WE have just finished a drought, and got LOTS of rain. Our 1983 Volvo turned up with soaking wet floor mats and carpets for the front seat--both sides. My son drives this car, and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary last night, but today when driving to work found the floors soaked. The headliner is bone dry; the door panels show no sign of water; the seats are completely dry; the trunk is dry; the body just inside the door (where the bottom of the door overlaps the body) is so dry it is still dusty. I don't see any defects in the body panels or the floor board panels. My son does admit he may have driven through some moderately high water, but obviously it wasn't high enough to interfere with engine operation. My only theory is that he got in some water that was deep enough to get to some panel on the undercarriage, where water got pulled in and then soaked the carpet from below. Does anyone out there have any competing theories? Is this a sign of some rusted-out panel somewhere?

I had a similar problem when it was raining and my car was parked, it seemed to be fine while driving cause the wind wasn't letting the water build up on the windshield. The seal for the winshield was faulty and water was dripping down across the fuse pannel, (much to my shock!!!) It's possible that it's comeing through the windshield. Hope that helps


Tom

In addition to the others here, When driving place your hand over the parking brake lever brush area.. The brush that sweeps the parking brake lever, and hides the devices with in the consoule...

If you feel air that is more outside temp than inside temp, I might suggest looking in the plastic covered 5 cm holes with a small mirror and light..

Looking low for rusted out inner rocker panel walls... If so, then air and or water will enter the cabin area no problem.

The venting under the windshield drains directly into the rocker panels...

Another way to check with the carpets out, which you pretty much must do anyway, it take a garden hose to that vent.... and watch water entery into the cabin.

I had this problem on both sides, and at this point do not know if I have cured it or not...

I have 2 pics which are dead last pg 2 & 3 here http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/mac_muz15/lst?.dir=/&.src=ph&.view=t

First off - get the front carpet and padding out and let them dry out. The padding is foam rubber with a rubber scrim on the upper surface, and it will hold a lot of water a long time. In fact, the floorboards will rust through before the water evaporates.

Second - the water may have flowed through the wiring harness channel to the rear padding. There is a channel on either side of the car, next to the rocker panel inner side. The galvanized metal piece covers that channel.

Remove the galvanized piece and look. Take 4 or 5 full size newspaper pages and roll then into a fat tube. Flatten it, and stick it in that channel and way back under the seat mount. See if it comes out wet or dry.

If dry - hooray. If wet, pull the rear carpet and pads out, too.

With the front carpets and the front sill covers out, you can see 2 or 3 plastic dish-shaped plugs (5 cm diameter, or so) in the rocker panel vertical inner face. If the rocker panel drains are clogged up, the openings covered by those plastic plugs will be the overflow - and the source of your water in the cabin.

Take out the plugs and look inside the rocker panel. Whatever is in there came in through the grille in front of the windshield. It can be cleaned out with a vacuum cleaner and a long skinny tube attachment. Also remove the bottom anchor of the front seat belts and the panel that the anchor is attached to. That will open a larger hold into the rocker panel. Look for more plastic plugs under the vertical sides of the rear carpet, too.

Good LUck,

Bob

:>)


PS. All this I have done. Fortunately I was able to clear things up and the work was a one-time thing. The water source in my 1983 245GL was a leaky heater/a-c air box - done by a dealer during PO's ownership. Water was never removed, and there was a 6-inch diameter hole rusted through the floorboards under the driver's seat, and a "high water mark" rust line in the rear foot wells.

Thanks, and please see my other post regarding my confusion over the rocker panels. With regard to the vacuuming suggestion, are you referring to the grate that is integral to the body, a couple of inches in front of the windshield (which, I believe, provides air intake for the heater/ac)? If so, are suggesting inserting a small tube through this grate, or from the rocker panel area (once I figure out where that would be)?

Many times it is a leak around the windshield. A more remote possibility is the lower air vents. The rain that comes in the grill in front of the windshield flows right over those lower vents and out a drain at the bottom edge of the body. Those drains might be clogged. The intake for the heater and A/C also goes to that front grill.

Thanks for the help. The seal around the windshield appears not to be original (we are the second owner, just bought the car a few months ago), and poorly done. Now, if that isn't it, I have a really silly question. I have heard the term "rocker panel", but my service manual (Bentley?) doesn't show them, and I'm embarrassed to say I don't know just where they are. Is it the piece of metal just below the outside surface of the door? Is it a panel under the passenger compartment?

Yes, you have it... The rockers are under the doors... There are drains at the bottom you can keep open with a screw driver, but don't stop there.

In the forward rear wheel well opening, if you look close there is a rubber plug, which likely has been rust proofed over... Pull that and with a shop vac, vac the rocker out as best you can...

Open the front rocker drain larger with the screw driver as well.

If your a maniac like me.... I go a tad over board, but thats just because I hate rust more than anything...

I get the rockers as clean as I can. I have made access at the front doors and made covers for them.

I will plug all the drains and pour ATF in so it fills all the pinch welds... Then pull the stopers and drain the ATF out, and heated and oiled roofing tar and attempt to get everything in there coated. Mac