Hi Richard,
Richard B Gosling wrote:
> As those of you in the UK might have noticed by now, the weather is not what
>it
> was... Now that autumn is well and truly here, Daffy is spending her days
> waiting for me in the car park, being pounded with rain. My punishment for
> subjecting her to this abuse is that, when I pull away after she's been
> sitting for some time (even a spell at traffic lights will do this a bit), I
> get a dump of water on my left leg.
>
> Before I start crawling around trying to find out where it's getting in, is
> there a common place where water can get into the cabin to do this to you?
> The water appears to be falling from just about where the steering column
>goes
> under the dashboard, just to the left of the steering column (i.e. towards
>the
> centre of the car, Daffy being RHD).
>
Is the Gaitor over the holes for the clutch pedal, and brake pedal in place nice
and tight. Its a great place for a big leak!
>
> When I had Sammy (Samantha the Purple Panther, a Black Tulip MG BGT), there
>was
> a common problem with the heater box. For MGBs this was mounted in the
>engine
> bay, and there was a drain pipe to allow rain water that had entered the
> heater box to drain out. When this got blocked, the heater box filled up,
>and
> then drained the water out of the footwell vent, straight onto your ankle,
>the
> first time you took a corner. Solution - unblock the drain. I don't suppose
> there is a remedy equally simple on a Spit? The water does not seem to be
> coming from the heater box (it is my inside leg that is getting soggy - could
> look embarrasing if anyone spotted it...), but maybe it has collected in the
> tube to the windscreen vents, and is leaking from a hole in that? Or it is
> coming in through the rust around the windscreen surround, and somehow
>flowing
> round under the dashboard until it collects somewhere where it can fall on my
> leg from? Any ideas?
>
Try putting the hard top on, going to the car wash and lieing with your head
under
the dash...
Believe me, I've done this. It looks strange, but works, and even if it doesn't
you've acheived a new Yoga position!
>
> I also get a leak between the windscreen top and the hood (soft-top to
> Americans?), when driving at speed in hard rain. I know the solution to this
> one - well, two solutions. First, don't drive at speed in the hard rain in a
> 22-year-old British convertible car. Second option, more practical, I may
> have to admit the summer is over, and it's time to swap to the hard-top for
> the next 6 months. Oh well, I guess this time comes round every year sooner
> or later.
>
I've found that I get two leaks that correspond to where the two soft top
latches
are, sadly I have never sorted them out as the leak is intermitant anyway....
Have you tried a new soft top seal?
>
> Oh, while I'm on the subject, one more damp weather anomoly. Daffy is the
>only
> car I know that, when you turn on the de-mister, the first thing that happens
> is that the windscreen mists up rapidly, so bad I can barely see where I am
> going - then she starts to de-mist, rather more slowly. Is this a Spit
> speciality that I should just accept, or is something wrong here that I
>should
> sort?
>
Coudl your heater radiator be leaking a little causing a bit of steam when you
first turn on?
What happens if you go to demist while the air is on cold, or turn on the heat
for
a while, before redirecting it to defrost!
otherwise RainX on the inside of the wind screen, marvelous stuff!
Cheers
Tim
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Richard (damp) and Daffy (damper)
>
> P.S. I would appreciate it if replies could be sent directly to me, as well as
> the list, as I subscribe to the digest but do not want to have to wait a day
> to read any replies!
--
Tim Dafforn
Structural Medicine
Department of Haematology
CIMR
University of Cambridge
Wellcome-MRC Building (Level6)
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 2XY
Tel. (01223) 336829
Fax. (01223) 336827
http://smokeroom.cimr.cam.ac.uk/
|