97 Camry Water in floorboard - a comprehensive guide

[dawg86]

I just acquired a 97 camry LE with sunroof for my teenage son. While going through and doing the typical comprehensive reconditioning, I noticed that the carpet on the passenger side floorboard was wet. Since the car was new to me, I researched the other forums and executed the following plan to resolve the problem. hopefully it will help others...

1) First, I gently pried off the passenger side kick plate and loosened the plastic door sill trim so I could pull the carpet away from the floorboard. Once out of the way, the carpet can be easily pulled away - it is fastened by velcro and doublestick tape, at most. Pull the carpet up (not out!) so that you can see the metal floorboard.

2) At this point, you will probably find a) a very wet carpet cushion attached to the carpet, and b) water in the lower parts of the metal floorboard. We'll deal with the carpet later... let's examine the water in the floorboard.

3) If it is clean clear water, that's actually good. That means it's not your heater core causing the problem. If it smells like antifreeze - tough luck - you have a repair in front of you for the heater core. Go see your mechanic.

4) Assuming its clear water, the next thing you want to check is the AC drain tube. On mine, this was revealed when I pulled up the carpet - it exits the car at the upper left of the passenger footwell through a grommet. If the tube is emptying into the car, or the grommet is missing and allowing water to splash into the car, you're probably home free. Reposition the tube, replace the grommet (or both) and see if that solves your problem.

5) If that's not it, then it's time to become a real sherlock. Wipe up the water from the floorboard (so you can spy new leaks from the following tests).

6) Using a hose, test your windshield sills. Run water over them for extended periods and see if that causes leak. If it leaks, isolate it and try to fix it.

7) Test your window seals. Run water over them (do I have to say with the doors closed?) and see if that causes the leak. If so, You may need new seals.

8) Next, if you have a factory sunroof, run water over the closed sunroof to see if that causes the leak. (This was my problem). As soon as I did this, water started draining down the edge of the dash on the passenger side, emptying into the floorboard. It also did the same thing on the driver's side.

9) AHA! there are 4 drain tubes for the factory sunroof - 2 in the front and 2 in the rear of the sunroof. One or more must be clogged.

10) Having just flooded my car in two places now, I decided to check the rear ones first. To begin with, open the trunk and look inside the fender wells (they are under the carpet and covered with boards). On the driver's side, it is an empty well; on the passnger's side, it is in the well where the jack is located. There should be a tube in each, feeding out through a grommet to the exterior of the vehicle. Before further testing, make sure these tubes are in place and delivering the drainage out of the car. On mine, one of the grommets had come loose, allowing water to collect in the well holding the jack.

11) The front tubes are not easily accessible to check - in fact, on my 97, they are not visible from underneath the car. So let's test the rear ones first.

12) Open the sunroof - you will see a channel surrounding the opening. This is the drainage channel. Test the rea ones first. Take a pitcher of water, and slowly pour water in the channel so that it flows to the rear of the channel. This water should be begin draining out of the rear tubes you just checked. If so, you're lucky! Those are the hardest drains to clear if they become clogged.

13) Next, check the front drains using the method I outlined above - slow pour. In my case, both front drains were clogged, and when the drain channel filled up, it spilled over onto the A pillar trim, and ran down the trim onto the side of the dash and then the floorboard. EUREKA! The source of my leak!

14) So let's fix it - using the straw from a can of compressed air (small, like a WD-40 straw), I began probing the lowest areas around the front corners of the sunroof. the drains are hard to find - think like a plumber -- obviously they are going to be at the lowest point where water would run. After several minutes, I was able to locate the drain hole and push the straw through. I sprayed some compressed air through the tube, and decided to test again,

15) Voila! the drain worked, and water began pouring from an area under the car just behind the front wheelwell.

16) For good measure, I took a 7 foot length of weedeater string, and fed it through the drain hole and as far down as it would go. I tested again. This time, it not only drained, but DRAINED!

17) I did the same thing on the other side - same result. Problem solved.

Now all you have to do is dry out the carpet padding (if its not moldy, it will dry out with a box fan in a matter of hours), put the carpet and molding back in place, and your back in business. Oh, and of course, while you have the sunroof open, be sure to wipeout any other debris that you find, as this will quickly flow to the open drain tube and clog it again.

Good Luck!

[Chris Crash]

Wow great job! Also, thanks for writing this up so people can search for it in the future! Also, welcome to toyotanation!

[juanrjr06]

Great advice, but what about those without a sunroof? I have the same problem but in the driver's side floorboard. Can't seem to find any indoor leaks but every time it rains, there is water coming from the bottom of the floor on the driver's side. We've had it looked at from underneath, but no one can spot any obvious damage to the underside.