Rain, rain, go away.

I know we need the rain to fill the resevoirs, but it has a downside. It is also filling the footwell of my otherwise well behaved 164! I thought I had this problem sorted too!

The windscreen has been sealed - rather thoroughly, perhaps a little too thoroughly to the detriment of the finish. ( That is her concours career over before it ever began! ) And I am sure that it has nothing to do with the sunroof as during scientific tests, ( conducted by myself under controlled conditions with a milk bottle full of water on the driveway ), water finds a way in without ever going near the roof, or the top and sides of the windscreen. So that only leaves the bulkhead area. Has anyone else suffered this most annoying of problems and managed to trace it? Having a starting point might hasten the solution. Otherwise I am going to stage a silicon extravaganza this weekend. Every opening will be sealed......windows, doors, key holes and exhaust. Shall leave nothing to chance. That will teach her... mwuah, ha, ha, ha.

Bugger. I have this problem on the QV, though not on the TSpark. My first thought was the sunroof as I know the gasket needs replacing. Then it was going to be the windscreen seal. However, if we have the same problem then this would not be the case. It really has me stumped.

On the subject of spares, anyone know where I can get a sunroof gasket, a nearside foglight, headlamp washers and a reverse light switch? I've had the headlamp washers on back order for 18 months and the reverse light switch on back order for 6 months. It doesn't seem possible to get spares for a 164. All the breaker's yards and people on ebay have been useless.

Have you guys checked the waterproof membrane on the inside of the doors or the drain holes in the doors? There's also the scuttle area just forward of the screen to consider.

Most leaks into the footwell can be traced to a torn or brittle membrane between the outer door skin and in the internal panel. Combine this with clogged drain holes and the water seeps in at the base of the door.

If that doesn't solve it, try drying the footwell and sprinkling some talc around before spraying the car with water again. Any water will leave trails in the talc. If still no luck then it's time to take the front carpet out on that side and repeat the talc trick.

See, I may drive a diesel 156, but I know a bit about real cars too......

The only proper way to find the cause of this leak is to remove the carpet and any underlay. Obviously to do this the seats and probably a lot of trim will have to be removed as well, Then get someone to use a pressure hose and stay inside with a torch light to see where the water is coming in.
Anyway this procedure will give you a chance to dry out your carpet and underlay to stop any unpleasant smells developing.

Sorry - water leaks are a ***** to fix but sorting them once and for all usually requires this sort of effort

On the 164 there are two areas you should inspect if you are getting wet footwells.

1) Heater matrix drain can get clogged with organic matter..twigs leaves etc. You have to get under and poke it out with a stick. If water does not drain it fills the heater box and spills into car..V.serious as it can ruin your ECUs in the tranny tunnel..Get checking!!

2) Sunroof drains. There are four and they get blocked at their bottom ends only. WARNING...do not start poking wires down the tubes from the sunroof end, you can only damage them, and the fault is rarely there. The fix is much simpler. Under the bonnet behind the false bulkhead/firewall you will find the end of a clear tube each side. If this tube still has a black plastic cap on it, then pull it off and watch that water flow. I leave them off as they get blocked very easily.

There are similar tubes at the back and you can follow these down the inside of the boot, and they terminate inside the rear wheelarches. Pull the black caps off these also.

I can't guarantee you 100% success, but it certainly cured it on both of my 164s, so i can recommend you to check it out. If the black caps have already been removed then tip some water down the sunroof drains to make sure the tubes are working.

Good Luck

AlfaLincs

164TS
164Super 24valve

Thanks for all your input everyone.

I know that it is not the doors and drain holes, as when I have poured water onto the bottom of the windscreen and the scuttle area and opened the door, I can see the water trickling out of the carpet by the sill. Lifting it back, I can trace it running under the carpet all the way up the side by the edge of the door opening. It appears to lead to the windscreen corner - but it is hard to tell for sure as the dashboard gets in the way. The only way I can see to deal with this is by a process of elimination. Think I can rule out the windscreen for now.

I have cleared the scuttle drain the last time - had loads of old leaves in there, but it seems to be too far away from the point of entry of the water to be considered the cause. Is it likely that the panel joins in the bulkhead are to blame? Are they supposed to be water tight, I wonder.

I will look for the sunroof drain tubes with caps on - that sounds like very useful advice - thanks.

Nothing irritates me more than a leak and if I don't find it, come winter it will be back to scraping frost off the inside of the windscreen - just like my old Alfetta GTV.