Author Topic: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!  (Read 8751 times)

hank sound

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Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« on: May 20, 2012, 22:28:34 »
 :-\  Hi folks,

I washed my 280SL yesterday - and as a thanks for my efforts, I found that a great deal of water had entered the left side drivers compartment floor, towards the front.  This water seepage was limited to the left side, no hint of water on the right side.

Any thoughts on what I should be looking for/at??

Thanks and cheers,

Hank

Benz Dr.

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2012, 23:05:46 »
Hole in your drain tube. Look under ther dash and you will see a rubber tube for the scuttle box, the drains for the box go through the car and out into the engine bay.
1966 230SL 5 speed, LSD, header pipes, 300SE distributor, ported, polished and balanced, AKA  ''The Red Rocket ''
Dan Caron's SL Barn

1970  3.5 Coupe
1961  190SL
1985   300CD  Turbo Coupe
1981  300SD
2013  GMC  Sierra
1965  230SL
1967 250SL
1970 280SL
1988 560SEC

hank sound

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2012, 00:06:32 »
Thanks Dr.,

Of course, I'll look into that immediately !!  :o

Be well, Hank

Iconic

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2012, 02:24:32 »
And if you find no hole in your rubber tube, it, or the metal tubes above and below it might be clogged.
That will give the same result, correct Benz Dr.?
1970 280 SL Automatic, USA version, Grey-Blue (906G/906G), Blue leather (245)
1968 SS396 Camaro Convertible (owned since 1977 -- my first car :D)
1984 Porsche Euro Carrera coupe, LSD, SlateBlueMet/Blue
1998 BMW M-Rdstr Estoril Blue
1970 280 SL Automatic, Anthracite Grey-173G, Red Interior-132 - sold

Garry

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2012, 02:27:00 »
Or another one I found recently after going through the process was a leak though the wiper shaft opening!!

Garry
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Benz Dr.

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2012, 04:16:29 »
Yes, that's right. Anyone one of those things can give you wet feet but I have a much better story about wet feet in a Pagoda.

  This was about 18 years ago:
 I had a date with this rather hot looking blonde. ;D We were going out to dinner in the Red Rocket only it wasn't called that back then - it was simply called the 230. I only had the car less than a year at this point so there were still alot of things to fix.
This was the spring of ' 94 and I had just met this youg lady, and of course I wanted to impress her with my nice ride..... Well, there we were driving to diner, and I had to go through this large pot hole with a lot of water in it. Of course, I couldn't see that there was a pot hole because it was covered with water. ( I bet you can see where this is going )

So I slowed down a bit for the water hole on the side of the street, and WHOOSH!. :o There was water coming through the side window seals, water coming from the scuttle box drains and a ton of water coming through holes in the floor! :o My moment to impress her just evaporated in a deluge of dirty water. :(

I'm not sure why, but not one drop got on her either. She was wearing these rather exspensive looking high heels and without saying a word she put one foot on the tunnel and one up on the sill, while all of this water sloshed around on the floor.....and poured down between her parted legs. :o

You know, a really fun loving person might of laughed a bit or made a joke about it. Maybe even giggled a bit? Not this one. She never said a word. ::) I'm sure I mumbled something about having to fix the holes in the floor which garnered nothing in response. :-[

I somehow managed to get a second date but I'll end the story here. :-X And yes, I told Shelley about it. She never laughs about my car stories but she did about that one. Probably because I have her and not the blonde...... ;)

Come to think of it, my first date with Shelley a year later was also in the Red Rocket. It was still called the 230 at the time - the Red Rocket name came later. We were driving down a street in Leamington, Ontario and I almost hit a telephone pole! I had to swerve hard to the left which almost put her in my lap. ;D My excuse for driving like that was that she had been distracting me...... High heels, black stockings, short skirt - what can I say...... we were married later that fall.

   
1966 230SL 5 speed, LSD, header pipes, 300SE distributor, ported, polished and balanced, AKA  ''The Red Rocket ''
Dan Caron's SL Barn

1970  3.5 Coupe
1961  190SL
1985   300CD  Turbo Coupe
1981  300SD
2013  GMC  Sierra
1965  230SL
1967 250SL
1970 280SL
1988 560SEC

hank sound

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2012, 05:13:45 »
Hey Benz Dr.,

I think I know what some of your advanced classes were back in your school days.    That was a short, to the point, funny and well told story :D :D

Cheers, Hank

Ulf

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2012, 07:45:03 »
I once left my Triumph Spitfire top down outside a Cinema on a bright, sunny day. Came out two hours later to find that a severe thunderstorm had passed over and the car was filled with water to such a degree that it actually sat on its wheels in the wheel wells and couldn't move an inch. But luckily, I found the drain plugs and waited 10 minutes while the water poured out so I could drive off...much to the amusement of the onlookers - this wasn't a funny story for quite a lot of years :-)
1965 230 SL in silver (DB180)
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hank sound

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2012, 19:40:36 »
Found the leak !! :D   There's a duck billed bladder affair at the end of the drain tubes on both sides of the car - located in the engine compartment next to the firewall.   My driver's side drain was completely clogged with "stuff".    All is well now.

