Leaking 981 Booster - Any ideas? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I found the driver's side floor soaking wet this morning after torrential rain. On my previous 987 there were drain holes for the roof to drain off behind each door shut but I thought on the 981 Porsche had improved this. The water could even be coming in the front, hard to tell has anyone suffered the same issue and would the solution? I'm guessing some drain tube is blocked but any clues where to start looking would be appreciated. Thanks.

Almost certainly blocked drains - numerous threads on boxa.net with an explanation of what to do - several recently due to the weather. Needs attention or you risk serious electrical issues.

Thanks I'll check that website. I knew where the drains were on the older 987 but I've not investigated them on this car.

Ok I've had a look at those forums and the advice is pretty nondescript. Someone talks about bending a lance for a compressor and there's a few exploded parts diagrams that seem to bear non resemblance to my car so can anyone say, from the picture below, what I should be looking at? Once I pulled a rubber cover off I could see a hole that went down into a tube about 2cm in dia and about 30m deep. (behind the seat belt area) I poked my tube down there with my hoover on suck but I'm not sure if it's done the trick/ Any more specific advice from those that have done it would be appreciated.

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You dont have to remove anything Half opening the roof you will see about 8-10 inches down a hole with a tube connected to it I had to buy a long lance for the compressor and push it down into the hole. With the compressor cranked up I blasted the it for about 10 seconds I finally got water flowing out underneath the car near the side grill Did this both sides. I found I had to do it again in about a weeks time. Where I park bits of leaves etc must collect into the drains. I also put some dilute screenwash via a tube into the drain holes as it smelt a little Vacuum won't clear the collected rubbish out of the hole.

shakesc said: You don't have to remove anything. Half opening the roof you will see about 8-10 inches down a hole with a tube connected to it. I couldn't see anything resembling that. As I said, I found a tube under the rubber flap shown in my photo below. Perhaps our cars are different? Anyway, I've booked it into my Porsche dealer tomorrow morning. I'll let the experts sort it out, and empty my wallet.

RichB said: Ok I've had a look at those forums and the advice is pretty nondescript. Someone talks about bending a lance for a compressor and there's a few exploded parts diagrams that seem to bear non resemblance to my car so can anyone say, from the picture below, what I should be looking at? Once I pulled a rubber cover off I could see a hole that went down into a tube about 2cm in dia and about 30m deep. (behind the seat belt area) I poked my tube down there with my hoover on suck but I'm not sure if it's done the trick/ Any more specific advice from those that have done it would be appreciated. One of the best ways to unblock the drain is using old fashioned net curtain wire, stiff enough to poke out the trash but bendy enough to trace through the drain pipe. It should go all the way through. Edited by NickUSA on Saturday 12th October 14:44

shakesc said: You dont have to remove anything Half opening the roof you will see about 8-10 inches down a hole with a tube connected to it I had to buy a long lance for the compressor and push it down into the hole. With the compressor cranked up I blasted the it for about 10 seconds I finally got water flowing out underneath the car near the side grill Did this both sides. I found I had to do it again in about a weeks time. Where I park bits of leaves etc must collect into the drains. I also put some dilute screenwash via a tube into the drain holes as it smelt a little Vacuum won't clear the collected rubbish out of the hole. Can you post a pic or mark it on the image above? I had a go and found four holes going down from the top without removing anything, but I could only get down about 30cm. I was using bike brake cable, so firm but still flexible... Cheers!

If you open up the hood half way and look down the sides you will see what looks like a black funnel, that's the drain, make sure the hole is clear, pouring down hot water helps clean it up. Item 11 in the picture on this thread. http://www.boxa.net/forum/topic/79087-roof-drainag... Edited by AmoCS on Thursday 17th October 16:52 This will help too - https://imgur.com/gallery/jyLPeHC Edited by AmoCS on Thursday 17th October 17:00

RichB said: shakesc said: You don't have to remove anything. Half opening the roof you will see about 8-10 inches down a hole with a tube connected to it. I couldn't see anything resembling that. As I said, I found a tube under the rubber flap shown in my photo below. Perhaps our cars are different? Anyway, I've booked it into my Porsche dealer tomorrow morning. I'll let the experts sort it out, and empty my wallet. Having just had the same problem with mine, even when someone physically shows you where the drain is, it is still very difficult to distinguish. My car, a 981 Boxter S, is fitted with the Bose system, and unfortunately the Bose Amplifier is located in a well in the floor beneath the driver's seat (RHD), which suffered with water ingress, and failed making the Sat-Nav, phone, and all the sound system inoperative, which is an expensive piece of equipment to replace. One piece of advice that may prove to be worthwhile, the carpet behind the seat and on the rear bulkhead has high density foam attached to it, and is like an enormous sponge which it is impossible to squeeze the water out. A dehumidifier left running inside the car, dried it completely over about three days, which amazed me. The water retainer had to be emptied about three times, but did work wonders! I now have an outdoor cover over the car, to prevent any leaves fouling the drains, and as a safety option regarding any water entering via a blocked drain. The sooner I can make space in my garage the better. A very frustrating and expensive lesson. I hope you are fortunate, and the electrics haven't suffered.

ginettajoe said: <clip> I hope you are fortunate, and the electrics haven't suffered. I am afraid they have. It's very annoying that Porsche must know all about this issue and yet still design roofs like this. It will prevent me buying another Boxster which is a shame because they are great cars.

RichB said: ginettajoe said: <clip> I hope you are fortunate, and the electrics haven't suffered. I am afraid they have. It's very annoying that Porsche must know all about this issue and yet still design roofs like this. It will prevent me buying another Boxster which is a shame because they are great cars. Where are you located? I must admit, I love mine, but when I had that issue at the end of August, I was ready for throwing in the towel!! But having just returned from a 4000 mile trip through France, Andorra, Spain, Gibraltar and Portugal, the smile has returned, hence the reason I'm paranoid about keeping it covered!

Hi. I’ve had the issue of rain water getting under the driver and passenger seats. It’s a 981 Boxster S 2013 model. Understand drains have to be cleaned. Worryingly the passenger seat got water in a sitting car parked outside. Questions: 1. Could it be something else than clogged drains? 2. What to buy to clean the drains at home (don’t have a garage so cannot connect air compressor to any power plug) It’s happened three times in as many months so quite surprised by how the drain is getting clogged so quickly. Appreciate any help. I’m based in London.

I feel for you on my 981 (I had it happen to my 987 too) the OPCin Guildford told me the only way to access the drain pipes was to dismantle the plastic side air intake scoops! I let them do it - at a cost!

https://youtu.be/khmCtOMVgIY Scroll to 9 minutes to see how to clear roof drains

scrounger73 said: https://youtu.be/khmCtOMVgIY Scroll to 9 minutes to see how to clear roof drains Fascinating, so I have no idea why Porsche Guildford said it was so difficult!