Another drain hole question

[n/a]

Hello everyone.

I normally park my car on the driveway to wash it. It slopes downwards and the front is lower than the back. When it gets wet, a pool of water forms around the accelerator (the car is right hand drive). Today I worked out where it is coming from. When parked on the flat and water is poured into the driver's side drain hole in the soft top compartment, it slowly makes its way along the sill and into the footwell. Some of the water actually makes it out of the front drain hole. The other side drains near the rear wheel but seems to dribble all over the place rather than from one hole. So, a few questions:

Where is this drain hole supposed to exit from the body?

Is there a pipe leading from the soft top compartment drain holes to the lower body?

To remove the sill, do I have to drill out the rivets beneath the chrome strip above as well as undoing the screws underneath?

Since water equals rust, I'm not looking forward to what I find.


Thanks

Mark


1965 230 SL light blue, auto, RHD

[Ben]

I have the same problem and it took me a long time to realise it was entering from the rear !

The soft top compartment has two grommets, one on either side with a pipe attached that lets the water down inside the panel. It exits via a small hole just under the bottom chrome trim on the outside. My car had the grommets blocked and no pipes so I made some from garden hose and I opened up the little hole a bit more.

I have seen a good few Pagoda here in Ireland, i.e the land of rain, where there have been a series of small holes drilled in the corners of the soft top well to aid drainage !

Where is this drain hole at the fron that you mention ?

When you say ", it slowly makes its way along the sill and into the footwell" are you talking about along the inside of the car ?

I need to take my sill covers off too...............but I'm scared !

Thing is I have a brand new carpet set that I'm dying to install !!



Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.
'03 CLK Kompressor

[n/a]

Ben

The water appears to be getting into the sill from the soft top compartment drain holes and travelling along the inner sill towards the front of the car. Some it it seeps into the driver's fotwell and the rest seeps out from a drain hole in the sill near the front wheel arch.

By the way, when you say grommets, are you referring to the two small openings at the very extremities of the soft top comparmtent or those larger holes with the rubber plugs? Also, how did you connect the garden hose to the drains?

Good luck when you take off those sill covers!

Thanks,

 Mark

1965 230 SL light blue, auto, RHD

[n/a]

Mark and Ben,
What are you referring to as "sill covers?"  Are you talking about the carpeted shelf behind the seats?  How does water travel from the soft top compartment all the way to the driver's footwell?  I'm having a hard time picturing this.  Finally, do you have drain holes under carpeted shelf behind the seats?
Regards,
Don
71 280sl

quote:Originally posted by MarkR

Ben

The water appears to be getting into the sill from the soft top compartment drain holes and travelling along the inner sill towards the front of the car. Some it it seeps into the driver's fotwell and the rest seeps out from a drain hole in the sill near the front wheel arch.

By the way, when you say grommets, are you referring to the two small openings at the very extremities of the soft top comparmtent or those larger holes with the rubber plugs? Also, how did you connect the garden hose to the drains?

Good luck when you take off those sill covers!

Thanks,

 Mark

1965 230 SL light blue, auto, RHD

[n/a]

Don

My explanation: The sills are the wide rails beneath the doors. They give the car much of its structural strength. The sill cover is the curved section of external panel that is covered in rubberised paint. The jacking points are in the same section. If water gets into one end of the sill (such as via the soft top compartment) but doesn't exit from the usual drain places, it can travel towards the front of the car and find its way into the footwell. What I've found is that if the car is on a downward slope, the water comes into the footwell. If it is on the level, most of it drains out through the front sill drain holes.

I have the jump seat option in my car but I haven't seen drain holes in the carpeted shelf. I'll take a look.

Regards

Mark

1965 230 SL light blue, auto, RHD

[rwmastel]

http://index.php?topic=375

Please post drain hole comments to the above thread to keep them all in one thread.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420