Footwell leaks: front panel repair/re-seal.

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Morganizer
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Footwell leaks: front panel repair/re-seal.

Post by Morganizer »

I've been having a problem with humidity in my Delica L300. It started when I noticed that the bedding in the back was damp, right under the sun roof. I thought the sun roof was leaking, so I made sure it was closed properly. There's still a lot of humidity inside, more than a month later. I took the bed out, put a tarp over the back seat to protect it, and closed the sliding door beneath the sun roof, and (carnuba) waxed around the perimeter of the sunroof outside. I don't think any water's actually getting in, but there's a lot of condensation, mostly on the sunroof and front window. I've resorted to keeping a spare windshield wiper next to the driver's seat so I can use it to clear the front window to drive.

I've been making an effort to get the water out, by wiping it with a towel and drying the towel outside the vehicle. Also, if I'm making a trip of substantial duration, I open the vent windows at the rear, and crank the heat full, to warm the interior so that the air will hold more moisture, then get sucked out the back. No joy. When the temperature drops at night I get droplets on the insides of the windows.

Anyone else had this trouble? Any checks I can do to figure if rain water's still getting in, or if there's some other way water is getting into the interior (i.e.) leaking heater core?
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by nxski »

First thing I would check is to see if your front carpets are wet. There are lots of different leaks that can occur up front and will result in water coming into the footwells.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by glenn »

Run you AC with your heat. This may sound ridiculous, but the cool surface of the AC fins are well below the dew point inside, and a lot of the moisture in the air condenses onto them and it dries it out. You may notice a puddle of water under your vehicle in the summer when the AC is on - this is why. I believe that this is how most modern defoggers work. This is how dehumidifiers work. Give it a try, I think you will find a huge improvement on the windows.

As for the moisture inside the van, on the back windows, etc - this is a product of warm moist air condensing on the cooler metal, glass, and so on. And I'm pretty sure you more or less have to live with it - unless someone else has a fix for this.

Nxski - I do believe you should know all about Dew points inside building envelopes - same thing here.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by konadog »

Have a look at the windows after a rain too - the seals get old and leak... And yeah, turn the AC on - it really helps.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by Dino »

Also make sure your blower controls aren't in "recirculation mode". If it's in recirc mode it the blower fan will draw the warmer more moist air from the cabin and blow it back through the cabin. The cooler air outside holds less moisture and therefore will give you more dry heat as it passes the heater core. That is unless the heater core is leaking then the air will grab moisture from the coolant.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by nxski »

Yes Glenn, I totally agree with your post and it relates to a vehicle that does not have leaks but this sounds beyond the normal amount of humidity and I've only seen it occuR in my van when I was having leaks. The A/C does work wonders.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by glenn »

Good tips - nxski, it's funny about what's "normal" I regularly drive with 4 hot moist humans in my my van, and I definitely notice all that extra humidity. Having said that, I too struggle to keep my CLR delica dry in the winter. I've even tried putting space heater inside for a several hours at a time, and it only seemed to fog it up more. I don't have any signs of leakage either. My van once sat for several months in the winter, waiting for a new engine, and when I got it back everything was moldy. Non of my other cars ever had this problem, nor does my non-CLR L 400. Curious.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by Morganizer »

Thanks for all your suggestions, but humidity is still high (smells somewhere between wet dog and wet tent). Recirc is off (except when I drive through a tunnel). Carpets under the dash are a little damp in back. Not wet, as in, "Aha!" but slightly damp as if humidity in the air is turning to liquid on contact with the metal under the carpet. Hmm...

No smell of antifreeze under the dashboard.

There is also moisture in the insulation under the driver's seat. But not under the passenger's seat, and not in the hatch behind the driver's seat with the power steering fluid. I inspected the wheel well, but didn't see anywhere water could be getting in.

My rear reflector across the back hatch wasn't fully secured, so I fixed that (I'll post details separately). I thought that must be where water was coming in, although the reflector had been dangling for two years, and no water before now. All back in place and humidity is still high. (at least this prompted me to get that done). While I was doing that, looked inside the rear door and no water was accumulating. Saw light through the drain hole on the passenger side, so presumably any water that got in through the reflector mounting holes got out.

