The other day I got my bits out of the boot and clocked on that they were all saturated, quickly discovered that the bottom of my boot was absolutely soaked!!
Did some looking around on here and saw that blocked roof drains on the NC can be the culprit, but I have been checking the driver and passenger footwells twice daily and they are bone dry. So I guess my question is, could it still be a roof drain issue? I’ve ordered some trombone cleaners so I’m going to have a go at cleaning them out, but could this be down to a split rubber somewhere too?
In spite of this being the first leaky car I’ve owned I’m still loving it. Going to have a crack at fitting some front foglamps to it when I can get a free day and decent weather - unfortunately work or rain seems to be getting in the way right now :-/
I am also going to take it down to MX5 Restorer as it’s only about an hour away from me - get some real experts to have a look and tell me straight what if anything I need doing.
If you think it could be the drain holes you would be better buying a Trombone brush (£7) and give them a clean. It is a 10 min job, but a little bit tricky the first time to find the hidden hole, but there are instructions for an NC I have posted on this link…
Check around the rear lights, the aerial, high level brake light and the cabling hole for the number plate lights, mine leaked through the latter but was clearly obvious.
From memory I recall someone on this forum who suggested checking the fuel flap drain. If you open your fuel flap and look to the side of the petrol cap; there is a small hole. The pipe from this hole pass’s through the boot area behind the side trim before reappearing under the car. If the pipe is damaged or disconnected, then I guess water will enter the boot area.
This info may have related to an earlier model but it is still worth checking.
Check also the rear deck plates are tight. I had a Mk1 which leaked there, a quick fix just check they are nice and secure. Deck plates are the 2 chrome oblong strips behind the boot lid each held by 2 allen bolts. The rear light unit seals can leak also, check if they are secure.
Thanks for the helpful reply all - I think I MAY have found the cause of the ingress (I had a poke around at lunchtime). Without pictures it’s hard to describe, but it looks to me like there is some kind of recess in the boot (in the same position as you might think a number plate fixing would be) that is leaking.
I fail to see how water from the outside is coming in through this hole, so I could be wrong, but that was the only bit that was wet and the clue was a dribble of water coming from this hole.
I will post up photos when I get home and provided there is sufficient light of course.
EDIT - OK, let’s try this. Not my car - a stock photo I nicked off Google. The red rectangle is where the carpet is soaked. The green arrow roughly indicates where I found this ‘hole’ (which looks like it should be there - it’s not corrosion!)
I can probably guide you in someway with my experiences with my PRHT I found mine had a small leak to in a similar area, mine was in fact the extractor chamber behind the light cluster, additionally I noticed a small leak from the boot lock itself so got that sorted.
As others have said there are a fair few places in these that can cause leaks my suggestion strip the boot interior down, dry the boot then test it strategically from left to right or right to left making sure you go over the gaps of the fuel cap in between the gaps of the light cluster and boot itself across to the other side.
It took me weeks to find the extractor chamber leaking on mine, only one day when I had it stripped down for the final time had the hose out and thought sod it, boot apart and just ensured plenty of water went over the light cluster bangs your uncle it leaked. if you are brave and use an open ended hose with no attachments on then keep the boot lid open and carefully guide it over into the boot lid channels specifically where the bumper meets the back of the car with two screws as a water does get channelled down there (the specific point where I found mine leaking.
Luckily, the place I bought the car from are looking at this for me under warranty - no I did not buy a warranty, it came with from the dealer (lucky me!)
However I am pretty cynical of dealerships in general so I am planning to take your good advice and strip the boot down myself. Maybe at the same time I can get these foglamps fitted that I have sat around!!
Thanks for all the brilliant advice guys - this information is solid gold.
Hi, I hope you solved your wet boot problem. I just thought I’d add my experience. I had the same problem on our Mk3.5 (Jan 2009) 2l sport. It turned out to be the left side roof drain that was completely blocked.
I spent ages trying to find the top hole, then in desperation put a VAX (wet vacuum cleaner) to the outlet under the car. This sucked out about two pints of water and loads of dirt in around two seconds.
I did eventually manage to find the hole at the top and followed through with a "trombone cleaner (they must be making a mint out of us!!!).
After several downpours I can conclude that I have indeed solved my wet boot problem.
Good luck!
I like the “VAX” idea - sounds a lot easier to me then the trombone method (and less likley to dislodge the pipework), followed by a bit of flushing-through with clean water
It made me smile that (on Amazon.com at least) most of the reviews were from Miata owners
The garage I bought it from are still drying the carpet etc before cleaning it. it wasn’t the roof drains but I forget what they said the issue was - will ask when I pick the car up tomorrow. A Vax under the drain sounds like a great idea!
The leak was coming from the nearside rear light cluster - a perished seal. This has been replaced, boot dried out, thank god for that to be honest as the Honda Jazz experience was not really doing it for me
After solving leaky footwells last year (it was the screws and fixings that hold the plastic trim down under the wipers that a lot of posts point to) I recently has success with a wet boot also. On my Mk3 it was the rubber 'seal' through which the number plate light wire passes from the boot lid into the boot. I removed the fixing from underneath and sealed with silicone. See photo below.
