Wet carpets

[Didier]

My second hand V8S seems to have a leaky floor in front of the seats; carpets get wet when driving in heavy rain. Any hint on how to fix this?
Happy S-year to all.
Didier

[funkyboogalooo]

firstly let me say I have no personal experience of an S series (yet) but. I spoke to a gent the other day who told me when I buy my S to be prepared to drill holes in the floor to let any water out which has leaked in! When i have done this o any previous leaky cars I have had it has also let water in in heavy rain by being driven up and in the floor.
I am wondering if somebody has lifted the carpets in your car drilled holes and replaced the carpets? So check that out. You never know
Mike

[keithyboy]

Water egress through the base of the wiper arm spindles is a common problem on many S models. Get hold of some clear sealant(any DIY shop) and apply between the spindles and bodywork. It did the trick on my previous S1 - no problems yet with the V8S though (touch wood!)

[rick.e]

I'm on my second S (S2 followed by S3). Both were "dry use only" cars when I bought them and therefore leaked when I took them out in the rain , but as my TVR is my everyday transport, I managed to get both leak tight. Common areas:

Windscreen - one of the stiffest parts of a TVR body is the windcreen! Body flexing encourages the delamination (seen as a milky appearance at the edges) on all cars from wedge to Cerbera (I've not yet seen it on a Tuscan). The other effect is breaking of the windscreen to body seal. At first sight you will think it impossible for water to get in that tiny crack in the silicone seal round the windscreen, but it does, by the bucketload! I've seen it running down the inside of the windscreen from behind the mirror, also less obvious, down the edges. It then finds its way down behind the dash, eventually to the floor, hence wet carpets. A new windscreen cures both milkiness (for a while) and the leak, but if you only want to cure the leak it may be possible to patch up the seal with silicone.

Door seal - due to poor door mouldings (recently mentioned in this column) water sometimes leaks between the door and seal at the front of the door round about the waistline. A thin discrete wedge of silicone sealant put on the inside of the door at this point cures it. This is not visible with the door closed and not noticeable (if you do a good job) with the door open)

Wiper spindles - some drivers have reported this as a problem, but I've not experienced it.

I believe all leaks in S types can be cured, drilling holes in the floor will NOT solve the problem and is shoddy! Wet carpets take an age to dry, even when removed from the car and the best answer is to stop them getting wet in the first place.

[Dave_H]

And I recon if you can follow all that Rick.E has mentioned, having a water tight car should then help the problem with the clocks misting up - anyone?

Cheers,

Dave.

[rick.e]

Nope! I still get this, especially roof down where warm wet air generated by the gauge electrics condenses on the cold glass face.

One other point - the suggestion that water gets in from undeneath when driving on wet roads is b**locks, providing that the ruber plugs are in the floor. All water comes in from above.

[martin2000]

I`ve just solved my leaking problem, don't wish to gloat though just add a little advice.

I had nothing coming through the wiper spindle bits, but was shocked when i measured the amount going through two very small cracks in the windscreen seal. This i fixed with some halfords sxcreen sealant (messy job but take you time and it will look just like an autowindscreens job!)

I also found that water was leaking from the rear hood dripping down the sides and into the well behind the seats, this well poured forward when parked downhill or under braking!?!? This might help.

I found all the leaks by a do or die method. Girl Friend in the car, me spraying it with a high pressure hose. Beware though take the wiper blades off because the water runs off and doesn't affect the leaky area if they are left on!?!?!?

Just some ramblings hope they help

Any one got any idea where i could lift a gas strut for the boot of my S2 from?!?!?

Martin