1992 camry water on floorboards - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

97vulcan · 07-15-2008, 10:10 PM

has anyone had an issue with water leaking onto the floorboard of their car? I purchased a 1992 and lifted up the floor mats, and found both passenger and driver side to be wet. Is this common? My wifes 1994 camry doesnt have this problem. Any input appreciated.

thanks,
adam

cykaaro · 07-15-2008, 11:52 PM

First off, get everything dried out. last thing you need is the floor to start rusting out from the inside. Once tried I'd consider using a primer than can go over rust and bedline the floor to prevent any rust issues.

As for the leak, its a matter of finding where the leak is coming in from. Do you have a moonroof? If so, I'd first check to make sure it's draining properly and none of the lines are cut, or plugged. Then check around your windshield and door seals to ensure no water is getting in from there. Those are the most common. Rule them out if you can and then continue from there to find where the leak is coming from. Are there plugs in the footwells on a camry? If so make sure none are missing their seal. that can allow water in as well.

97vulcan · 07-16-2008, 12:28 AM

thanks for the reply. I just got the car today, so I haven't had a chance to let everything dry out. I hope it works out ok. Is this a common issue with camrys? Like I said, my wifes 94 has no problems like this whatsoever. All in all, its a solid car.

thanks again!

Adam

dresev6 · 07-16-2008, 01:09 AM

check the a/c drain i may be clogged blow some air through it

97vulcan · 07-16-2008, 01:17 AM

I noticed that the AC was draining good. I could see water coming from the rubber tube on the underside. No sunroof on my car.

What if anything should I check out on this car. The timing belt was replaced at 77k. the car has 103 on it now.

All in all, A great car.

Was the 92 model a tough and reliable one?

Thanks,
Adam

1996camry · 07-16-2008, 01:50 AM

I have few questions for you...

You said water got inside your car...Water not antifreeze right?

Second question... Is the water got in your car when you're driving in hard rain or only does when the car sit parking (raining hard).

Here I will try to duplicate the water gets in your car...

get all the floor maps off your car, then park your car near the water hose... use your water to spread on the windshield like the water rains to see if the water gets in your car... make sure you only do windshield first....to isolate the problem... if you confirm the windshield was not the problem, then I start on the driver door...spread water like it's raining down hard..to see if the water get in....then proceed the passenser door...

I bet you.. You have broken seals on the windshield or door seals crack or something that allow the water get in your car...
Updates what you find, so I can suggest you what to do next... Try the steps I just mention..then post back what you find... We're here to help...

Thks

97vulcan · 07-16-2008, 10:42 AM

I don't think its antifreeze. I have the mats out of the car, and will dry out the floors and proceed to do the water hose test. Thanks for the input.

Adam

Kep · 07-16-2008, 11:07 AM

Generally, the method 1996Camry described is a good procedure. You mentioned that you recently purchased this car. How recently? Haven't there been a lot of floods up in your area recently? Might it have gotten water in it and someone cleaned it up and it hasn't dried out yet? An interesting flood check is to pull the seat belts out all the way and see if there is evidence of water at the tail end. Most quickie detailers don't get this.

What about the back seat area?

Don't just air it out, pull the carpet up by the doors and stick some 2x4s (or similar) to prop the carpet up to let the padding dry out beneath it. Like cykaaro mentioned, you need to get it dry. If it is extensive, you may need to remove the carpet and padding all together to dry it out.

Kep

97vulcan · 07-16-2008, 10:03 PM

the back seat floor was wet also....what should I look for when I pull the belt out? It doesn't look like flood damage. There were some nasty floods here in WI. I purchased the car about two days ago. all in all, its a good car. Should I be worried??

thanks,
adam

groovemasterodi · 07-16-2008, 10:36 PM

Sounds crazy to me man, does it replicate it self, and like how wet are we talking? I'm wondering if someone did the carpets right before you bought it perhaps? Just wondering out loud

97vulcan · 07-16-2008, 10:55 PM

Its not too wet. Its just damp. It doesn't smell moldy in the car, Its all rusty underneath the car, but I guess that what you get with a car in WI. Should I look anywhere else and check for damage?

thanks,
Adam

1996camry · 07-16-2008, 11:00 PM

make sure the back seat dry...if a good Sunny day, lets the window down to get the air circulate inside your car..and allow the sun to expose the spot that was wet back seat...Make sure all the wets spot dry out because you don't want mold built up inside your car....

Everything dry, then I would do the water hose test to see if water get inside your car or not...

Also, I SUGGEST JACK THE CAR UP WITH GOOD SUPPORT AND GET UNDER NEED YOUR CAR TO SEE CRACKS HOLD THAT WATER CAN GET INSIDE YOUR CAR...

TRY THAT AND POST BACK WHAT YOU FIND...MAKE SURE THE WET SPOTS DRY OUT....LETS THE WINDOW DOWN SO AIR CIRCULATE INSIDE YOUR CAR...LETS NATURE HELP YOU OUT (DRY) WET SPOTS..

cykaaro · 07-17-2008, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97vulcan

Its not too wet. Its just damp. It doesn't smell moldy in the car, Its all rusty underneath the car, but I guess that what you get with a car in WI. Should I look anywhere else and check for damage?

thanks,
Adam

How are you making out with this? Was thinking, is the headliner damp/wet at all? If so, it's usually a sure sign that the top of the windshield is letting water in. Let us know what you find out.

With it rusty underneath the car, the best course of action is to firstly protect your floors from the inside. [especially since you have the dampness inside] Take if from a jeep owner -- Floors go more so because of the inside than underneath. The carpet when it holds moisture and salt let's it continually sit on the floor of the car, which rusts faster than from the underside. [and driverside is always worse than the passengers side]

Once you find the source of your leak, the first course of action I'd take is remove your front seats and center console and peel back your carpet and take a good look. How does the floor look? Is there any softspots? If so those need to be take care of. If not, just sand down the rusted area, then prime it. After that give it a few coats of bedliner making sure you don't miss any spots. Driverside floor will always be the worst so an extra coat or two can't hurt. If you don't use your backseats much for passengers, it'll be fairly easy to do as there shouldn't be any rusting of that area and you don't need to worry about taking up the back seat at all. Just up to it. Now that that's done, your inside floor will now be protected.
As for the underside, hardest part is getting underneath it to coat it. If you can get it up on a hoist, check the underside for softspots. Again, if there are, they need to be addressed asap before they get worse [especially before winter hits! winter/salt will make it spread damn fast]
The best thing to do honestly is get a product called POR15. http://www.por15.com/products.asp?dept=1 It'll help keep the underside from getting any worse than it already is. Coat the entire underside of your floors and you'll be good to go.

Kep · 07-17-2008, 02:17 PM

The seat belt inspection that I mentioned is to pull the seatbelt all the way out and look for evidence of water. Usually this means staining or mold or even mud. Usually, unprofessional detailers miss this spot.

I like groovemasterodi's point. Both the front and rear being wet is very unusual for the AC or a leak. The floor is broken up into pretty much four compartments and for water to get into all four is rare. Did you buy this from a dealer or a private owner. They may have gone overboard in cleaning it or it may have needed so much cleaning that they got sloppy. A carfax report would verify "reported" flood damage but not unreported damage.

The point made several times is that you need to get the carpet, padding and floor dry. If you can remove the carpet to do this so much the better. If you can't, you need to get air circulating between the padding and the floor. Best if you remove it and make sure that there are no bare spots or rusty spots.

Luck,
Kep