WATER LEAKS and REAR HATCHES
FOOTWELLS - Hi Simon, further to Andrews note I had a similar problem with water entering behind the glove box and dripping on my wife's feet during cornering which made the car quite noisy to drive in the wet (because of the ear bashing I got on left handers!). After clearing the drain tubes as Andrew suggests check that the feed box to the heater which is in the scuttle above the glove box is tightened down against its gasket, a bolt was missing from mine at the back between the box and the edge of the windscreen. Once I fitted another nut and bolt the box was pulled down against the seal and no more leak! But be aware that fitting a nut and bolt into this hole is what is termed in the motor trade as 'a complete pig of a job' (and was probably why it was missing!). One person ends up upside down in the passenger footwell reaching up behind the glove box whilst the other feeds in the bolt from above - expect to loose some skin! It is also worth checking that all the grommets are seated correctly around the cables in this area as even with the drain holes clear there is a tendency to pond if the car is on a slight angle.
REAR FLOOR - With regard to the water in the roof/pillars I have copied a note from the listserve from a few months ago as the only obvious source for water in this area is the dreaded sun roof! The place to start is by clearing out the sunroof drains (in the corners of the sunroof recess). Take the sunroof panel out and carefully clear the drains one at a time (unless you have more arms than me!!) using a flexible wire (I used florists wire which is very soft and flexible) -DO NOT under any circumstances use compressed air or you risk blowing the pipes off the spigots at the back of the sunroof recess as they are only a push fit. Next ,try pouring some water down them, it should come out behind the wheels AND NOT ANYWHERE ELSE!. There are a couple of other things you can try (probably in order of difficulty). 1) after you have taken the sunroof panel out and then refitted it ALWAYS drive it up and down so that the motors pull it hard down against the seal (doing this 'cured' the leak on a Lux I had last year) 2) check that the sunroof drive cogs have not stripped - they are only plastic and are easy to strip. If they have, the sunroof panel will not be compressing the seal properly. Replacement cogs are only £1:50 ish and are not difficult to fit. 3) someone in 911 and Porsche World advocated seating the sunroof seal on a thin bead of mastic to stop capillary action drawing water up behind the seal. Seem rather drastic but a couple of people have said that they got good results with this. 4) if that fails you may need to have a look at where the drain pipes fit on to the spigots at the back of the sunroof recess. This means releasing part of the head lining. Only release as little as you need as it is tricky to get back neatly and is easy to tear - softly softly approach required!. My Turbo SE had a bad leak which was caused by a poor fit of one of the pipes on to the spigot, a dab of sealant on to the outside of the spigot and then pushing the pipe back on did the trick and the car is now dry. 5) if these don't work then your best bet is to move to California and avoid the rain all together!! :-) And finally - I too have a flood of water from the sill when I open the passenger door after heavy rain but it DOES NOT end up IN the car so that is fine by me. Of course if anyone knows how to cure this one I am all eyes (no sound on my e-mail yet you see!) Have fun! Dave
REAR HATCH - tried injecting sealant between the glass and the frame, did not last. Replacement used hatch from PH Sportscars, Derby, (see Contacts List) for £125 or bridge spoiler version for £650 (but rare) - Rob H, Nik M
Further info on rear hatches - try Simon Butterworth for a second hand bridge spoiler hatch. Some aftermarket versions are glass fibre but Porscheshop offer a carbon fibre aftermarket bridge spoiler version- Martyn C