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Wet carpets, sunroof drains clogged?

A

americandreamer

New member
Joined
Jul 6, 2015
Location
Syracuse, New York
I have had mysterious wet floor in my 93 945 with factory sunroof. First really noticed it as the carpet under the floor mat on the drivers side is soaked. Took it out a while ago, and now its even soaked at the drivers side rear... Sunroof drains clogged? Anyone have any techniques or tips on cleaning them out or theories about where this water is coming from?

The headliner is not soaked or anything which is puzzling...
 
if you have a compressor, get a rubber cone-shaped tip on an air nozzle, poke it into the sunroof drains (front left and right) and blooooowww. Also, mung gets trapped in the rocker drains just behind the front wheels. I usually perform a mung lobotomy with a a screwdriver, gets all the detritus/leaf bits/squirrel fur out.

air nozzle/blowgun: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1279173&cp=2568443.2568450.97950116.1306236

After all this, wash car, observe each drain point (rockers, sunroof) to make sure water is exiting at a decent rate.
 
PCH said:
Very likely its coming from the plastic plug/cover below the A-pillar on the driver side.
Click to expand...

This.

It?s behind the kick panel where a fresh air vent in Euro-market non-AC cars would have been. The gasket dries out and stops sealing over time. Basically, water that comes in through the cowl vent below/in front of the windshield is directed down the inner a-pillar right past the offending plastic plug and gasket. My inelegant but permanent solution was to remove the plastic plug and cut a piece of sheet metal to fit the hole, fixing it in place with waterproof flashing tape.

I do t have pics, otherwise it would be much easier to explain.

I hope that helps.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Kick panel on the interior of the car correct? Like behind the brake pedal? Is it white and like the size of a quarter? I think this may be what is what is happening... Just trying to think of where exactly the location of this gasket is and if the right one I'm thinking of.

I had no idea about this fresh air vent euro design gasket feature for Non-AC cars. Makes sense though.

Surely I need to clear the other drains too. I once had a plug in a 240 so bad I had like a gallon of water sloshing around the rocker panels when I'd come to a stop. I guess parking under trees is a less than ideal place because all that junk gets in. Guess I'll ask around about an air compressor.



lverhagen said:
This.

It’s behind the kick panel where a fresh air vent in Euro-market non-AC cars would have been. The gasket dries out and stops sealing over time. Basically, water that comes in through the cowl vent below/in front of the windshield is directed down the inner a-pillar right past the offending plastic plug and gasket. My inelegant but permanent solution was to remove the plastic plug and cut a piece of sheet metal to fit the hole, fixing it in place with waterproof flashing tape.

I do t have pics, otherwise it would be much easier to explain.

I hope that helps.
Click to expand...
 
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Its to the left your your left foot behind plastic trim panel. The size of the plug is something like 3x5 inches. Just silicone all around it- it's not very easy to pry off and not easy to plug back in.
 
I'm almost sure that's the issue based on where the water and rust is.

Probably not an easy part to find a replacement for huh?

PCH said:
Its to the left your your left foot behind plastic trim panel. The size of the plug is something like 3x5 inches. Just silicone all around it- it's not very easy to pry off and not easy to plug back in.
Click to expand...
 
GR-59646.jpg


I believe it's #1 square plug called "Sealing cover" https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/...ver-Genuine-Classic-Part/1236696/6848804.html.
The sunroof drain pipe ends just above it and if the seal is bad the water will leak inside the car. No reason to buy it new- use silicone around it. I did this repair about 2 years ago- total PITA. Wonder if removing the fender makes it visible and easier to reach than from inside of the car.
 
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Oh damn. Yea this is more involved than I imagined actually. How much of the dash did you remove?




PCH said:
GR-59646.jpg


I believe it's #1 square plug called "Sealing cover" https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/...ver-Genuine-Classic-Part/1236696/6848804.html.
The sunroof drain pipe ends just above it and if the seal is bad the water will leak inside the car. No reason to buy it new- use silicone around it. I did this repair about 2 years ago- total PITA. Wonder if removing the fender makes it visible and easier to reach than from inside of the car.
Click to expand...
 
None of the dash has to come out, just the panel between the carpet and the dash to the left of your left foot. I think you have to remove just two or three screws to get the panel off, and then the 3x5 inch black plastic plug is easily visible and accessible. That said, PCH is correct regarding the ease of its removal (or complete lack thereof).

Set aside an hour for it, and you can work at a leisurely pace and clean up some of the rust, etc. while you’re in there.

It’s really not too big of a job.
 
The plastic kick panel and may be the knee pad. You don't have to disassemble a lot to see it.
Just not a very convenient spot to work on.
 
Ah ok. Thanks so much for the tips here. This was a serious head scratcher. I'm almost certain this what is causing it... Yeah I have rust on the floor now under the pedals and the carpet is already done for drivers side. May have to remove more now in the back.... Not to turn this fully into a different kind of thread. But if either of you have suggestions on where to get replacement carpet or what to use to treat the surface rust on the floor. would be appreciated.

Kind of related to this project as well.
I have sourced a couple replacement front seats. I was curious if either of you knew if they ever made 940 leather / power seats that weren't heated? This guy has a pair and he says they are power and leather but he cant confirm they are heated. Any obvious ways I can ask him to look at them and confirm they are? It's hard to go back to an unheated seat up here in the New York winters after you've had it.

Thanks again so much
 
Junkyard for the carpet, wire wheel and POR15 or rust converting primer and paint for the rust. At least, that’s what I did for my car, though I haven’t pulled up the carpet to check on the state of things since I fixed it.
 
For sealing up the kick panel porthole:

Make yourself comfortable and use one of those gardening foam kneeling comfort pads. Or knee pads. To do it right, you will be spending some time on your knees on the ground, upper body bent and twisted over into the footwell down there.

Clean thouroghly around the plastic plug. I didn't have good results from silicone caulk there. It leaked too soon again afterwards. Happily, the silicone peeled away easily and I redid it with butyl gutter and flashing sealant, the stuff that strings into numerous angel hairs. Looks messy behind the panel but who cares, can't see, the panel covers it. Staying sealed up now.
 
To check if seats are heated. Look under the bottom of the seat and toward the rear you should see a couple of wires and a connector. That would mean it's a heated seat.
 
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