Wet rear seat under leather pad....996 Coupe, no sunroof

Hi Gents, Can anyone please help? I have a 2002 RHD 996 C4S (no sunroof). I have found that the seat carpet under the leather pad on the rear seat is getting wet. I have searched on here but the constant reference is to possible blockage of the sunroof drainage channels but I am assuming that as I have no sunroof these drains will not be in place? Can anyone else suggest anything. The rear footwell carpet appears to be dry as does the door bottom carpet on the same side. It just seems the rear seat "well" is getting wet. ANy ideas gratefully received. Cheers!

There are drains in the engine bay as well i think. Look for the rubber gasket/boot and push through or remove any debris.

RTS mount points leaking somehow into cabin?

There are drains in the sunroof area also. Look for the PET pdf file with catalog spelled katalog. Er search using the term "pet katalog" sheeze try this. http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=...8&fr=yfp-t-701 Then look for the diagram of the roof parts and see where the drain tubes are.

Hi, what does RTS stand for? Thanks Thanks for the Kataog file,doesn't seem to show the roof parts though. Cheers

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"Roof Transport System", Inspect your Roof Rack Points, Four of them

the rear seat "well" is getting wet, under the leather. I'm thinking leaky back or side window? Is it out in the rain?? or in a Garage.

Remove the battery cover and look for the drains on either side. I can't remember exactly how many but believe there are 4 of them. Remove the rubber inserts and flush (drains through chassis). If you have compressed air, that works very well. My mechanic told me that water can work its way into the rear compartment if these drains aren't kept clear. .

Hi. Sorry for the threadjack/resurrection! I have the same issue as the OP.. with a non-sunroof C2. Water in rear seat well, and footwell. Door seals and membrane were done but still appearing after the heavy rains we had. Ive seen loads of posts re sunroof drains, but i have no sunroof. Was wondering if the OP got to the bottom of it? Or if anyone has a diagram of the drains in a non-sunroof coupe 996? Do the RTS points drain out via tubes in a similar fashion to the sunroof drains? Cheers, Pete

The OP ( 2 poster) is gone and probably won't be back. Is the AC drain draining ? Try recomnedation #8 above.

use search next time and you would find... drain schematic. good, luck with your issue...

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Thanks, I am not sure of that. Would the AC drain into the rear of the car?

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Cheers Hardback.. As per the OP, and my post the car in question doesnt have a sun-roof, and my question was if the RTS had similar drain tubes. I did google and have that schematic..but it doesnt seem to link with the RTS so wasnt sure. Appreciate the tip though. Pete

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Just rang my local porsche centre there and they say there are no drain tubes from the RTS? Seems odd to me as they clearly are openings.. Think it may be a faulty window seal or something.. Will strip out the back seats and trim over the weekend and take a look, maybe pour water and see if I can spot it. If/when (if isnt an option!) I find it ill take some pictures and post an update. Seems common enough so might be useful to someone else. Thanks again guys, Peter

Did you locate the drains in the engine bay?

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Not yet Carey. I had a cusory glance earlier with a torch into the engine comaprtment and couldnt see any obvious drains. I managed to get a quick poke at the frnt drains and the were full of silt and crap. Cleaned as much as I could and they are running clear now, but still doubt they were the issue as nada water in the front compartment. Interestingly and worryingly I took out the baby seat on the other side today and that now has some water, but only a little more damp than wet..other side is soaking. So its something symetrical, something towards the rear. Unlikely to be two leaky window seals at the same time? Hoping I can offload the kids on my mum tomorrow for and hour or two, pop off the rear wheel arch linings and see if anything obvious shows up, or perhaps the speaker grills and maybe rear trim to see if it seeping in from a window. Love my car so much, and such a stupid niggly problem is just p*ssing me off. Appreciate the input so far guys..any ideas hollar

Uh yeah, i just looked under the trunk and didnt see anything obvious either. Seems that water wouldnt really be able to collect anywhere. You said you dont have a sunroof... Do you have a cabriolet? If so, Im the wrong guy to assist.

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No mine is a non sunroof, coupe C2. Has me stumped. I can find TONS of threads on varous forums re cabs and sunroof drains, but nadda regarding Coupes..