Cheers, Hank

gerster

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2012, 07:57:13 »
Luckiley your problem is solved Hank.

Dr.Benz, that was a nice story.

Cheers, Ger.

66andBlue

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2012, 17:46:17 »
......  There's a duck billed bladder affair at the end of the drain tubes on both sides of the car - located in the engine compartment next to the firewall.   ...
Hello Hank,
the drain tube on the passenger side has no rubber valve, it is installed only on the driver side:
http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=6092.msg37765#msg37765

Alfred
1964 230SL manual 4-speed 568H signal red
1966 230SL automatic 334G light blue (sold)
1968 280SL automatic (now 904G midnight blue)

georgem

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2012, 20:51:21 »
Great picture - when I had the engine out I realised I didn`t have any of the "duck billed bladders" and ordered some from SLS. When they arrived they appeared too big for the drain tube - I notice yours are the same - anyone know if this is the norm and how are they attached?

Cheers
George McDonald
Brisbane
230 Sl
1973 VW Kombi Single Cab Ute
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66andBlue

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #12 on: June 04, 2012, 21:06:44 »
Indeed, the one I received back then from SLS also appeared to be a bit too large so I put a clamp around.
Its too expensive to loose it.  ;)
« Last Edit: June 04, 2012, 21:27:12 by 66andBlue »
Alfred
1964 230SL manual 4-speed 568H signal red
1966 230SL automatic 334G light blue (sold)
1968 280SL automatic (now 904G midnight blue)

tradjim

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2012, 13:01:57 »
my problem is on the right side (pass side) i couldnt get hose off under the dash - going to try to unclog it thru engine bay but couldnt get anything past the bend in the pipe - now going to try a fish tank brush -

66andBlue

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2012, 06:21:41 »
What is so difficult?  There are only two cotterpin-style clamps that need to be removed.
If the rubber is baked onto the metal, use a needle, lift it up a bit and then spray some penetrating fluid (PB-blaster, WD-40 etc) into the cavity and wait a few hours.  But most likely the rubber is so brittle that you'll have to replace it anyway, so, just cut it out.
Alfred
1964 230SL manual 4-speed 568H signal red
1966 230SL automatic 334G light blue (sold)
1968 280SL automatic (now 904G midnight blue)

ricrose

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #15 on: June 08, 2012, 22:53:39 »
Just a word of warning - I cut my thumb quite badly when removing mine earlier in the year. The end of the top metal nipple that the rubber tube goes on had rusted to a sharp edge - and it got me!   :-[  I probably hadn't given it the respect it required!

Richard

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #16 on: June 10, 2012, 17:50:17 »
I got my drain tube rubber valve at MB, they still carry it in stock.  It fits like a glove on the tube.
Bob
Robert Hyatt
Williamsburg, VA.

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66andBlue

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #17 on: June 12, 2013, 00:57:07 »
Great picture - when I had the engine out I realised I didn`t have any of the "duck billed bladders" and ordered some from SLS. When they arrived they appeared too big for the drain tube - I notice yours are the same - anyone know if this is the norm and how are they attached?
Cheers
George,
it took quite a bit longer to answer your question more precisely.
I was searching for a new valve for the 280SL and came across these products here:
http://www.authenticclassics.com/Rubber-Water-Drain-Valve-for-Mercedes-20mm-p/auth-003774.htm
and a reproduction similar to the one from SLS:
http://www.authenticclassics.com/Rubber-Water-Drain-Valve-for-Mercedes-repro-20mm-p/auth-003773.htm
Looks like the original valve for the W113 cars has an ID of 15mm (and costs $100 !!)  while the reproduction is 20mm wide. This seller includes a sleeve to make up the difference.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 01:04:31 by 66andBlue »
Alfred
1964 230SL manual 4-speed 568H signal red
1966 230SL automatic 334G light blue (sold)
1968 280SL automatic (now 904G midnight blue)

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Re: Washed Car - water on Floor !!!
« Reply #18 on: June 12, 2013, 02:24:14 »
Dr. Benz ... "This was about 18 years ago:" now 19 years ago ... how time flys :) ... Just wanted to say loved your story :)

Hank, ... hope you found the source of the leak and changed that hose okay :)
DD 2011 SL 63 AMG and my 69 Pagoda 280 SL