Water on the carpet in the back corners was probably dripping off the rear and side windows. Side windows have puddles on the foam strip at the bottom. See? Lots of humidity. I keep sopping it up every day or two, and if I'm driving on a dry day, open the rear vent windows and get as much air to flow through the cabin as possible.

I've noticed that humidity seems to be the same whether I drive it or not. Sometimes it sits in front of my house for 4 days, and I get in there and wipe down the windows, and hang the rag on the clothes line, and humidity builds up again. I've been making a point of parking it with the heater valve in the cool position, just to see if that changes anything, but so far haven't noticed any difference.

Does anyone know about drainage through the body? in particular, how does water that gets in around the edges of the sunroof drain out? Once when the temperature dropped below zero, my seat belt was frozen. I pulled it part way out and there was frost making it crunchy. This suggests there is water inside the walls. Could it be that the drainage is blocked and there's a puddle of water in the wall of my deli? Am I soaking up two litres of rain water one rag at a time? Where (at the bottom) do I check that it's draining properly?

Oh, and a/c doesn't work. I haven't done anything about it since I don't really care for a/c. It's nice if you have to wear a suit and tie, but I'm usually pretty casual driving my Deli. Maybe if I lived in the interior it would be more of a priority.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by Luna-Sea »

Does anyone know about drainage through the body? in particular, how does water that gets in around the edges of the sunroof drain out?
Pretty sure it goes down the B pillar beside the driver,your glow plug controller is tucked in there too.



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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by glenn »

I find my defog basically doesn't work unless I turn the AC on. It might be worth fixing the AC for that alone. Anyone else agree?
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by nxski »

glenn wrote:I find my defog basically doesn't work unless I turn the AC on. It might be worth fixing the AC for that alone. Anyone else agree?
Mine works fine without AC but works about 3X faster with it.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by Golf Cart »

Morganizer wrote:There is also moisture in the insulation under the driver's seat. But not under the passenger's seat, and not in the hatch behind the driver's seat with the power steering fluid. I inspected the wheel well, but didn't see anywhere water could be getting in.

Water on the carpet in the back corners was probably dripping off the rear and side windows. Side windows have puddles on the foam strip at the bottom. See? Lots of humidity. I keep sopping it up every day or two, and if I'm driving on a dry day, open the rear vent windows and get as much air to flow through the cabin as possible.

.

You just answered your own question Morg.

The driver's side seam under the front window is leaking and not the passenger side , as well as your back side windows.

Do a search (wet foot syndrome) to find out how to remove the corner body plate above the drivers side headlight ( 5 screws in all, and 1 is under the window seal - heat it up with a striping gun so you can lift it up to get at the screw without tearing it)

The backs are a snap. Dialectric grease massaged into the window seals. You can also increase the tension on the locks by putting a washers in behind each mechanism. Test the result with a garden hose.
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by nxski »

I'm still confused. It sounds like you found your leak but mine was significantly worse and I never had this humidity problem.
Live the life you love, love the life you live...

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Have: 2011 Acura CSX manual, lightly modified
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by psilosin »

nxski wrote:I'm still confused. It sounds like you found your leak but mine was significantly worse and I never had this humidity problem.
Maybe you had dry skin and absorbed all the moisture so it was never a problem. Do you remember feeling more soft and silky after driving?
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Re: Humidity Problem

Post by nxski »

psilosin wrote:
nxski wrote:I'm still confused. It sounds like you found your leak but mine was significantly worse and I never had this humidity problem.
Maybe you had dry skin and absorbed all the moisture so it was never a problem. Do you remember feeling more soft and silky after driving?
You know what, I have cut my moisturizer usage down by 63.4% since buying my van!
Live the life you love, love the life you live...

Had: 1991 Mitsubishi Delica L300 SuperExceed, heavily modified (totalled by a drunk driver)
Have: 2011 Acura CSX manual, lightly modified
Want: Mitsubishi Pajero Evo

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