Check the center tail light maybe? The black plastic trim around the tail light may be cracked and allowing water in. Im guessing now...

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Worth a try thanks Carey. I just had the wheel arch liners off and bone dry back there, and all drain plugs look okay so doubt its watter being flung up. Also there are no drain valves/outlets in the wheel arches like on the sunroof model so not that either. I also cleaned out all four drain plugs in the trunk area and they were filthy!! All four, even worse one had the cap from the AC condenser pipe (black cap) in it upside down, another had a friggin bolt in it, and all four had various amounts of grime and scum in them. Unblocked them all, poured water and all flowing freely now..but i cant see how they would ever cause a leak into the rear of the car. My next port of call tomorrow is to pop off the door cards and check the membranes (replaced last service), check the door curtain/seal maybe get someone to hose the car while I sit in the back... After that/failing that it will be remove the rear speaker grills and see if there is water behind them, if so ill remove the trim completely as it would maybe indicate worn window seals? Process of elimination, frustation and perspiration Cheers again for the input..

Look back to the drain schematic, #4 is the AC drain if it is blocked it backs up and the water pools under the carpets it can go all the way to the back seats floor.Look when the car is running with the AC on there should be dripping water at the front passengers side under the car onto the pavement. If not the drain may be blocked and the water is going into the passenger compartment floor.

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Thanks Carey, ill try that but the AC drain is on the opposite side to the leak, ie it exits on the passenger side and the leak is behind the drivers seat, also as the wettest area was under the seat pad, and seemed to work down to the carpet I think it might be higher up?

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Hmmm, so ran the car this morning on a dry driveway. Left the AC on full and car on for 15+ minutes.. Not a drop of water under the AC outlet? So maybe that is blocked, but doesnt it normally materialise itself in the front passenger side? P

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So this must be your problem! The funny thing (or not) about water is it goes where it wants. You probably have a LOT of water and it went everywhere!!! Sorry to say but all your carpets need to come out and be dried off completely. I think the right passenger side is full and if you are the only person in the car most of the time then the water is wicked away to the drivers side. It could also run uphill to the rear seat carpet. Good luck. My wife's Subaru did this and I was amazed at all the freekin water that was on the floor under the carpets as they have a foam insulation under them that was saturated with water.

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Cheers Maurice, Just drying/wicking the rear carperts now and its a laborious task. The front carpets on both sides are bone dry however!! One thing I did notice is the door card on the drivers door is loose!! Some clips missing near the bottom of the hinged side, but inside it seems dry also. Pulled off the speaker grills in the rear and yup...bone dry back there too. Going to dry it all out, get my indie to do the door card and AC drains and then wait for the next rain fall and see what happens...round here that is never too far away. Thanks Maurice and others for all the input. Will post an update after the work/rain. Pete

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Tip from my efforts today. A babies nappy or diapers to all you US guys Perfect for wicking up water under the carpets. Was able to pull the carpet back, slip em under and put weight on, then rung out the foam as much as I could and soaked up and standing water with them! Worked a treat. Finished it off with the hair dryer and a heater for a couple of hours. Dry for now.. But rain on the way

That foam under the carpet can hold a lot of water! If the rain brings more water then you need to look at the Roof Transport. Do you still have the screws in or is there a hole? We never found out where and if those drain anywhere.

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Hi Maurice According to my local dealer/mechanic the RTS doesnt have built in drains, its a strip that sits into a channel in the cars roof. However one of the lads on the Irish Porsche Forum (PCI) told me that he replaced his RTS system and once you undo those screws there are seals, and it seems that it may lead right into the body of the car! However mine looks like they have never been touched, and there is no dampness or water in the headliners. Typical but it hasnt rained heavily since I dried it out Going to see if my Indie can take it this week and look at the AC drains and double check the door membrane and rear window seals.. Pete

Well I have a sunroof and I've used my RTS. So today,I decide to investigate. I can see the underneath of the front RTS holders when the sunroof is open so I poured some water into the rear RTS holders and I head a hissing sound. The car had just been driven and the water ran out of the engine compartment on either side where there is a channel and dripped onto the muffler or pipes. Not like the schematic shows,no tube. The front RTS drain right and left just behind the front wheel well sort like the schematic posted before. So it's gotta be your AC drain. If you have a compressor you can try to clear the AC compressor drain with air. I've never tried it however.I think you have to take it apart and see if there is a kink or if it's clogged or disconnected.

