Please help. Mystery Water....

[FreedomD]

I have a '93 Grand Am that I recently purchased. It had problems, and lots of them. Luckily, a friend of mine knew how to solve most of them, but he couldn't really help me figure out one thing.... one day, out of the blue, the driver's side floorboard had a huge puddle of water in it. I sopped up all the water, (using several roles of paper towels, mind you), and went about putting on my brand new high pressure power steering hose. That in itself was kinda fun. Anyhow, I got back in the car, and low and behold... the puddle had returned. No rain, and I hadn't even started the car. It was so bad to begin with that I had mold growing on the floorboard. If anyone knows what might be causing this, and how to fix it, please please please let me know. I should probably add that I've not been able to find ANY sign of where it's coming from.

[Chazman]

Did you jack up the car to do the power steering hose ??

Sounds like the drains under the wipers could be clogged.

[FreedomD]

I didn't jack up the car, because the hose went in from the top. I really really don't know much about cars.... how would I check those drains???

[mrrpm]

Was this plain water on the floorboard, or antifreeze / water mix? If it has antifreeze mixed in, I'm thinking heater core.

[FreedomD]

I am pretty sure it's just plain water. It's clear, at least, and it doesn't have any smell to it. It hasn't even been raining when the water's been there... I'm thinking it's possessed.

[mrrpm]

Any chance this would be condensation from the air conditioner evaporator coil?

[FreedomD]

I'm thinking no on the A/C thing, because my A/C isn't hooked up. It's really messed up somehow that even my friend the mechanic couldn't fix. He can't figure out this water thing either. I'm so confused! Why didn't I just tell my dad to shove his opinion when I wanted to take auto shop in high school and he told me "no daughter of mine is going to do some man's job".......

[Chameleon-kat]

Hhmm do you have a sunroof? Perhaps a drain is plugged

[Chazman]

Remove the wiper arms and the black plastic cover that is under the wipers.
The drains are under this cover, one on either side, the one on the passenger side is hidden under the heaters air intake.

Is the car parked level ??

[FreedomD]

I am going to check into the wipers thing, but it's going to be a couple of hours before I can get out there to do it. Oh, and yes, the car is parked level. Also, it smells pretty dreadful in there because of the mold that had grown, so if anyone knows A) how to get the mold out, and B) how to make it smell better... please let me know. Thanks to everyone so far who has tried to help!

[Chazman]

The underlay material under the carpet will never dry out without air movement.

I have had this problem with many cars - I always remove all the seats, console and trim pull the carpet out of the car and allow it to dry.

You can also shove some props under the carpet such as wood blocks to allow the air to circulate, but the water will generally run to the lowest part - somewhere else in the car, and you will spend just as much time chasing it.

In my experience the smell leaves when the moisture does.

[FreedomD]

WOW! I would be SO LOST trying to pull out the seats and carpet and such... would a wet vac work???

[Chazman]

No, the carpet has a rubber backing, the underlay is under this.

The seats each have four bolts - not as big a job as it seems.

You could just remove the drivers seat, pull that side of the carpet up, poke a small hole thru the edge of the carpet, then use string or wire to tie it to the passenger arm rest or something like that in order to hold the carpet up while it dries.

[FreedomD]

that's a pretty darn good idea.....

[swalt]

I left this in another post on here, but it will help you. If you're going to get in there and do it, you might as well take care of everythig at the same time.

Remove the wipers and the black plastic shield to expose the damper on the passenger side. Pull it out and get a new gasket for it as the original gasket was a thin foam. The replacements are much thicker. If your old one is ok, clean everything up and put the old one back in and silicone the crap out of it, just make sure the silicone does not obstruct the damper door.

Next, while you still have the plastic cover off, check your drain holes on the passenger and driver side. The car rusts badly in both spots because of the moisture that flows down there. It will often pool if the drains become blocked with leaves, etc. On the driver side, you should remove the wiper motor as you will find there is a rust hole at the drain behind it. I went to the local Napa and bought some body seam caulk which hardens like plastic. Smear it on with rubber gloves. You may also want to caulk around both electrical blocks (the one for the computer and the one on the drivers side for the instrument cluster) They are located each side by the hood hinges. I actually used the window sealing caulk which comes in a roll that you can roll like playdough. Pack it around the blocks and it hardens in a few days and is water tight. On the interior under the dash, pull your firewall matting off the firewall. I cut mine down the center on each side to get it out and I was able to put it back in fairlly easy when I was finished. Behind the foam matting on the drivers side, look way up on the firewall above the steering column (with a light) and you will likely see where water is coming in from where the drain has rusted on the drivers side. If it is not too bad, caulk it well. It is hard to reach, but if you don't seal it, you will still get leaks. Also check the seam that runs horizontally all across the firewall. It is very prone to leaking especially on the passenger side. Next, pull back the carpet on both the drivers side and passenger side to check for rust. I found mine was starting to rust out on the passenger side. When water sprays up under the car, it is directed right against the floor board through a hole in the control arm. After a while it just washes through. I used roofing tar to seal my floor as it was not too bad, but I sealed it well. By the way, my car is in really good shape and has been rustproofed every year since new. Just bad design, caused a few leaks. Also, if you have had water coming in on the passenger side by the damper, check the electical connection that is mounted to the firewall under the glove box. Water will run right into it and cause it to corrode. In my case , it caused high idle in wet weather. I pulled the connection apart, cleaned it with WD40 and put it back together and never had the problem since. Also pull your connection out of the computer to make sure it is not green. If it is, you know water has been leaking onto your computer as well.