Water in the passenger footwell

[jonanslow]

I know I have seen an answer somewhere but where is the water in my passenger foot well coming from, It’s not coolant as it’s the wrong colour and taste, definitely plain water running down the front bulk head, any ideas?
Cheers Jon.

[MikeSW17]

I know I have seen an answer somewhere but where is the water in my passenger foot well coming from, It’s not coolant as it’s the wrong colour and taste, definitely plain water running down the front bulk head, any ideas?
Cheers Jon.

Jon,
Almost certainly this is condensation from the aircon. There are drip trays above each foot well that have drain pipes that run down each side of the transmission housing and vent under the car. These pipes easily become blocked and the trays fill up and overspill. Rodding through these pipes with strimmer 'wire' or similar should cure the problem.

[jonanslow]

Ah! my car does not have air con, well I think not anyway as there's no compressor under the bonnet or controls in the cockpit, and it only gets wet inside when it rains.

[MikeSW17]

Ah! my car does not have air con, well I think not anyway as there's no compressor under the bonnet or controls in the cockpit, and it only gets wet inside when it rains.

Check the duckbill that drains the plenum - the chamber below the vents in front of the windscreen. You'll find the duckbill at the back of the engine compartment, close to the back of the cylinder head. It's a rubber tube that comes out through the bulkhead. The way it is molded it becomes a one-way valve, letting water out but not engine gases back. Blockages are fairly common and water collects at the bottom of the chamber.

[jonanslow]

Apologies for not answering back sooner but the duck bills are clear and it was still leaking so I poured a couple pints of Waxoyl down the roof gutter/ A pillar outside as if it was raining on it and caught the run off in a drip tray underneath the car but it must have blocked the hole up as it's been dry for months now.

Cheers Jon.

[kev-john]

uh-oh, sounds like corrosion problems at the top of the bulkhead, out of sight under the top panel wher the wiper sits?

I've got a really nice XJ40, everything works, floor panel etc pretty good, but TWO paddling pools in the front, (drivers side and passenger side). Quite unique extras I thought - even for luxury motors!

I drove the Jag after a rainy day onto a incline which slightly tipped the car to one side.

Guess what? - I had a waterfall coming down past the pedals into the paddling pools! beat that anybody?

Anyway, I took the wiper arm off & the plastic vent grille to reveal a top panel in pretty good shape. Hmm, where was the water coming form? The air collection chamber, directly under the vent grille was in real good shape. The Duckbill drain tubes was cleaned out but I was still unconvinced where such vast quantities of water for a waterfall was coming from.

Further inspection with a stiff hooked-wire into the far reaches below the top panel reveal horrible crumbling rust noises. Sure enough, where the waterfall had dropped inside the cabin there was now a smile pile of rust flakes (uh-oh).

Cause I'm ok with cutting and welding, I cut an inspection hole in the top panel about 4" X 2" - and could see all the way down to the brake pedal!
The intermediate panel (below and almost parrallel to the top panel) had rotted away completely in this area .

Apparently, this is a common problem on older XJ40's and kills off many fine motors. Eventually, carpets rot, the floorpan will rust through and the front windscreen pillar can also sucumb to the creeping rust weakening the car structure.

What am I gonna do?

Hmm, this is not a "change the spark plugs" type of excercise, it goes beyond changing a complete bonnet; beyond renewing rusted sills; beyond the effort & time even for complete engine replacement!! - It looks a real horror of a job. These cars are only worth £500 to £1500 on E-Bay anyway -with an MOT!!

(Psst - I'll have a go at the repair cos I'm stubborn like that...)

Kev