Finally Got A Corolla

[adam_d]

Well, I had a thread on here a few months ago asking about a Corolla E11 as a first car. Since then I've been looking and last weekend I finally bought one, a 1999 3-door Corolla GS 1.3.

Really pleased with it, everything worked, and it drove well, all quiet and it seems mechanically sound.

However, we had some pretty heavy rain and winds during the night last night, and when I got up this morning, I noticed the passenger side windows were fairly heavily misted up. I put this down to just being dampness, until I went out and realised the condensation was on the inside of the windows. This worried me a little, and my first thought was that it must be the sunroof. Got in and all around the sunroof was dry, so again put it down to damp. Then I reached down to move the floormat in the driver's footwell, and discovered the problem. The carpet and the mat were completely soaking wet. :( I soaked up as much as I could with some towels, and then moved it into the garage to let it dry out completely.

At first glance, I can't find the source of the leak. All around the door is dry, and it seems dry up behind the pedals. But from the pedals, right to underneath the drivers seat was soaking. There aren't any other leaks in the car as far as I can see, and the car was parked on the drive at the time, so was inclined with nose pointing down, so there must have been a fair bit of water for it to soak right back under the seat.

I'm waiting for it to dry out a bit now before I start investigating, but does anyone have any pointers as to what could be the cause? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and other than this, I love it, I think it's a great first car. :D

[richard.c]

Hi,

Being as it just been stood would think the likeley candidate would be the windscreen seal or possibly a door seal / glass.

Best thing is to get inside with a powerfull torch and look around the bulkhead under the dashboard and around the door bottoms while someone else sprays the car with a hose pipe.

If you cannot see it, lay a few layers of kitchen paper around the whole area and spray again, you should see the leak running though /down the paper, don't mistake it for any damp coming up from the wet floor /carpet.

Plenty of tubes of sealer at the auto shops to repair any leak spots found.

Glad you like you first car - its a great feeling ..

[adam_d]

Thanks for the quick reply - it is a good feeling. :D

It's still pretty damp in there now, so I'll leave it overnight and try what you suggested in the morning, I'll let you know what happens. :)

[KLUCH255]

Damp in the passenger footwell could indicate a possible leak from the heater matrix.

[LAA69]

Yes, check water levels in coolant system just to eliminate.

[adam_d]

Ok, I have just been out, I definitely still only have damp in the drivers footwell, and the coolant level is still on the maximum. Looking under the bonnet, I noticed part of the big seal the runs along the rear of the engine compartment/bonnet had come away, and I have used sealant to stick that back down, just waiting for it to dry before I test it with some water. Not sure if that's the problem but still, thought it'd be worth a try. Thanks for the replies. :)

[adam_d]

Ok, good news and bad news. The good news is, I have located where the water is coming out inside the car. The bad news is I'm not sure if I've fixed it by putting the sealant over the seal. I've attached some pictures to show the problem areas.

In the first picture, you can see the seal I have repaired where it had been torn off, and in the second picture I have highlighted where the water was getting in when I pulled back the carpet. That rubber cover/flap that comes down from behind the pedals and is under the carpet is where it was coming in, and when I lifted it, a fair bit of water came out. Does anyone know where that rubber cover leads to? I tried putting some water on the area where the seal repair is, and it all seems to drain properly, none came inside the car.

Also, it has a very slow leak from the join between engine and gearbox, and it looks like gearbox oil that's leaking. It's really just a very slow drip, is that anything to worry about?

Thanks again

[rallyfan1986]

it might be worth cleaning all of the sealant off, degreasing the whole area and try stick it back on?

I had this problem on my old ford focus, but it was the seal between the plastic and the windscreen, just had to make sure the join was perfect.

[adam_d]

it might be worth cleaning all of the sealant off, degreasing the whole area and try stick it back on?

I had this problem on my old ford focus, but it was the seal between the plastic and the windscreen, just had to make sure the join was perfect.

Did that yesterday night, and it's out in the rain now for the first test, fingers crossed it all stays dry, the carpet is still pretty damp from last time. :(

[adam_d]

Back again, it wasn't that seal causing the problem. :( But I have definitely found an entry point for the leak, which is here:

If I pour water in there, most of it drains out from behind the wheel arch liner, but this is where some is entering the footwell. Does anyone know where the water channels and what's behind there, or am I going to have to get the wing off?

Thanks again, appreciate the help :)

Edit: Great News! Appear to have sorted the leak. I managed to get that rubber flap up I mentioned earlier (which turned out to just be soundproofing) and behind there was a seam running along the back of the floor, and one running upwards. The sealant that was on it must have been going bad, as water was coming through it. Covered it up with as much new sealant as I could manage to get on, and it appears to be cured. :D

[Sylv_K]

Are you still around, Adam,

I joined this forum because your post above seemed to exactly describe the problem I got at the moment. Got so far now that I got all the carpet removed for drying and can see that the water is coming exactly from where you have marked your picture below that rubber flap. How on earth did you get that flap removed - cut it off? You would have to remove all the electronic connections and even then I can't see at the moment if I would be able to lift it off. So right now, I haven't been able to see those seams you were describing. Presently my suspicion is also that the screen wash tube might be the verdict. The wettness is mainly right in that corner where it seems to hide behind the rubber flap. Also there is very little of that water actually reaching the back window when I try it. Can't say if there is new wettness since I tried this, the foam behind the flap is still wet anyway. Haven't tried the hose against the windscreen either yet, just in case it might be the seal there (maybe because I don't have one...). So as I don't need the car right now the plan is to leave everything uncovered and wait a few rainy days (shouldn't be to difficult in Glasgow) and then check if this made any difference.

Enough for now - need to cure my stiff neck from trying to see upwards behind the pedals...

[joshty]

Did your problem solved? Are you satisfied with other features of Corolla?

[1mellofello]

Hi ive just joined up as i have the same problem that is described here. Ive a 04 corolla t3 and the drivers footwell is soaking wet aswell as the carpet behind the seat. Ive drained the pooled water out of the holes in the floor and put the rubber caps back in. But there is still water getting in where u have described (behind the rubber foam soundproofing) its a nightmare to get good access to it and trace the leakage point.

Any advice would be great.