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Awesome, thanks Maurice. Reallty appreciate you going to that effort AC drain clean out is penciled in for the weekend.

And the verdict was....?

Was it the A/C drain?

Picking up a little late, here, but you might also check the tightness of the seat belt mount lower attachment points in the rear, particularly on the side with the water in the seat cup. The bolts don't necessarily come loose on their own. If your car had a previous owner, and if that owner installed a roll bar or even just harness/belt mounts to the original rear seat belt mounts, then the factory sealant has been broached. These bolt holes go THROUGH the bodywork and get sealed from moisture when the body gets undercoated at the factory. The fact that you have a baby seat could suggest the bolts have been loosened. It also could mean somebody lets the baby have a drink bottle when you are not in the car. Hopefully it is not "run-off" from the baby. LOL! The RTS holes in my '99 C2 coupe drain directly into the roof liner which is why the holes should always be filled with the required/spec bolts, and fully tightened when not being used.

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Hi guys..sorry for the late follow up. I let the AC run for longer and it eventually did fflow out, so not that. I really dont think it was the front drain plugs reaching the back. So far its all stil ldry back there and we had got heavy rains, so I honestly think it was the door curtain as ID'd by my indy originally but that he hadnt done a good job clearing out the water when he changed them and it had seeped back down. The foam under the carpets is well think and holds some amount of water!

Hey R1_Pete, thanks for your input in this thread, this is exactly what has happened to my GT3. What was the final outcome? Did you find the source of the leak? I've just recently put a lap belt in the back, so was thinking maybe taking the seatbelt bolt out, I've caused a leak, can't see it, but I'm clutching at straws.

I've spent a lot of time in the back of my 996 without the carpet installed. My guess would be be leaking seals from one of your rear windows. The only other opening into the back of the car is for the wiring harness loom to the engine bay. But I highly doubt you could get much water through that opening unless the grommet was totally out of place and you sprayed the opening with pressurized water. grommet (mine has an extra wiring loom going through it) - right side of car

Hey Whiteout, you could have something there. I've only had the GT3, 2 weeks, and both times I've washed it with a jet washer ( snow foam lance ). This would also explain, the thick foam under the carpet being soapy.

Next time you wash your car, check all the window seals. What side of the car is the water on?

The water is coming from the direction of the "3" in the GT3 logo, so I know think it might be rear window seal, more carpet coming out today ;( Thanks for the pic

Hooray ! Found the source of the water, its coming from corner of the rear screen. Not sure if the rear screen is bonded. Might try some clear silicon first, under the rubber, if not I'll get a new rear screen on the insurance

HI Guys, Sorry, i am so bad at updating these thngs. Yes as others have discovred and suspected it was indeed a leaky rear window seal. My indie found it using a power washer on the external of teh screen with the rear inetrrior trim removed and you could visibly see teh drips coming into the cabin. Screen out and re-bonded and it hasny come back in almost 7 months now

Hi guys, I am having the same issue with a 2008 Cab found it odd that the rear seat bowls got wet. So when you say rear window, I am assuming you are referring to rear side windows? Just want to make sure as the shop that tried to locate the leak today is going to try again next week and I wanted to give them another possible starting point to look

Here is a little summary of my issue. I recently purchased a '99 Carrera with 50k miles. It was neglected, to say the least. There was water around the battery and dried water marks. The drain plugs were clogged with leaves and other trash. I poked those with a metal hanger and the water instantly went down. I went to vacuum it today and there was water behind the driver's seat. I looked on here and found the sunroof drain. I removed the interior and found that the drain tube had been pinched during assembly. I hit it with heat gun to soften the rubber and mold it bad. As soon the pinch released, the water drained out. I hope this helps. Time4a911

Good info. Thx for posting.

Poor design!

The OP had soggy rear seats (under the cushions). He finally found the source as coming from the rear window. Wet rear seats, and the rust that can develop under the carpet, has been a 911 problem since 1965. Some things never change.