Thread: Discovery 1 Water in footwell , rusty floor .

Common issue but I’ve seen much worse. I’d be tempted to just let it dry out, wire brush the loose stuff off and treat it with some rust converter and see how it goes. Looks like it’s only surface rust from the pics. You’ll need to find the source of the leak - my guess would be the windscreen seal has gone hard and brittle. You might also want to remove the scuttle if you do this as they can rust in there too and cause this sort of leak.

Thanks Homestar.

Sounds like good advice. Do you know a good product to use?

The outer windscreen rubbers are in very good condition, they were replaced with a new screen about 10 years ago. But I’ve read th screens can have problems. Can the rubbers be removed to investigate without taking the screen out ?

What is the scuttle ?

Originally Posted by LRpete

Thanks Homestar.


What is the scuttle ?

The scuttle also known as the Plenum or Cowl. is the horizontal panel that starts at the bottom of the windscreen and slopes down gradually until it forms the lip or top edge of the firewall or bulkhead.

There can be an upper plenum panel and a lower plenum panel. The photos are screenshots from a video on YouTube accessed 27th March 2021 from, HX One Tonner Build - Welding in the Cowl and prepping for final coat of Epoxy. - YouTube

The upper plenum is the black panel in the photo, that shows a HX Holden 1 Tonner getting a new plenum/cowl/scuttle fitted. The photo with two red arrows shows the lower plenum/cowl/scuttle.

If you want to see a YouTube clip that directly refers to the "Scuttle" panel it is a repair frequently linked to Mini's; accessed 27th March 2021 from, Scuttle Panel - Classic Mini Cooper Sportspack MPI - More Fresh Metal!! - YouTube

Kind regards
Lionel

Thanks Lionelgee

That insulation under the carpet can hold water for ages. Make sure the drain holes on either side of the plenum are clear. it doesn't take a lot of rain to fill the plenum up if they are blocked. They can also leak at the top of the screen near the corners. The body can rust up there. 10 years is quite a while for a rubber mounted screen.

This stuff seems to work: IMG_2545.jpg

The interior air intake plenum runs along the top of the firewall - it is open to the outside via the grills in front of the windscreen but is sealed from the engine bay when the bonnet is shut. The plenum had holes at either end to drain any water that goes in through the vents.

However my experience with two Disco 1s over 12 years is that if you drive in very heavy rain with the ventilation system on water and more likely moist air gets sucked into the air intakes and condenses into water and floods the floors.

Thanks to everyone for the help and insight. I have consolidated some extracts of information collected from other sites, for D1 footwell water leak possibilities. Will keep me busy for a while and may help others.

1. Windscreen - if it’s along the top or sides you should see it on inside of screen. If the bottom of the seal/bonding is gone water normally drops into the scuttle not the passenger compartment as the bottom of the screen extends beyond the frame over the trough.*Although not directly responsible for a leak but directing*water to ingress points,*the rubber end pieces on the tops of the front windscreen side finishers need to be correctly located and even sealed.
2. Sun roof - i)*roof-to-frame leaking, ii) glass-to-crush seal damaged, sitting uneven; iii) glass warped and not crushing the seal;*iv) cracked drain trough(s) at front corners of sun rooves (beneath headlining(s)); v) drain pipe(s)*disconnected/split.*
3. Door Seal - good seals are a must have, if water tracks down the front edge of the seal and into the passenger compartment*level with the front of the seat it can run forwards into the footwell giving the impression the leak is elsewhere! Also the S bend in the door seal near the mirror can let water in.
4. Scuttle - removing the windscreen wipers, the large plastic scuttle cover and the plastic scuttle cover*caps each side of the former (take care with the latter, easily cracked, a bit awkward, get someone to raise/lower bonnet for you as you remove them) will give you great access to all of the potential leak points.
5. Panel bonding - by now the original bonding/sealant used on D1 panel seams*is well past its sell by date and although it might look OK on the surface (often painted over) it might be dried out and letting water beneath/through. Look in*the following places -

i) The point where the A pillar/scuttle/inner wing all come together (it can appear as*a small hole!) allows water into the footwell down the driver/passenger footwell side wall (relays!). There is also a small hole under where the cable harness enters from the door, this should be taped / blocked.
ii) Water can also track down the corner of the footboard making the leak appear to be the bottom edge of the windscreen.*
iii) The seam which runs along the length of the scuttle across the width of the vehicle. As previously stated it might look good but if you dig a little of it out and there is rust on the panels below - water has got through. There can be spot welds beneath the sealants and welded earth fixing points in/on the scuttle which having been soaked for years have given up the ghost.*Once through the seam water tracks down the engine compartment side of the bulkhead - and into the cable harnesses, through the large grommet and directly down the footwell footboard(s). This can give the impression of a leaking windscreen. Of note is that those cable harnesses when viewed from the engine side appear much lower than they actually are relative to the footwell - they actually come through way above feet level!
iv) There is a channel between the inner and outer wings close to the A*pillar, water can roll down the A pillar into this channel and then either through seems/self tapper holes through to the engine side of the inner wing and once again onto those cable harnesses. Best to block it off and make rubber washers for the first few wing self tappers.*
v) The windscreen wiper motor housing and the ‘fresh’ air-in duct in the scuttle below the windscreen each have gaskets which if they let Water through will show up mostly towards the transmission tunnel side if the footwell footboard(s).

Remedial actions :
Seal the rubber sections at the top of each windscreen side finisher;
Dig out the seam sealer the full width of the scuttle, de-rust, paint, reseal the seam with Sikaflex AND cover the whole scuttle with that really sticky, flat roof bonding tape.*
Sikaflex the A pillar/inner wing/bulkhead hole.
Sikaflex the end of the inner/outer wing channel.
Sikaflex the wiper motor housing gasket and the air intake duct.
Cut out those heavy sections of water-retaining sound deadening beneath the carpet in each footwell and replace with Carbuilder brand waterproof foam underlay (They are located in Victoria).
Make sure*that the large drain holes at each end of the scuttle in the inner wings are clear of debris.
If the vehicle isn’t used after rainfall, water which*always*pools in the scuttle until the vehicle is driven around corners, will just sit on that scuttle seam and work it’s way through the seam.
Check if your sills have been replaced- AND that the A pillar/sunroof drain pipes and holes are still in place - if they have been covered the A pillar can fill up and pour water into the footwell.*
*

Originally Posted by LRpete

1. Windscreen - if it’s along the top or sides you should see it on inside of screen.

Not necessarily, it can run down inside the A pillar trim. But the headlining would usually be wet.