W4SIM

Not too sure wether this is the right section for it or not, but here goes.

My mate has a MK3 Escort which in all honesty is in prisitine condition. Well looked after with only 21,000 original miles on the clock. Its a 1300 L, and absolutely standard. A true collectors car.

He cleans and polishes it very regularly and hasnt really had any problems with it, though he very rarely actually drives it. The last time he drove it was back in July this year to take it to a garage for some work and servicing.

However, recently he has noticed his drivers side footwell had got wet. He picked up on this a couple of weeks ago and since then its got wetter and wetter. I even went to look at it today and i must admit there was a hell of a lot of water under the carpet in that section.

My initial thoughts were the seals around the windscreen or the drivers side door, but we've ruled them out today by pouring alot of water around them whilst i was in the car and i couldnt see anything coming through. Then i stuck my head under the pedals and looked up under the dash, couldnt really see anything wet. Then i removed the speaker in the centre of the dash and looked behind it. All the bulkhead, air vents and wires were dry behind it as far as i could see.

Im beginning to think wether its the heater pipes that come into the bulkhead, but how do i check them for leaks?

And its ONLY the drivers footwell thats getting wet, nothing else. Any ideas where this water might be getting in?

REALLY dont want to ruin the shell of this pristine car by a water leak.

Thanks for your help.

cjay2004

could be coming in where the fuse box is??? somtimes common??

nigel b

could be
fusebox
sealing plug in the floor,water comes in when you go through a puddle
heater fan
coolant leak from heater

W4SIM

Is there anything under there that tends to cause the leak or is it just corrosion?

W4SIM

Thinking it over and over again now, the strongest possibility that came to mind was the heater matrix. Could it possibily be leaking from one side as to cause only the drivers side to be wet?

Though when i was with the car i did think the water could be coming in from the floor, hence why we couldnt find any sign of it coming from above. But where is the sealing plug in the floor? And the last 2 times he's taken it out it has been lashing it down quite heavily. I did have a look under the car but couldnt really see anywhere where it could be coming from, but then i didnt realise there was a plug down there.

Thanks or your suggestions so far chaps.