funny place for a water leak! please help!

[firie]

Hello

So every winter I put up with a water leak in my 06 ss. I think I finally worked out where its coming from but I can't post pics!

It's driver side. If you lift up carpet just in front of the seat there is a round cut out in the body work. It looks like there is meant to be ' sikaflex' or something but mine is all gone!! If I pour water down the windscreen water comes in from the spot I mentioned. Obviously coming in from firewall somewhere.

Any ideas any one?

Cheers.

[IJ.]

There are a couple of drains at each end of the plenum chamber in front of the windscreen if they're blocked water can overflow the fresh air intake into the cabin, worth checking, a pic would help on the cut out.

[firie]

Thanks replying in. Are you talking of the plenum chamber on passenger side? Drains?

[VYSS381]

This is intresting as i found that the carpet pretty well directly under the pedals in my 03 ss has gotten wet a couple of times after it has rained just recently..

[IJ.]

Thanks replying in. Are you talking of the plenum chamber on passenger side? Drains?

It goes right across the car below the Screen but the fresh air intake is on the passenger side, the drains are at each end under the guards and get blocked with leaves and crap, I can snap some pics for you on Saturday if that helps (not home till then)

[firie]

Ij. Sorry for all the stupid questions.
When you say guards are we still talking in the engine bay? The black plastic that runs across the screen? Or mud guards?!

Sorry mate!

[IJ.]

Ij. Sorry for all the stupid questions.
When you say guards are we still talking in the engine bay? The black plastic that runs across the screen? Or mud guards?!

Sorry mate!

LOL that's cool, You can access it via the plastic panel between the Screen and the Engine bay, the drains are at the ends under the MudGuards

[firie]

Do I need to actually remove the plastic along the windscreen to access it from the top? The only way it looks like I can do that is by removing the wipers. Apart from that I can't see any crap build up from the top near the a pillar.

I presume I can access the drains from under neath near the guards.

Cheers.

[IJ.]

You remove the "Scrivets" (plastic screw/rivet things) 3 per side and you migh be able to get a hand in there and unblock it, as I said I'll snap some pics Saturday as I have a car with the guards off, to get to the drains under the guards you have to remove the plastic liners... more Scrivets

Grab a piece of white kitchen paper towell and soak up some of the water so you can check it's colour/smell it "might" be coolant from a leaking Heater core...

[firie]

No its def rain. I can get the hose on it and watch it come through. The plenum chamber is clean. My gut says it's more sinister. I wish you could see photo! Cheers.

[IJ.]

Were you able to get right to the corners?

[CLUBRED]

I've heard of some faulty grommets for early VE's, and some early ones also got shonky body sealer. Big job.

[bush_basha]

auto or manual? mine is manual, it was coming in at the master cylinder wasn't tight enough on the firewall. worth checking if not theres the steering wheel grommet and wiring grommet around there aswell

[firie]

auto or manual? mine is manual, it was coming in at the master cylinder wasn't tight enough on the firewall. worth checking if not theres the steering wheel grommet and wiring grommet around there aswell

It's a manual bush basha. How would I tell if the master cylinder was tight enough? Do you mean clutch master cylinder? Is it something I can tighten my self?

The grommets are hard to get to. Very tight in there!

Cheers.

[Phillshz]

I've heard of some faulty grommets for early VE's, and some early ones also got shonky body sealer. Big job.

Being an early girl it will be a body sealer problem where the firewall meets the body given the way the owner can make it leak with a hose on demand. Holden didn`t put any/enough sealer along the spot welded seam where these panels meet.
The water runs down the windscreen, behind the plastic cowl covering onto the steel panel underneath the screen and downwards until it meets the edge of the seam, as it flows/falls like a mini water fall over the join it manages to enter the gap and flows down behind the firewall and into the cavity between the upper and lower floor panel sheet metal, once full it runs out of metal plugs in the top panel into the carpet, once the carpet cannot absorb any more it starts to soak the carpet in the rear footwells (lowest part of the floor panels) and that is how it is usually discovered and also missed at the same time. The worst one I know of was so full you could hear the water sloshing about in the car and had and inch or so of water in the whole floor of the car.

It`s a bigish job IIRC as you need to remove the bonnet/cowling/wipers assy? to get to the panel joint. You`ll need new scrivets and red/blue & white/yellow clips as they break if you even look at `em! Run a bead of sikaflex along the joint and then massage it into the joint with a finger to make sure it gets in there good. Let it dry for a hr or so and then get a assistant to hose it down while you check the leak where you noticed it in the cabin, it`s not uncommon to need a 2nd go at it either.

Holden had some techlines on it, the last revision of it advised to fill the gap inbetween the floor panels with expanding foam. It sounds rough but it pushed out all the remaining water and sealed of the floor from another leak and ruining a $800 carpet and the whole warranty exercise (again, if it releaked as chances are you would never know if it leaked as it wouldn`t enter the cabin)

Holden had it fixed in production by early `07 (march?). Never the less I would steer clear of `06 & `07 VE`s to be safe. But that's standard with major new commodore models (as a general rule,never buy a series 1 after a big change as they are the lemons of the lot ie VN series 1,VT series 1,VE series 1)

Cheers Phill