ND RF water ingress

Technical Area Body, Interior & Styling
1

Hi hoping for some guidance. I got in the car this evening to drive home and noticed a puddle of water on the floor between the sill and the drivers side seat adjustment. Nothing on passenger side and car was wet this morning when I put the roof down. Any ideas as to cause? Could it be blocked drain holes? Thanks

2

Definitely time to clean the drains!

3

Thanks @BlueAgave ive only had the car since late last year. Is there a ‘how to’ guide please?

4

I followed this approach, but I’m not sure if it’s the same on the RF:

Steve

5

Thanks @Wardy5

6

I’ve had an ND soft top and now an RF and have gone through the cleaning process for the roof drains on both.

They are slightly different at the top section of the drainage system but the same at the bottom section.

The hood drain cleaning brush from MX5 parts is the best piece of kit you can get for the job.

  1. Open the roof to a somewhat halfway position and leave it like that.

  2. Find the drainage grids on each side of the car. They guy in this video points out where they are between 1:20 and 1:30.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wHmjMEICmDU

  3. Delicately push the drain brush down through this grid. If you feel any resistance, pull the brush back up slightly and twist and turn it a little and try to push it through the drain again. Brush up and down gently to clean the inside of the drain.
    When doing mine, I took the brush out of the drain a few times and dipped it in a mixture of hot water and washing up liquid and then made another few passes with the brush to make sure I got rid of all the dirt and grime built up inside the drain.

  4. Once you have done both sides with the drain brush, you need to go to the rear window and clean out the rubber drainage section at the bottom of the rear window on both sides.
    See picture below identifying this area…
    RF Roof

Use some cotton buds to clean these and also get your drain brush and delicately push it through the drain.

Once you’ve done all this, you can close the roof of the car. Then get a small amount of water and pour it down the drains from the rear window. If you’re drains are unblocked then you should see the water splashing/dripping out on the ground under the car.

Hope this helps. Any questions feel free to ask.

7

Have another video on cleaning the drains….

1 Like
8

Thanks @nicoliv9

9

Thanks @C-J

1 Like
10

All good advice above but in addition I would suggest that you make sure that all the rubber seals are clean and in good condition. Treating the seals to some conditioner such as Gummi Pflege helps keep them supple too.

1 Like
11

Is this a common problem for the ND RF’s? How worried should I be about this?

12

Not a common problem as far as I know, maybe just with neglected cars.

13

Wouldn’t say mine is neglected. Not even 12k miles since new (2017) and main dealership serviced every year :man_shrugging:t3:

14

The mileage and service history do not really have an impact on the condition of the seals. They will deteriorate and accumulate dirt over time. This is especially so if the car is kept in the open. These cars benefit from a little TLC.

15

When it rains I will make sure to check for damp in the cockpit/interior. Actually I am thinking to let the dealership know about this so they can clean it out for me although what they will charge I do not know.

16

Hi there, I had the same recently on my 2011 Mk3, it was caused by the bung clip under the front scuttle panel.
Good luck with resolving it.

17

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