Floorboard wet.....where is it coming from.

[persuazion]

Hello everybody.Well we had alot of rain down here recently and when I went to start my car this morning I noticed the driverside floorboard was wet.Its strange because its just in one spot right under the steeringwheel.{the steering wheel column was also damp. Also the whole backseat floorboard is wet.I mean its soaked,not just a little damp.What could be causing this?My headlinder is not wet anywhere near the windshield or sides.I have poured water all on the seals and nothing is dripping.My coolant resevoir is full.I dont understand where the water is coming from.I have a 99 lesabre.I went to try and dry it up and even though I dident get it completely dry...I did get it better then it was.Until I got home and checked again and it looked like it got worse on the way home.I had the heater running and I pulled back the carpet near the pedals and the middle of the console and it was wet under the padding even though the carpet on top wasnt wet yet.I heard that it might be the heater core but it doesnt smell like coolant and the passenger side is not wet at all.Any help would be appreciated,thanks.

update* This has been bothering me so I went down and peeled the carpet back on the back floorboard also and the padding underneath is saturated ....Im talking about like a swamp.It is def water and not coolant and it smells funky.Please tell me the bottom of my car is not gonna rust away and fall out.

another update* Ok today I pulled back the carpet and padding by the pedals and poured water all down the vents by the wiperblades....I noticed one of those vents was missing a screen.Well at first nothing happened but I poured 2 more bottles of water and sure enough some water tricked down right under the gas pedal down to the floorboard....is this the windshiled or is it coming from those black vents somehow?There is also some water on the rear passenger side too. not a standing puddle like the other had,but just some dampness.

[persuazion]

Ok if nobody knows the answer to that question maybe somebody can tell me how to clean those vents under the wipers.I scraped away the leaves and twigs that were under the there but is there something else that I have to clean? There is a huge open black rectangle box under there.What does that do? Do I have to clean that out?Thanks..

[GringoPete]

Originally Posted by persuazion

Ok if nobody knows the answer to that question maybe somebody can tell me how to clean those vents under the wipers.I scraped away the leaves and twigs that were under the there but is there something else that I have to clean? There is a huge open black rectangle box under there.What does that do? Do I have to clean that out?Thanks..

I had the same Exact problem as you. The water was coming from the firewall behind the gas pedal. Turned out the seam between the firewall and the gutter floor had a gap that needed to be filled. You will have to remove the entire plastic cowl and windshield wipers to get in there. I myself couldnt be bothered doing such work so i brought it to an old timer auto body shop and two days later i got it back and was only charged $150. 6 months later my floorboard is still bone dry.

Another possibility is that the gutter holes are clogged with gunk from when leaves collect on your cowl and eventually break into small pieces and fall into the bottom to clog your drain holes. The way to test if the holes are clogged is to pour water into the holes on the cowl and see if it drains out through the
drivers side fender behind the wheel. If the water comes out then it's definitly the seem that needs to be filled and not a clogged drain hole issue.

Good luck and let us know what happens.