Do I need a bilge pump

[Benton]

I’m 4  (albeit soggy) days into Caterham ownership (420R) so I’ve a lot to learn!

On Saturday evening I was curious as to whether water was entering the car, it has full weather gear. The answer was yes with large puddles under the seats and mats. I put it down to not having the doors secured/ tucked in properly and the fact I’d left the car outside without a cover. I throughly dried it out and covered the car.

After driving today on a 80mile round trip to CCs open day, with some rain on the way back but making sure all doors/seals were correctly positioned, I’ve lifted the seats/mats to find small puddles of water again.

Is this normal?

 

[Jonathan Kay]

Welcome.

I don't often use the full hood any more, but when I did I don't think it got as wet you're describing.

Where are you?

Jonathan

[Roadsport06]

I had this issue while I was touring. Parked on a slope with the front higher and the footwells filled. Turned the 7 the other way and all was fine. On returning I used silicone to ensure footwells were sealed. Try a hose to spray water in the engine bay to see if you can find where water is getting in.

[DJ.]

I just drilled 1/4" holes at the back on each side. In bad weather, I remove the plugs and just let the water out. Even if everything is sealed water will get in though the heater vent in bonnet.

[ScottR400D]

It’ll also get around where doors meet screen, possibly under hood at top of screen. 

 

[grumpy the 7th]

Drill a few 1/8" holes in the floor. I did that after a very wet week on the Isle of Skye. the foot wells would have an inch of rain in them most mornings. The rain gets in via the heater inlet, I now put a bit of old hood vinyl (about 1' 6" x 1') under the bonnet and over the heater inlet (and cover the throttle air intake) as that can become very wet and soggy causing the same effect as leaving the choke out..... Also ditch the rubber mats as they're always wet under them even in a summer without rain. Oh and lift the seats and dry under them every morning.

Or buy a snorkel.

Yes! my car does go out in the rain but gets a drying before setting off.

Oh........... soooo much looking forward to sunny Spain late this year :-)

[Wrightpayne]

SBFS long nose shower cap is the answer for when parked up.

Ian

[Mark w]

Normal , just lift the mats and it will dry out .

It will do the same when you wash it .

[Speedtrip]

I'm a fairly new owner and have what seems to be leak around the heater. I'm yet to investigate but suspect it needs a good application of silicone. Just sounds like you just need to accept this kind of thing...

[Bricol]

It can be made pretty water tight -mine lived outside for a number of years and at one point was the driest car of my fleet - the rest had tin roofs!  took ages to find the leaks in a Pug 106 (turns out the roof seam is in the rain gutters . . .at the bottom of them - so when the seam sealant is old and cracks . . .)

Seal around the scuttle where it joins the side skins, where the bulkhead joins the horizontal panel over the footwells and gearbox.  Seal the foot wells.  Use masking tape just either side of the join and push your chosen sealant in well, and remove the tape before fully cured.  As it's what I had in 2001, I used black silicon sealant - not the best stuff I now know, but it's still working well.

On mine, the heater footwell outlets didn't exactly fit over the holes in the footwell tops.  I removed the heater to seal the bulkhead, and eventually made small panels that closed the holes down a touch so the heater had a chance to seal to them.  I used P-section silicon draft sealing strip for doors and windows to then seal the heater to the footwells and bulkhead.

So now, parked up, even in torrential rain, heavy snow, the car is pretty much watertight.  I had thought rain would come in via the heater but it doesn't seem to.

With new sidescreens, even at speed, very little water gets in.  With older sidescreens, with broken "armrests" like I have now, the sidescreen doesn't close tight enough to keep water chucked up by the front wheels, that then hits the rear wheel arches, from coming in the gap.  Dropping into large, deep, puddles does also tend to shoot water up the inside too.

Correctly tensioned, with the felt strip at the front of the hood in good condition, I've only rarely got water coming in under the hood over the screen since building it in 2001, and lots of miles in all weathers.  Snows not too good as the wipers can't shift it far enough off the screen, and the arc they describe gets smaller and smaller . . .

I certainly still expect the inside of the Caterham to be bone dry when I go out to it, whatever the weather has been doing - as long as I left the roof on . . . ;-)

[Benton]

Thanks for all your feedback and suggestions. I must admit I’m a little reluctant at this stage to adopt the Botswana Top Gear how to drain water from a car method on a new car, though I remember many years ago owning a Hillman Avenger that I always had the floorpan drain plugs removed to avoid passengers having their feet washed every time.

Sounds like it’s time for some more entertainment for the neighbours, getting my wife to spray me, sorry the car, with the hose and having a look around, noted that the heater is one of the first prime suspects!

 

[Tony Whitley]

Don't rely on the tonneau cover either...

 

[SLR No.77]

Mine can collect 1/2"+ of water particularly in the passenger side even with a half hood and shower cap fitted. I'm convinced the water runs off the roof onto the scuttle, then as Bricol has said, enters via the join between the scuttle and side skins. There's just too much water for it to be anything other than from the roof area. As yet I've not confirmed that's definitely the entry point but I don't have a heater nor any blanked-off cutouts to take one. It's not really an issue, I just have to remember not to store stuff in the passenger footwell when it's wet ... and my passenger can wear wellies.

Stu.

[DJ.]

Even if you can stop all leaks, it is worth having holes in the floor in case you get caught in a cloud burst and can't put the (half)hood up.

[Ian B]

As mentioned above, get a SBFS long nose shower cap 

http://www.softbitsshop.co.uk/long-nose-shower-cap---door-mounted-mirrors-776-p.asp