450SL - Where are all of the drains that get clogged located?

[supercanuck]

On my 1980 450sl, I think some of the drains that help get rid of rainwater are clogged. I can hear water sloshing around when I drive, and whenever I pull into a parking space, I can see an intermittent trail of water drops that I assume is rain water that is draining out.

Also, in the past, I have had problems with rain water draining into the cabin and collecting on the floor behind the driver's seat.

I have read that I should get an air compressor and try to blow the leaves, etc out of the drains, but I'm not sure where all of the drains are. Can someone help me out?

Thanks!

[donbryce]

While working underside of my 560SL over the winter, and still at it, sadly, I noticed several drain 'pipes' hanging down from the transmission hump/tunnel in the floor. They look like black rubber razor clams, kind of with a pinched end, probably to prevent water from entering. On my SL, you need to jack the car up and look way up to the floor area on the right and left side of the transmission, mostly where the floor turns up to form the footwells.

[ctaylor738]

I think there are six. They are around the transmission tunnel and easily visible from under the car. Two drain the AC evaporator, two drain the cowl, just outside the blower compartment, and I forget what the other two drain.

If you blow them out from below, it helps to have a foot-long tube on your air hose, because some of them are impossible to reach otherwise.

I did a post on this a couple of years ago.

[Philoprof]

Originally Posted by donbryce

While working underside of my 560SL over the winter, and still at it, sadly, I noticed several drain 'pipes' hanging down from the transmission hump/tunnel in the floor. They look like black rubber razor clams, kind of with a pinched end, probably to prevent water from entering. On my SL, you need to jack the car up and look way up to the floor area on the right and left side of the transmission, mostly where the floor turns up to form the footwells.

Hmmm. Thanks for letting me know about the 2 pipes that drain the cowl, Don. I didn't even know they existed, in addition to the ones that drained the AC condensate, and rain has been coming into the cabin of my 380sl for some time. So, I thought it was coming in around the windshield molding, or that the panels under the grills were rusted out. I'll have to see if my Indie can blow them out for me when I take the car in to have the air conditioner charged. This brings up another question, which I'll post in a separate thread after checking the archives later today.