Blocked passenger side drain

[Sidewaze Samm]

I am going to leave the bungs in as they reduce road noise which I know is already pretty loud on a roadster.

Leave them out.
Having driven a few now, with bungs in and then after I removed them I can tell you the difference in road noise is basically the square root of bu**er all.
Better to let the water run out easily.

THIS!
(sorry Martin, only emoji with an arrow I could find )

Any road noise benefit from putting the bungs back in is purely placebo effect. It's a total waste of time and will only increase likelihood of clogging up the drains again. This type of bung is designed to reduce water ingress - sadly they do a rather good job of preventing water egress!

[SonnyA85]

I am going to leave the bungs in as they reduce road noise which I know is already pretty loud on a roadster.

Leave them out.
Having driven a few now, with bungs in and then after I removed them I can tell you the difference in road noise is basically the square root of bu**er all.
Better to let the water run out easily.

THIS!
(sorry Martin, only emoji with an arrow I could find )

Any road noise benefit from putting the bungs back in is purely placebo effect. It's a total waste of time and will only increase likelihood of clogging up the drains again. This type of bung is designed to reduce water ingress - sadly they do a rather good job of preventing water egress!

Point taken.

I'll be jacking the car up and having a go at it in the near future. I need to clean up the auto gear selector switch connected to the transmission under the car too. I'll remove the bungs at same time.

Then I'll pour some sterilising fluid down each side to break up and kill whatever it is stuck in there. Hopefully over time with regular cleaning I can get rid of whatever is in there clogging up the drain holes. My long handled bottle brush is yet to arrive but all my new quick lock pressure wash stuff is here now

[SonnyA85]

Okay I jacked the car up. Removed the wheel. Had car on an axle stand. Removed the cover. Removed the bung which was completely clear.

Put up a thick bottle cleaner which got stuck took me some force to get out and it was hardly in much .

Decided to use a thin bottle cleaner and I got the full thing inside and pulled it out and nothing.

The blockage is at the top end before the pipe.

Water still full in the side well under the rood passenger side.

Can I get into this section from the boot? Or is it a roof off job?

Can someone point me to some plastic netting for gutters that I could put above the hole. Or even a ball of chicken wire?

Need something that will keep the area free of debris yet let water through. I'm thinking a leave or a few leaves at the top are blocking it as the bottom is completely clear and the brush I used was a good 15 inches long and nothing. Blockage still in place.

[DMike]

If you have relocated the roof motor, no need to remove the roof for removing leaves and other debris. Just a silicone hose hose and a vacum cleaner, maybe also a led torch to inspect the wells. Roof down, peek through the roof hinge area and you can even see the upper drain hole — which is only about 3 to 4 mm wide. I’ll try to snap some photos…

If the well is filled with water, use same route and a fluid extractor or similar to remove the water first.

[SonnyA85]

If you have relocated the roof motor, no need to remove the roof for removing leaves and other debris. Just a silicone hose hose and a vacum cleaner, maybe also a led torch to inspect the wells. Roof down, peek through the roof hinge area and you can even see the upper drain hole — which is only about 3 to 4 mm wide. I’ll try to snap some photos…

If the well is filled with water, use same route and a fluid extractor or similar to remove the water first.

Yeh the roof motor is in the boot.

The bungs and bottom is completely clear the top is where the problem is. The pipe I used from the bottom was a good 15 inches long and it came out with a tiny bit of dirt on it.

I've got a wet vac. The issue is I could suck up the water but the debris will still be there blocking the hole. If it cannot move with all this water forcing it down the hole I doubt I can suck it up.

Could I get to the side passenger drain from the boot? If I take the roof off I imagine I could hoover the full thing.

[SonnyA85]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Q02MHJO/ ... UTF8&psc=1

Going to order this. I will try climbing into the boot with a torch and see if I can see anything through the hole where the roof motor is but it's very tight might need to get the wife to do it.

[DMike]

Long answer and picture heavy, apologise…

Took some photos and while there, measured the upper drain holes - they are actually bigger than previously reported, could easily fit a 11 mm probe in them. The hose beneath the drain hole felt rubbery and ribbed to the probe, so would definitely avoid any sharp objects.

