Drivers footwell leak from windscreen vents

[Tsporter]

Hi lads,

I've had a leak into the drivers footwell for a while and have discovered it's coming in from the vents under the windscreen. If I pour a jug down there you can see it running down into the drivers footwell to the right of the accelerator when the carpet is pulled back.

I can't see any blockages and am assuming a small rust hole has formed in there letting water in. I suppose it's a dash out job to even have a look, but before I do as anyone had similar?

My car is virtually rust free, it came from Japan to Ireland so avoided the salty roads in the uk...

[davidb]

Possibly rust hole right behind the dash. Pull the carpet back and peer up behind you'll probably see it. Mine has the same, not big but big enough to let water in.

[Tony jinxy froude]

Yes weve had experience of this recently but only on the passenger side, drivers side has a lot more stuff hiding the seam. I'll include details of how to do the passenger side in case anyone else wants to know, its fairly easy to remedy, remove the glove box lid & inner glove box compartment, then remove the lower section just above the passengers feet held in by screws, this will reveal the blower motor & housing, plus the box trunking, remove this & the wires, once this is out of the way, you will be able to see the upper seam, your hole will be along this seam, dig as much rust away as you possibly can with a screwdriver etc, then fill the hole with Quicksilver metal putty & allow to dry & cure in about 30 mins, it will become watertight in around an hour, hope this helps, cheers, Jinxy

[Tsporter]

Yes weve had experience of this recently but only on the passenger side, drivers side has a lot more stuff hiding the seam. I'll include details of how to do the passenger side in case anyone else wants to know, its fairly easy to remedy, remove the glove box lid & inner glove box compartment, then remove the lower section just above the passengers feet held in by screws, this will reveal the blower motor & housing, plus the box trunking, remove this & the wires, once this is out of the way, you will be able to see the upper seam, your hole will be along this seam, dig as much rust away as you possibly can with a screwdriver etc, then fill the hole with Quicksilver metal putty & allow to dry & cure in about 30 mins, it will become watertight in around an hour, hope this helps, cheers, Jinxy

thanks Tony. Will this stop the rust from coming back though?

My car is garaged till February '17 so I won't be attempting it till then, I'll let ye know how it goes when I get the dash out!

[davidb]

It won't last, but it'll stop the leak until the rust starts spreading again.

[Tsporter]

Well I had a proper look at this earlier and found the rust hole.




That picture is taken from the vent below the windscreen on the outside. The camera is pointed towards the drivers wing. It's in a very awkward place.
I could reach it and poke my finger through by going up under the dash.

This picture is from inside, I had to lift the sound deadening.




I don't know what to do, I'm thinking Kurust it from below, then metal putty it from below, then Hammerite it too.

Opinions please!???