Only got the car 10 days ago and fixed the leaky scuttle grommets straight away, the car has been dry inside all week and we did have torrential torrential rain last night - I can’t find any actual ingress but woke up to this !
Subsequently found it was the usual suspects, the drainage tubes completely blocked and overflowing out the top, totally flooded on the near side, just blocked on the offside - I think it was just chance in the direction of rain that the drivers side stayed dry.
Was an inch deep…
Three questions:
my driveway is on a slight slope, is there any drainage advantage to me parking nose up or nose down?
there looked to be some sort of blue foam floating around under the internal grille tray where the water should drain - but not doing anything meaningful, should that be there at all or is it in the wrong place?
is there a recommended way to clean these other than the full seatbelt box out strip down and remove that I’ve done as the previous owner said he’d been cleaning them with a trombone cleaner - but the one he gave me is rubbery and so soft that even with the tubes clear I’ve not managed to get it through at all.
Getting the trombone cleaner or net curtain hanger into the drain tube is a common problem on here. There are a few how to’s and it needs practice and perseverance! Depending on model
Mine had the same problem last october a week after i got her . But it was the N/S I got MX5 restorer to remove and clean them out. I then replaced the felt under the carpet as it fell apart . I park her nose down… .
I’ve been parking facing up the slope.
The foam could have been put in there to reduce the wind noise in the drains, but it should be at the bottom of it, not the top.
A proper trombone cleaner should be sufficient, but you may need to dismantle and reconnect the pipes if you can’t get the cleaner to go through them easily. It goes in the top and is removed from the bottom, not pulled back up and out.
The blue foam (sort of triangle shaped with holes in it?) at the top of the drains is a Mazda item put there with the intent of preventing the drains blocking. An extra little grille/fence in the collection tray was added at the same time.
The blue foams are part of a Mazda remedial upgrade kit.
see Hood Drain Modification, MX5 Mk3 MX5 Parts
Over enthusiastic use of a trombone brush will knacker the rubber flaps in the tubes which
leads to greater road noise perception.
This youtube video may be helpful :~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEQBlskgK_8
That blue foam is exactly what I can feel when I jam my hand in there, the holes are very distinctive - I can ensure Mazda that it does exactly ■■■■■■ all to prevent blockages….
Jeez, £81 for just that?!
