Hi guys,
Whenever I drive my MX5 after heavy rain, water pours out of a point just in front of the rear wheel arch on the drivers side. Occasionally I’ve been ‘hooted’ by following drivers who’ve assumed it’s fuel from the tank!
However, there’s always a pool of water left immediately behind the drivers seat which doesn’t seem to be a very good outcome. I guess I should be gratified that water collected from my soft top does find a way out of the car, but what I really want to do is to clean the drains as so many folk discuss on so many topics. There’s even some excellent vids on YouTube demonstrating how to do it. But nowhere can I discover where the access to the drain is on a Mk2 model.
So to come to the point, can anyone tell me, please, where the drain starts (the hole) so that I can insert a ‘trombone’ type cleaner which I have and get to work?
You need to get the drains cleared and any water out of the car ASAP. I would suggest lifting the passenger side carpet as well. The ecu lives under that and any water that gets into the car will likely end up there rotting the ecu and its connectors.
Drains are behind the seats on either side. Feel around with your hand to find a plastic catch tray at the end of the rainrail on each side. The tray has a hole nearest to the back of the seat. Once you have found the hole you have to work out how to get your cleaner around the softtop frame and into the hole. When cleared I suggest you find a way of getting a funnel into the holes and flush with water.
Our Eunos is outside all year round and drains cleared at least twice a year.
The water running in front of the rear arch is just rainrail water coming out of the drain tube. Because you have some sort of blockage it obviously needed a prompt and then all came out at once. With luck most of the blockage has been cleared.
You’ll find it easier to locate the drain holes with the roof down. Just to add to the above directions, theyre behind the seatbelt tower. Be careful what you force down there - I managed to dislodge a rubber ‘sphincter’ which is designed to discourage ingress of noise, critters, fumes etc but also probably contributes to blockages.
Ben
Hopefully a picture is worth a thousand words:
If you find that the trombone brush hits an obstruction after about 25cm, try trimming one end of the brush to about 1cm in diameter. It will then pass through very easily. Pull the brush through from the underside - the untrimmed end will clean everything out.
A great picture…thanks. Unfortunately I can’t relate it to my car with the soft-top down, even when propped up with a cardboard box. Can you confirm, please, that it is a shot of a Mk2 2002?
Michael
All NB/NBFL’s have the drain hole in the same location, as I believe do NA’s also. I can’t think of a better picture of the location than that shown. My only variation of opinion would be - don’t use a trombone brush - they do more harm than good. Longer members than I always recommended the wire curtain type (same as your mother or grandma used to hold up lace curtains, bit like a bicycle brake cable outer, plastic covered), this does the job very well, without damaging either the plastic pipe or the gland at the lower end if the car. As I always say - trombones are made of metal, drain tubes are not. Never use excessive force, doing so may dislodge the tube from top and bottom end connections, and you’ll have water problems in abundance - if you avoid ramming the wire down the hole. Always check both sides, either can cause problems, though the passenger side can be worse, as Rhino said. Also - don’t prop the soft top up “with a cardboard box” - the top needs to be flat ( fully down) to see the drain hole clearly.
Less important, but still needing attention once a year - are the other drains at the front end of the car, leading from the air box (where the windscreen vents are above) which also gather water and debris, check the outer ends, and you’ll see the drain holes at the sloping ends of the air box. Lift the bonnet up and you can’t miss it.
[quote=Downwind]
A great picture…thanks. Unfortunately I can’t relate it to my car with the soft-top down, even when propped up with a cardboard box. Can you confirm, please, that it is a shot of a Mk2 2002? /quote]
The photos are of a 2001 Mk2. If you can’t find the drain hole it is probably because it is covered by a carpet trim. Just pull it back and all will be revealed.
There is a lot of carpet trim around and I’ve looked under the lot. Of course it has to be there somewhere, and I’ll persist until I find it. More later, meanwhile thanks for updating me.
‘Cleaner in the hole’…‘cleaner in the hole’. Today I’ve found both entry holes for the drains which were hidden behind gunk! It took a little time to tease the trombone brush all the way down but both holes are now clear. Tomorrow I’ll flush them out with plain water using a long-stemmed funnel, and that should take care of the issue for quite some time. BTW the location of the hole shown in your great picture is consistent with my MX5 ‘Arizona’ 2002.
Many thanks for your help and that of the others who added such excellent advice. ![]()
Did you find it? I looked for mine the other day (for about 30 secs) and couldn’t find it but wasn’t sure where it was exactly so will look again later. Interesting what was said RE trombone cleaners and maybe them not being the best thing to clear the holes out. I’ll bear that in mind and might try something different (when I find the holes…)
Yes, I found them both as I posted previously on this thread. I printed the excellent picture put up by ‘Hevans’ and after pushing aside a piece of carpeting all was revealed. The hole sits in an oblong tray in which there are some projections standing proud close to it. I used a ‘trombone’ type cleaner, with one brush cut off, and then used this end to push down the hole until it emerged under the car. It’s then a simple matter to pull the cleaner through allowing the brush to do its job. Finally I flushed the tube a couple of times using a flexible funnel by Draper. Hope this helps.
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Must have thought the post I quoted was the latest post. Good info cheers. I’ve ordered a trombone type cleaner so I’ll have a go when it arrives (if I can find the hole ![]()
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