Water leaks into the front passenger compartment

[simonshearer]

I didn't realize that I had a serious leak until I did some vacuum line work and took the front carpet out - the sponge backing under the carpet was totally saturated. I have noticed that the car seems humid inside on a hot day...

I was able to replicate the water in-flow by running a hose into various spots at the corner of the window. Lots of rust fragments from a badly rusted battery tray had clogged up the drains - so I cleaned it all up and used marine silicone to coat the walls of the engine bay in that area.

Still leaks - water flow is much better and it does seem to run freely down and out under the car. The passenger footwell still gets very wet though.

I was thinking I might try feeding a rubber hose down the drain and sealing it at the top under the battery tray...

Has anyone tried this or had the same problem; What size hose would work? What length hose would I need?

...or can anyone offer an alternative?

[Jeremy5848]

Rust in and under the battery tray, spreading from there into the firewall and related parts of the body is a common Mercedes problem (we are speaking of one of your Benzes and not the Yamaha, right?). A true solution involves serious body work or so I have heard. You might try searching this forum using keywords like "battery" and "rust" to see what others have done.