I have an 81 mazda i have been driving for around a year now, (owned for 2 years, Car fire, big mess long story short i fixed it and have been loving it) anyway i have been battling leaks in this car since i owned it, water in the front footwell, driver and passenger side and water collecting the spare tire well...honestly i can deal with the spare tire well thats no mystery to me right now, what is a mystery is the footwells, i can not for the life of me figure out how water is getting in. Does anyone have any advice they can throw my way? living in oregon makes it very hard to ignore the problem.

 

Water in the footwells is sometimes a leaking Heater core.

 

on mine it was a leak in the wiper cowl area, basically there is a box there and its over the footwells, so any leaks there end up on the interior floor.

mine traced back to some aftermarket screw, probably for the alarm unit

 

Sunroof? Has the windshield been replaced?

 

This for sure. Lay down and look up towards the fuses. Look all the way to the top of the chassis and feel around on the foam insulation on the top. Rust spots and damp areas should show themselves.

 

I'm with NCross - if you have a sunroof, it has a drain in each corner. Rears should drain out the B pillar vents, fronts come down the A pillar and I believe should exit in the rear of the front fender area. But if the lines (all 4?? what are the odds!) have been pulled from their metal nipples, esp at the SR end...
You could certainly pore some water down the rear SR drains and confirm exit at B-vents. Fronts would prob mean pulling the fr fender liner out to check...
Other possibility on spare well: lift the rear hatch seal and make sure there is no rust hole at bottom corners under the seal where water collects
AND
check to be sure rear hatch drain holes have the line running out to under the rear bumper - And that they are not plugged up. You will see the lines inside by lifting the rear hatch carpet cover up.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

I do not have a sunroof, how do i tell if its a leaking heater core? also not sure if this helps or not, the water does also form when i havent driven in acouple days.

 

I recently noticed my footwell was getting damp under the carpet. Believed I tracked it down to water getting in gaps around the side mirror area, running down the inside of the door panel, sitting on the sill and then running into the footwell.

Here is a picture of the gap. I just covered it with some silicone sealant in it :P

 

did that fix your problem? because on the bottom of the door there are drains that should be letting the water drain out of the door if water is getting in.

 

I done it a couple weeks ago and it has rained a bit since. Just checked it and its all dry! Yeah my drain holes do work. But this gap was letting in so much water it was splashing onto the door card, then dribbling down and onto the interior half of the door sill aye. Which then dribbled into the foot area.

For the hatch (and other drain holes) I just used some weed eater wire and shove it down the drain holes to unblock them. Seems to to the job

Let us know how yours goes!

 

Strange. My 1st gens all were welded there from the factory. No gap.

 

I just checked both of mine, my friends, and the one I have in storage and they are all welded there...


I dont think thats normal...

 

mine is seperated as well like shown, but I'm 100% sure mine has become victim to the frankenstein syndrome.
1984 GSL if it helps

 

I found that mine was leaking in the rear storage compartment areas from a rust through condition at the wheel areas. Had to silicone those areas and now things are dry.

 

mine leaks from the wiper cowl area above the footwell area. I cleaned everything up with brake cleaner and then sprayed the seam with flex seal. No more problems!

 

Where did you find the flex seal at?

Do you think it would work good on a rear glass hatch seal that is letting in exhaust fumes?

 

Dollar General. FYI it is very messy to apply. Oversprays everywhere. Its like rubberized undercoating, but less soft and tacky.