Vauxhall Vectra B (1995 - 1999) - 97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 09:15
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Archie
I have water collecting in the passenger footwell after periods of heavy rain. I have looked under the plastic scuttle under the bonnet and there does not appear to be a build up of leaves or sludge. I assume that the water is supposed to drain away by the bonnet hinge into the wing, but this appears to be clear. Have I missed something obvious?
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 11:03
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Railroad.
I used to hate these jobs when I worked in a garage, and the drill was always the same. Remove all the seats, centre console, carpets and underfelt. When you down to the bare floor get someone to gently spray water with the garden hose all over the area that gets wet while you are inside the car with a torch looking for where it's coming in.

In the meantime hang your carpets on the washing line to dry, and if they're really soaked the underfelt may take a couple of days to dry properly. You'll need to do this in any case as they will not dry in situ, and they will eventually start to smell.....
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 11:16
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Armitage Shanks {p}
Archie, a shot in the dark. Do you park your car front first on an up slope? I had same problem as you and it was water from the engine bay, coming through the bulkhead via leaky grommets which were meant to seal the holes where cables and wires came through. Maybe not relevant to your car but ISTR comments here about faulty sealing of pollen filters allowing leaks. I can confirm Railroad's comments re getting things dry! Damp underfelt smells like a dead and wet dog after a few weeks!
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Mon 15 Sep 2008 12:41
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Archie
Thanks for all the suggestions. Finally got the time to look at this over the weekend. Couldn't find anything wrong around the scuttle area, then noticed that the large white grommet for the main loom had come out of the bulkhead leaving the hole open. I managed to push it back and gave it a dose of Seek n Seal which should stop it happening again. How it came out I have no idea.
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Sat 22 Feb 2014 15:45
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - ETCEE

I had this problem and the wiring burnt out.....and smoke and stuff....what can I do

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 17:30
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Collos25

Scrap the car

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Sat 22 Feb 2014 19:17
97 1.8 Water in passenger footwell - Wolfan

Has it ever had the windscreen replaced? I had a mk111 Cavalier that had the screen replaced by a well known company and when they removed it they damaged the paint around the apperture which rotted and allowed water to enter the car which eventualy rotted the floor, unfortunately this took place over a long period of time so I had no redress from the company.

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