Water water everywhere

I enjoy everything about my 1993 Buick Skylark except all the water that pools up on the floor after a rain (or snow). Since no water is coming in around doors or windows, it’s become quite a mystery. Most often there is water on the driver’s floorboard AND sometimes it pools up under the front passenger seat (an inch of water there is the current record) and often on the floorboard on either side in front of the back seat. This is CLEAR water. I’ve had a new heater core installed, which fixed the heater but did nothing to stop the water. One mechanic thinks that a drain from the outside vent at the back of the front hood is stopped up. He said that “all those old cars had that problem.” Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here? Malvina

Unless you have boots full of snow the water has to be coming from a leak somewhere. The trouble of course is to find it. Water is one of those things that i have always found most contrarian, I mean the drain plugs up while the faucet leaks. My guess is a cowling or windshield seal leak. I don’t know what to do except take the garden hose pour water on different places and see what happens. The problem is it may pool and discharge slowly onto the floor, sorry I can’t be of more help but a sunroof would be a good place to look.

Thanks. I don’t have a sunroof, but I’ll pass your other suggestions along when I take it into the shop on May 7. Malvina

On most cars, including some I’ve had, this problem occurs when the condensation from the A/C coil does not drain down to the ground. It has a drainage tube which could be broken or plugged. This should be investigated first. If you park your car after having driven it with th A/C on, there will be a small puddle of clear water on the ground. If that does not happen, maybe this water is finding its way into your car interior.

Other causes are leaking seals around the windshield, leaks in the cowling airbox, letting rain water in.

You need a better mechanic to investigate this problem; it could be something as small as the A/C drain tube, a $1 item!!

Thanks! I hope it is this simple. Malvina

I’m betting on a clogged AC evaporator drain tube.

When the heater core was replaced the drain tube may not have been installed correctly, or it may be clogged with debris. Either way it’s the first thing to check.

If the mechanic thinks this drain is stopped up why didn’t he unstop it? Telling you what he thinks is wrong and not fixing it makes no sense.

Thanks! Malvina

Which sude is the AC drain? Usually it is on the passenger side and the OP’s car has more water on the driver side. Also in this case the water comes in after a rain, seems unrelated to AC.

You have to take all the carpets off and sit in the car and have somebody hose every part down separately and see if you see any traces of water coming in. A very tiny amount of leak adds up to a big pool after a rain. Also are you sure this water is not in the rear portion and then shifts to the front?

You said this happened after a rain. Inspect the belt mouldings, this is the rubber strip where the top of the door panel meets the bottom of the glass. Sometimes this part fails and water runs down into the door shell and when the bottom of the door fills up it spills onto the drivers floor. Hope this helps.