Driver's footwell carpet

[CatmanV2]

Not the mat, but the carpet underneath. I want to get the sound deadening out as it's simply not drying. Any tips?
C

 

[Grinzzz]

Took mine out to give it a good clean. Cant recall any problems, think it was 3 or 4 screws into the tunnel and the rest was just interference fit. Passenger side was more involved, had to get the cover off the electrical box.

 

[CatmanV2]

Thanks, grinz I think there's a bit of tucking round the sills and stuff, but should be able to get it out of the way to get to the sound deadening.

C

 

[Grinzzz]

It's just dirty great slabs of medium density foam. Yep the carpet tucks back in nicely, I had no issues and it fitted back in far better than it was prior to removal

 

[CatmanV2]

I can see what it is through the VIN inspection plate

You missed one important adjective: 'wet'

It's not drying. This either means
1) Because it's coolant it's just not going to dry out at all.
2) It's just not going to dry out in this weather. (Interesting to note the boot deadening dries quite rapidly)
3) There's still some kind of leak of something from somewhere into the footwell.

I think it's 1 or 2. There's no loss of coolant and the checks I've done by peeling back the carpet at the top of the pedals and looking at the metal indicate no evidence at all of obvious liquid ingress. However, the car still mists up like a sod (I accept a portion of this may be coming from the boot leaks), and poking the sound deadening under the VIN hatch reveals it to be pretty manky with *something*. So, plan of action this weekend (if I can get time)

1) Hope the temp is high enough to get the antenna / conduit / seam sealed in the boot.
2) Get the foot well carpet lifted
3) Get the deadening out, and see if anything obvious presents itself. Get it to dry in the garage.
4) Temporarily replace deadening with newspaper / cardboard and check regularly. This should show me if there is anything leaking, and if so from where.
5) Fix any leaks next week.

Simples!

Anyone see any flaws at this point?

C

 

[mjheathcote]

My Stag on occasion as got wet inside when in torrential rain with the soft top roof.
To dry her out I have put a dehumidifier inside for a couple of days.
Just a thought.

 

[CatmanV2]

Electric or chemical?

I have a chemical one in there, and have had for some months. Hasn't collected a drop of anything I had a similar issue on my old 116 which had a very dodgy, aftermarket sunroof. Leaked like a sod, but the chemical de-humidifier made sod all difference, although I suspect that was simply due to the rate of ingress requiring some kind of pump more than a bag of powder

Electric radiator before Christmas had some effect on the passenger side (as far as I can tell), but the driver's remains obstinately damp. Hence my thoughts about it being coolant. Also the car mists more on the driver's side (apart from last night where I failed to clear snow from the ventilation inlets and it misted *everywhere*)

C

 

[Grinzzz]

You do know about the drain pipe getting blocked? That can show up on both sides by the sounds of things

 

[CatmanV2]

Yep. Cleared that not so long ago (after Feli cleared it as well when he did the matrix). I supposed I could check again, but I'll be very surprised as I released the end compression on the drain as per the old Alfa GTV sunroof fix as well.

C

 

[mjheathcote]

Electric dehumidifier, small one about 300x300x500.
With windows closed it will suck any moisture out of the car in a day or so.
I would then feed the leather seats etc afterwards.

 

[CatmanV2]

Makes sense, thanks Mike. The challenge I see with it is that the moisture simply may not get out of the sound deadening at a sensible rate, simply cos (I think) the coolant is evaporating enough to keep the air humid, but probably not fast enough to 'keep up' with the de-humidifier, if that makes sense? The air will be dry, but the carpet will still have a reserve of moisture to let out.

Having said all that, I may risk £50 if there appears to be water getting in that I can't trace.

C

 

[CatmanV2]

Well, that's encouraging. No sign of ingress at all, but the deadening was *drenched* in the middle. It's also latex covered, so really not going to dry out in a hurry.

Now outside drying in the sun (yay).
Bit awkward, but no biggy. Thanks.

C