First, how to visualise the drain holes. I have the roof motor relocation done and the left one can be inspected with minimal effort:

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And the right one is the same:

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3A9DA4C0-5883-4325-A900-71B26ECD4476.jpeg (121.91 KiB) Viewed 341 times

My weapon of choice keeping the wells clean from debris, a 13 mm silicone hose attached to a vacuum cleaner:

93511BA9-109E-417F-BCDF-0ABF01554F06.jpeg (121.86 KiB) Viewed 341 times

Would the well would be filled with water (never had that), I’d probably just shove a 10mm pin/probe or fluid extractor hose straight down the area marked on the first photo and poke the drain hole area free. If the roof motor hasn’t been relocated it’s a different story. The motor casing obscures the drain hole area and pressure air from above or via the lower drain exit might do the job.

[SonnyA85]

Thanks for taking the time and the pics. I think my gaps are a lot smaller I have already been peaking but without a torch. Or the gaps just look bigger in pictures because of the lens.

I don't really have a proper torch tbh. I probably should but never really needed one.

That's how I know they are full of water. I look in the gap and I see shiny dirty fluid sloshing about. Shiny because of the sunlight bouncing off it.

I'll have a go with a mini torch I have and the silicone hose I ordered is a lot smaller than yours. I'll need to Jerry rig it to the wet vac.

I fear though it might be a roof off job if I can't get all the debris out.

The water has been coming in behind the passenger seat and caused some mould. At least I know for sure now what the issue is. Hopefully get this fixed tomorrow and on Sunday full internal valet is in order.

[SonnyA85]

I had a good poke with a bottle cleaner from the top and all I'm doing is mixing the water around.

No access from the boot seems like it was all shored up when the motor was relocated.

I reckon the only way to be sure it gets done properly is roof off. I'll wait for the silicone pipe to arrive and suck what I can out and have another poke but I'm confident it will be a roof off job.

Need to order a decent torch. Will give AliExpress special a go.

[enuff_zed]

No access from the boot seems like it was all shored up when the motor was relocated.

I assume this 'shoring up' is something you've discovered after removing the parcel shelf and the left support?
If not then you need to do that first, then you should be able to reach practically to the bottom of the well (assuming you're not a BUFF )

[DMike]

I reckon the only way to be sure it gets done properly is roof off. I'll wait for the silicone pipe to arrive and suck what I can out and have another poke but I'm confident it will be a roof off job.

A 40£ fluid/oil extractor would suck the water and most crud in seconds and you could flush the wells clean. As a bonus you could start doing your oil changes yourself . I have one and it would probably be more convenient to pop at my place than take the roof off. Live in the outskirts of Helsinki

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[MikeyH]

Not Mr Whippy!

[Smartbear]

I never had a problem using net curtain wire to clean my e85 drains, as soon as you poke it through far enough to reach into the top chamber any obstruction’s going to be dislodged.
There’s no way I’d be removing the roof to do this.
Rob

[SonnyA85]

I never had a problem using net curtain wire to clean my e85 drains, as soon as you poke it through far enough to reach into the top chamber any obstruction’s going to be dislodged.
There’s no way I’d be removing the roof to do this.
Rob

Net curtain wire sounds too flimsy.

However you have given me a better idea since my bottle brushes clearly weren't long enough and the ones that were were too thick and too flexible causing it to get stuck as it wouldn't straighten back out. I'm going to get one of those snaking tools electricians use from Screwfix for passing wires through walls, etc.

They can be extended so once I have one in I can screw another onto the end and then push further

[SonnyA85]

No access from the boot seems like it was all shored up when the motor was relocated.

I assume this 'shoring up' is something you've discovered after removing the parcel shelf and the left support?
If not then you need to do that first, then you should be able to reach practically to the bottom of the well (assuming you're not a BUFF )

The mechanic has used bubble wrap and couple of other things to secure the roof motor in place. I removed all the bubble wrap. Couldn't see any real gap behind without needing to remove whatever else was behind so I decided to just put the bubble wrap back.

I think going from the bottom is obviously the easiest way obviously 15 inches isn't long enough. Need about a metre. Yet has to be flexible to get enough bend to get in their at an angle but then also not too flexible that it cannot straighten back out when inside.