Water Ingress

[KLM]

The line of black silicone was used to hold in place a rectangular piece of foam to prevent water running down under the rear seats.

So some effort has gone in to allowing water to escape and prevent it spreading.

My theory is, on the A pillar there is a lovely big rectangular hole which is covered with gaffer tape and then hidden by the exterior trim. if you remove all that you can see the roll bar, I'm thinking that condensation will form/collect on the roll bar and then trickle down to where you can see in the picture.

Unfortunately the sound deadening material is very absorbent and can soak up a lot of moisture.

[KLM]

An update which is in relation to my new thread about the frame seals.

Here is what I believe is happening.

The floor behind the drivers seat was totally soaked. this is because the door frame was allowing rain to actually get onto the seal so that it ran all the way down the seal and collected at the bottom and onto the sill near the rear of the seat eventually spilling over onto the floor.
Then as the car warms up it evaporates and then condenses on the roll bar as it is metal and warms up slower, it the runs down the roll bar and into the area with those drain holes, and where the foam segment should be to stop water getting into the back seats. and as my foam segments are gone there is nothing to stop it getting in the back seats.

That's my theory anyway

[HC180]

Check the rear-most part of the rear windows, sometimes the adhesive applied to hold them in place is not thick enough to contact with the fibreglass.

[KLM]

I took the passenger side rear window out the first time I had water under the back seat, it definitely isn't coming from there. at the moment I have no interior including headlining. so the roll bar is exposed. with moisture getting in the roll bar is covered with large droplets. In fact the roll bar is actually positioned directly above the start of the rear seats where they begin their slope downwards. the droplets could just simply be falling and collecting at the bottom.

[KevW]

I found water under the back seat cushions of my Excel a couple of months ago. I cured the leak by removing the rubber sealing strip which runs along the bottom of rear side windows and filling the gap behind with non setting gutter sealant mastic bought from my local DIY store

**UPDATE** I first used black silicone sealant on the nearside repair then 2 weeks later used gutter sealant mastic on the offside repair, thinking it would be better than the silicone sealant. It transpires the gutter mastic has dried out and failed allowing water ingress on the offside whereas the black silicone used on the nearside is still doing it's job.

I've replaced the old gutter mastic with silicone sealant and the leak has once again been cured.

[Johnwindwood]

I found water under the back seat cushions of my Excel a couple of months ago. I cured the leak by removing the rubber sealing strip which runs along the bottom of both rear side windows and filling the gap behind with non setting gutter sealant mastic bought from my local DIY store (http://www.everbuild.co.uk/index.php?ro ... duct_id=38). I refitted the sealing strips immediately afterwards before the mastic had a chance to set.

You mean the outer rubber strips ? Do they just pull off?

[KevW]

Yes they can be gently pulled off then re-fitted. They hook under the window glass

[KevW]

Update-

I thought I had cured the problem of water collecting under the back seat cushions but every now and then I'd find some gathered there. To cut a long story short the main entry points were around the rear seat belt mount bolts which others have often mentioned as being an issue. I mistakenly thought mine were water tight as they looked fine - the seatbelt mounting plates under the car had been professionally replaced 6 years ago when the car was with its previous owner.

I recently did some work on my rear suspension and during that removed the rear seat belt mounting brackets which lead me to discover the holes for the mounting bolts were actually 50% larger than they needed to be. Not only that but there had been a half-hearted attempt to waterproof the fixings with a couple of feeble looking rubber washers. I now realise that I was responsible for the water getting in through the seat belt bolts by hosing down the wheel arches every time I washed the car. I imagine driving in heavy rain would also have the same effect.

I've refitted the bolts and waterproofed them by sticking two 2 1/2" squares of self adhesive roofer's flashing tape over the outside of the holes, another two squares over the inside of the holes and by fitting a new rubber plumbing washer on the outside and another on the inside. I then opened up a hole in the flashing tape with a small drill bit and poked the mounting bolt through so that the tape formed a gasket. The last step was to put a good dollop of silicone sealant on the inside edge of the seat belt mounting bracket before refitting to the wheelarch. Earlier I'd drilled a couple of extra drain holes in the brackets before repainting them.

The downside is that water is still getting in through the rear side window seals. It takes a while to appear under the back seat cushions as it is at first absorbed by the sound deadening foam which the factory stuck to the inside of the bodywork, just below the rear side windows (behind the rear speakers). Only when that foam is sodden does the water then make its way to the area under the back seats.

To be continued...

[KevW]

A bit of a late update but it may be of some use to anyone having problems with water finding its way under the back seat cushions.

Last winter I finally solved the problem with a spray can of Rustoleum Leak Stop. I sprayed the stuff into the gap between the fixed rear side window and the bodywork. I took the precaution of masking off the bodywork above and below the window, as well as the window itself before spraying and was glad I did as the stuff does tend to go everywhere. The rear seat area has been as dry as a bone ever since.

[TrevorK]

That sounds like a useful tip. Thanks!

[fairline38]

Are there drain holes at the point where the door sills meet the wheel arch?

[Pete Boole]

Are there drain holes at the point where the door sills meet the wheel arch?

Only if someone has drilled them there in the past!

Pete

[fairline38]

LOTUS SERVICE UPDATE - On February 16, 1988, Lotus issued a service update to address the water ingress from the doors and sills. This information was kindly provided to me from Steve at SJ. I am in the process of carry out these modifications momentarily. Please tell me how to insert this pdf for everyone to see. I will report back shortly.

[Hawaiis0]

Currently nothing pasted between your IMG markers.

[fairline38]

I cannot figure out how to insert the image. Please advise.