the body seam alongside the very edge of the back of the seat. Although it was dry at the time it had obviously been happening for a while.
I took the rear shelf out (which entails removing the seat belt reels) and found a small, slightly rusty damp patch on the left hand end. After a bit of investigation with a hose I found there was a small leak through the corner of the screen rubber that was hidden just under the shelf and not noticeable with it in place.
The cure was to have the screen taken out and resealed (just like the front one three weeks earlier!).
When I first got my car I took both parts of the back seat out to give them a good clean and feed. Once it was out I could see that water had been running down the body seam alongside the very edge of the back of the seat. Although it was dry at the time it had obviously been happening for a while.
I took the rear shelf out (which entails removing the seat belt reels) and found a small, slightly rusty damp patch on the left hand end. After a bit of investigation with a hose I found there was a small leak through the corner of the screen rubber that was hidden just under the shelf and not noticeable with it in place.
The cure was to have the screen taken out and resealed (just like the front one three weeks earlier!).
It rained this morning and because I had the seats and linings out, I left the car in the rain. Sure enough, there was a trickle of water from around the area of the C-pillar into the seat pan. I'm fairly certain that, like in your case, Ray, it's because of a leak at the base of the rear screen. I can see where the screen seal has lifted so I'm going to seal that in the short term but I think some time soon I'll need to take it out and treat around it.
I have had good results spraying Truck Bed Coating on the rear cowl pan, the one in the trunk that collects water. The coating is water proof and water dispersant. Note that it is NOT UNDERCOATING, that is a different coating based on petroleum.
Good plan, thanks Jose. I'm not sure we can get that in UK so will have a look.
Well, I just experienced "Mission Creep" on my 77 XJ6C when I removed the rear seat to rebuild the parcel shelf. Noticed rust particles around the front edges of the rubber matting on the pans. In the process of fabricating & installing new ones along with heat shields above the mufflers.
Water on rear passenger floor
