And that is a bad thing in Seattle. Have found consistent problem with water in driver's footwell after removing carpet and the foam pad that fits down in the various convex and concave shapes of the floorpan and provides a level top surface. Have replaced the windshield. Have cleared the drains from cowl and sunroof. Have taken off the driver side fender to inspect drains. Still small leak that builds over time. Have taken out the pad and dried it over several days. Any ideas?

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87 300D 265Kmi
Factory rebuilt crate 603.96x engine at 200K

I feel for you with your water leak, I`ll send you a link from mercedes source in your e-mail through the forum or it will be blocked.

The video shows that under the plate that covers the wiper motor, are some drains. I don`t remember if it was a blockage of debris or rust. but the video is interesting.


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Charlie - would you send me the same as I suffer the wet feet also.

I've read other places that it may be the seal under the fuse box?

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You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.

there is a maintenance document - you can probably find its number if not the actual PDDF by searching - which enumerates all the water drains. there are at least a dozen to check. as i recall, one of the most notorious is underneath the battery.

check the rear wheelwells for missing rubber plugs - they can fill the cab with gallons of water when you are driving in the rain.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Both drains near hood hinges are clear as well. That video that Charlie (charmalu) sent to me implies that the next area to look is in air intake in the cowl-at least on the 123 in the video but I will re-inspect the whole area.

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87 300D 265Kmi
Factory rebuilt crate 603.96x engine at 200K

in addition to the drains, look at the grommet fittings that pass through the firewall.
water will follow the least likely paths to get into the car. a bad grommet, or a poorly routed wire will give PLENTY of water into the car.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

also, the sunroof tray itself is known to rust out and allow water into the cabin... even with perfectly clear drains.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Yep, happened to me. Only figured it out AFTER I replaced the windshield.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Living in the Pacific NW gives you the opportunity to experience every kind of leak possible if you keep a W123 long enough.
I had a pretty good leak coming in the driver's side a couple of winters ago. The carpet on the sill and under driver's left foot became pretty well saturated after a couple of days of constant rain. After making sure that my sunroof drain was functioning properly, I suspected the door seal. That wasn't the problem, though. It was cured after I replaced the disintegrated rubber bellows that covers the vacuum lines and power wires going into the door on the hinge side. A nice pliable one from the JY was a couple of bucks. I believe new ones can be bought from Pelican cheaply enough that it wouldn't be worth going to a PNP just for that.

The following winter, the leak was replaced by one that made the carpet on the driver's side of the tranny tunnel and below the driver's right foot wet. It was coming through the heater box. There are small sheet metal "dams" under the cowl to prevent water from getting to the fresh air intake that is centered under the cowl. IIRC, they are just tacked in place, and sealed with body sealant. They eventually leak, allowing water to flow into what should be a dry area. It required very careful cleaning in order to get a sealant to work in there.

There's also a small plastic drain pan underneath the right windshield wiper stub, with a drain tube that leads the water to the hinge pocket. If it is broken, or if the seal around the wiper stub is bad, then a surprising amount of water can end up in the fresh air intake. It needs to be kept clear. It's also easy to break this one when trying to get into the space below the cowl.

It is also possible that the windshield seal leaks, even though it was replaced. I've had glass seals replaced on a number of cars, by a shop that is considered the to be the "premier" independent in Portland-- though I'm sure that they farmed the work out. The seals leaked within a week each time.

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'79 240D

Check your e-mail.

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Yep, I would definitely check the plastic cowl pinch drains that exit off the firewall and point down. Sometimes the passenger side drain gets heat melted from the turbo radiation.

Sometimes, they get plugged and water builds up in the cowl. The water can then enter the cabin through the fresh air intake and ruin a good blower motor and/or saturate the floorboards.

These plastic drains are inserted into the firewall one on each side of the car near the heater hoses and are designed to let water out but not in.

If you can pinch one open with your hand and gunk and water come out, cleaning might be in order.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

My technique to find water leaks: Throughly dry car interior. (remove carpet, mats, kick panels and panels under dash) if your think the water is coming in from the front, slide the seats all the way back. Get into car and lay with head on floor under dash and feet to ceiling with door closed. Have a partner slowly hose down the car. Start at the corner on the side you are on, just on the hood. Use lots of water from an open hose (no presure, just volume). Slowly move up on the car until water is running on the roof. Try to do one side at a time to avoid confusing the issue. With bright light, keep watching for drips and water trails. These will hopefully lead you to the source. Real fun is chasing leaks in trunk. Then you have to really trust your partner to let you out!

Check under your doors (run your hand across the bottom). Small rust holes can/will appear there if your door window seals are shot. Take off the door panels and get in there with a flashlight for a better look.

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- 1979 W123 240D 4-speed, 390k miles

Did you manage to replace that bellows without removing all the wires and vacuum lines? If so, how?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13