Rob made a very good reply to a question about water in carpets, water in footwells, ultimately RUST in footwells / floor...
a question that gets asked here * time and again. *

REQUEST: Could we please work up a cogent answer that could be
* prominently posted as a FAQ? *

I searched the archives before helping a friend with floor-rot in her '87 245. There was lots of experience and wisdom there. I will summarize it.
I invite you to fix, please, what I've got wrong. OK? Then let's post it.

* * *

* * * POSSIBLE SOURCES OF WATER (in carpet, in footwells...)

FIRST, water in the REAR footwells may come from ANY direction.
Because the rear floor is DOWNHILL from the front floor.
And the FRONT'S several layers of rubber and carpet may actually obscure (HIDE) a problem that originates forward, but that may FIRST be observed in the REAR.

SECOND, a fundamental weakness of ALL the Volvo 200s is that the
COWL VENT (by the windshield wipers) has NO SCREEN. Bad.
Short term it works OK.
But LITTER (leaves, droppings...) WILL accumulate:
* under the cowl vent
* in the cavity there, and in its drains
* in the heater (and A/C) blower which it feeds
* downhill at the lower rear edge of the front fenders (internally)
* in the rocker panels on both sides of the car -- where air, filth, and water ultimately should leave the cavities... UNTIL THE DRAINS CLOG! :-(

The filth that is so liberally sprinkled around, over the years:
* retains moisture
-- promoting RUST
* plugs the car's small drains, and slows or halts drainage
-- promoting flooding INSIDE the car

(For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of the shoe the horse was lost, for want of the horse the battle was lost... until the war was lost.
But back to the Volvo topic now...)

* * *

* * * POSSIBLE SOURCES OF WATER (in carpet, in footwells...)

* I. FROM ABOVE *
-----------------

A. SUNROOF

1. SUNROOF SEAL
A good seal is a great thing (esp. for noise). Check the seal.
But the DRAINS (see next) actually carry away water from around a healthy seal.

2. SUNROOF DRAINS
Drains lead from the 4 corners of the sunroof tray.
Through tubing, and down a pillar near each corner.
They may kink or clog. Rod out or blow out the drain tubes.
You may test them by discreetly flowing water around the open sunroof
into the tray, watching for the water's exit.

Dave Stevens: "If these become obstructed with debris or if the sun-roof panel is misaligned or the felt gasket is severely worn then water will overflow the tray. Depending on the levelness of the car, the water can come down just about anywhere. Blow out, suction out or ream out these lines regularly, especially if you park near trees."


B. 245 ROOFRACK MOUNTS

Do your roofrack mounts leak? Stain the overhead?
Soln: Re-bed the mounts and their rubber gaskets (replace them?),
adding bedding compound this time.
-OR-
Remove the blame rack and fill the 8 holes with "Wellnuts,"
(also spelled "well-nuts") found at most hardware stores. Cheap.


* II. FROM BELOW *
------------------
Least likely, if all is caught soon enough.
Existing rust and rust holes?
Missing components, such as plugs?


* III. FROM BEHIND: rear-most glazing in 245: rear side windows. COMMON.
------------------

Re: deja Vu𖑀/86] posted by Don Foster on
Saturday, 17 July 1999, at 8:47 a.m.

"I think leaks often occur because rust has begun under the rubber gasket. The rainwater "wicks", by capillary action, through the pores of the rust. It may be worth the time 'n trouble to remove the window -- and clean, inspect, repair, prime, paint, and/or seal -- as needed.

The rear side windows (at least in the wagons) can be removed from inside out by carefully (and slowly) prying the inner edge of the rubber gasket up 'n over the metal lip -- and working your way around 1/4" at a time."

[See the original message for techniques]


* IV. FROM THE SIDE *
---------------------

A. DOORS, either side

1. Internal: passing down _through_ the door

Unlikely. Look at the bottom of the door.
There should be weep holes to drain such water. Clean them as needed.

2. External: seals, and wires passing into the door, etc.

Dave Stevens: "If the door hinges has not been kept lubricated the hinge may wear allowing the door to hang out a little. This mostly affects the driver side. Also, if the door has been hit or the body twisted in an accident, the door may not have been refit properly. Check by closing the door gasket on long paper strips and see if they easily pull out. If it's just a small area then you can try putting some packing behind the gasket to get it to stick out a bit more."

In addition, the rubber boots that cover the wires that enter the doors can apparently fail in such as way as to actually drive water into the car, acting something like a scoop while underway. Worth checking. Wrap with electrical tape?


B. ROCKER PANELS

The rocker panels in 200s WILL fill with crud, because the cowl vent lacks a screen.

Robert Haire: "By the way, be sure the drain system along the outer rails of the floor is free of debris. Pull the plastic door thresholds and remove (peel back) the carpet. Then look for the round plugs (2" diameter) to access the drainage."


* V. FROM THE FRONT *
---------------------

A. Windshield/Windscreen

COMMON -- Around the trim.

Dave Stevens: "The windshield gasket may have separated from the glass. This problem is most common in the lower corners and especially if the car has carried a heavy roof load, has been in an accident or a less than perfect replacement windshield has been installed. It can be very difficult to spot this except by blasting water around the window. Clean and re-caulk with clear RTV."

