I have only owned this XK8 Coupe for a week, and yesterday was the first time it has sat out in the rain - previously it had been garaged. I got in the car this morning and the carpet on the drivers side ( UK RHD ) was dripping wet with rain water. ( Coupe, not convertable )

I can't see any drips coming in, no leaky window/door so wondered if there are drain holes near/on the firewall that get blocked up or damaged ? The car wasn't driven yesterday, so the water has come in from just sitting on the driveway in rain, not from road splash.

Has anyone had this issue and did you find the leak ? Thanks.

 

Does it have a moonroof? Cars with moonroofs have a tendency for the moonroof drain lines to get plugged up over the years from accumulated debris. When that happens, interior carpets often get soaked as rainwater pools up around the drain holes in the moonroof rack and finds its way into the cabin. The solution is to identify the plugged-up drain hole(s) and blow it out with compressed air....

Over in the S-Type section, a couple of owners have reported rainwater leaks from windshield gaps that had developed over the years as the trim deteriorated. If you have no moonroof, that may be the next place to look....

 

there are spots under the carpet by your feet that tend to rust through... do a search on floorboards and you will get the info.
Alfred

 

that would have to be alot of rain to come up through rusted floor boards
take the covers off under the hood covering the brake master cyl and check the drain are still hooked up to drain out of these wells. theyre black tubes and if theyre clogged or not hooked up correctly will fill the wells and can leak between the firewall to body seams as youve described

 

I found out where the rain is getting in. The door seal has a big lump missing out of it, and what's left is full of holes. Anybody know where I could get new seals from, I doubt i'll get them here in OZ so happy to get them from UK or USA, which ever is easiest. I need both sides as teh other door is almost as bad.

Thanks for your replies guys.

 

Are you sure that's where the water's seeping in?

I had the same problem and it turned out to be a replacement windscreen where the fitter hadn't refitted the rubber drain-pipes in the scuttle (the black/grey piece immediately in front of your wiper arms).

If it is the door rubbers as you suspect they come up on UK Ebay on occassion.

Good luck

 

Yup, all fixed for now. The door rubber in the photo and also the door aperture seals that have rain channels molded into them at the front were both repaired with silicon and then coated with 'plasti-dip' and now the water runs down the outside of the door frame instead of dripping in next to the fuse box covers. The rain has been torrential here this week, and so far the car is dry. I will look out for new rubbers, but at Uk280 each I'm happy to keep patching the old ones up as required until I can get some at a reasonable price.

One by one I am knocking the issues off my list, just the cam chain tensioners to do next week and then replace the headlining and parcel shelf material when the weather cools down a bit. ( too hot here for interior work right now )