May replace on ANY model 240, if necessary, with the upgraded 1991+ version. Mentioned time and again on BrickBoard and Swedish Bricks. If hiring it done simply tell the glass company that your car is 1991, 2, or 3. WILL fit older cars.


B. Firewall -- pierced in MANY places; e.g.:

1. Wire harnesses and vacuum lines. Check the grommets. Caulk.

Paul S. "large two legged grommet/boot for the huge wire harness right above where the throttle cable enters. Temperamental, you see the problem was the UNDER side of the boot. The harness bundle is not perfectly round or even oval,.... it had some longitudinal folds that made it impossible for the boot to seal. So when heavy rains came in along the fire wall the water followed the harness down and in."

Dave Miller: "The leak was around the firewall grommet for the cruise control vacuum hose and wires."

2. Wiper motor rubber mounting collar.
Dave Stevens: If found to leak, "access is awkward from under the dash and requires removing the wiper arms and dropping the pivot gearcase."

2. Clutch/brake mechanisms?

3. Odometer cable grommet. (Paul S.)


C. VENTILATION system

"Cowl seal" mentioned by Paul S. (???)

1. Air Conditioning -- A/C
Moisture condenses on the A/C evaporator's cool surface, inside the car.
Does the drain hose (next to the tranny on the passenger side)
carry the condensate away?

2. Flow-through (constant, always open!) system

a. Windshield wiper "pocket" or plenum under the windshield wiper cowl.
The cowl vent is constantly open to the elements.

i. Plenum itself, its SEAMS, etc.

ii. Cowl drain hose

James Holst: "Above the computer at the corner of the windshield. Where the water drains from the lower edge of the windshield channel into an interior drain channel and from there down to the rocker panel. There was no way to get in there to seal it so I had the windshield shop fill the channel under the rubber windshield trim with butyl caulking. Not very elegant but the leak stopped."

iii. The GROMMET where the wiper motor shaft penetrates the firewall on the passenger side

b. The HEATER, which the cowl vent system feeds.
Dave Stevens: "The heater box also has drains to carry away any water.
If these become clogged, water can overflow and find its way to the floor.
From underneath the car on either side of the tranny you should see two wedge tipped rubber hoses sticking out. Make sure they are open and free of trapped material. Many people prefer to cut the tips off to allow better drainage. Debris may also collect in the heater box. Access is from the sides of the console. Unclip the rectangular plastic inserts way down by the firewall for access. Clean out all debris."


c. Fott arear: vertical flow area between cowl and the rocker panels.
It has "faux-vent" or plastic plugs or plastic knockouts

Look inside for "faux-vent by the drivers knee where a sheet metal screw goes" (Robert Haire)

Dave Stevens: "There are plastic knockouts in the body behind the side kick panels (these were intended for floor fresh air vents present only on non A/C models). These knockouts can also be a source of leaks."

* * *

TO TEST:

1. FLOW water discreetly over the suspected spots:
Robert Haire: "Then, pull the trim by drivers and passengers knees [for instance] and get a flashlight while someone operates the garden hose on the car. It is very easy to see the water movement."

2. CLOSE the car and PRESSURIZE it with the exhaust from a Shop Vac.
Then flow soapy water over suspect spots and watch for bubbles.


* * *
TO DRY:

Dave Stevens: "To prevent your floorboards from rusting through (major trouble) make sure you thoroughly dry out the carpets as soon as possible. A wet/dry shop vac is useful for this. Peel the carpets back and using absorbent pads get as much water out of the floor insulation as possible. Now leaving the carpet up, let the whole thing dry. A hair dryer or heat lamp can be used to speed the process. You may want to spray a light coat of WD-40 (the WD stands for water displacement) onto the exposed floor area before putting the carpet back down."


* * *
TO REPAIR:

N.B. The layers of carpet retain water, of course. Remove and dry them.

So, too, does the asphaltic, often spalling, crap atop the floors, which was meant to PREVENT rust. Ha! Remove it as needed.

For repair processes SEE, for instance:

(An OPUS on such repair)
#20124619> Re: ..and he saw the road between his feet...200/1987(Zee)
URL> http://brickboard.com/READER/?referer=RWD&file=20124619

#20137535> Re: Minor interior rust repair?700/88(Zee)
URL> http://brickboard.com/RWD/READER/?&f=20137535

#20142640> Re: Replacement Floor Panels140-160/1970(George Downs)
URL> http://brickboard.com/RWD/READER/?&f=20142640

(Incredible detail on formed parts)
MESSAGE #20119407: Re: floorpans
AUTHOR: Zee
DATE: Thursday, 14 December 2000, at 1:33 a.m.



* * *
THE MORAL:

Dave Miller: "Moral is: Please pull the front seat(s) - it's only four nuts/bolts and please pull the carpets back and check before it's too late; and all of you wagon folks should probably empty out the "junk well" and check under the mats and to the rear under the lip. Also check the spare tire well and its counterpart opposite for moisture. These cars are too neat to let the moisture in and the cancer run rampant."