Hi Guys,
I could really use some help here. I just discovered that the carpet under my passenger seat is soaked with something that is not water. It even seeped up through the mat...

It feels greasy, seems clear, and doesn't smell like anything except old carpet...

I've searched around on the site and I haven't found anything too promising.
It's concentrated directly under the seat, and seems dry further up the side/front, but I suppose that's what gravity would favor.
It doesn't smell sweet (ie, coolant) and definitely not water (slimy and doesn't dry at all). Brakes and clutch feel fine, but I haven't driven it much this winter, so maybe I'm not noticing something?

Uhg... any thoughts would be great.

Thanks

 

all I can think off is water from your heater core...other than that you may have a hole somewhere that it is letting water in there..

 

That would be Anti-Freeze from a ruptured heater core. OPull back the carpet up near the firewall and see if it isn't leaking down from the htr box there.

Heater core replacement is not an easy job.

Tom

 

Would watered down collant be slimy but not smell?
The car hasn't been outdoors in the rain since october, so I don't think it's external water.

 

the condensation drain for the AC is located at the base of the footwell. the hose can become disconnected and accumulate water under the seat.
Have you been driving the car with AC on recently?

 

Turned on your AC lately? Had the same problem when the hose for the AC condensate drain got dislodged and was allowed to drain into the passenger side. It normally should go out a hole in the passenger side firewall. Hopefully it's not the heater core (that would lead to a coolant low level buzzer right?).

Either way, I had to lift the carpet and put a whole bunch of towels under there. Took a few days to make sure everything was dry. I was kinda lucky that it was summer and it dried fairly quickly without a trace of mold.

 

Anti-freeze is oily

 

Argh... ok... coming to terms with more coolant issues. I had a crack in my reservoir last summer, which just about gave me a heart attack.

What causes the heater core to rupture? Any guesses on how long it could last like that? The heater and the AC both seem to work fine, and the temp has been stable (since the crack).

Thanks for all the input.

 

you know that there is no "water" in the heater core right?? It gets it temp from coolant circulating in the system. If you had a rupture you should easily be able to smell coolant.

 

Coolant in the system should be 50/50 water/anti-freeze, yes?
Looks like the coolant is definitely low so I'm gonna top it off in the morning and drive a little to see if it goes down again. I'm being told that the heater core would steam nasty coolant fog if it was ruptured so maybe it's just a slow leak out of a hose. hope... hope...

 

so did you check that AC drainage hose that I mentioned?

 

How do I get to the AC hose? Is it under the car or under the carpet?

I topped off the coolant this morning and drove to work (~25 min). Temp was fine the whole way in.
I felt around under the carpet up by the dash when I got in and that seems dry. I guess I'll start taking the interior apart when I get home this afternoon.

 

Heater core hoses do not enter the passenger compartment - the heater core nipples extent into the engine bay. Heater cores are prone to leak at the junctures to the plastic end tanks.

 

ugh...this is what is frustrating about trying to help new members out, and why post like this are started:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...t=newbie+forum

and don't even get me started on this thread:https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=518372

you try to help and post the most logical, common troubleshooting scenerio and NO ONE LISTENS!

also, if you did a SEARCH for "water and passenger" you would have found this thread which is almost the exact same title as yours!!
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ater+passenger

and I know you live in chilly Massachusetts but all you had to do was just answer if you had been running the AC to help us eliminate that as an issue!!

------------

ok sorry for the rant...plus it was fun to use the smileys

anyways, the AC drainage is the most common cause of water in that area....even 50/50 coolant smells STRONGLY of coolant. Just open your radiator cap and take a whiff 5 feet away.

here is a pic to help you located the condensation drain tube......YOUR WELCOME....now go ahead and take your dash apart

 

Electrolosis/corrosion will cause the heater core to fail. Not using the heat very often to circulate fresh coolant through there can be one factor, not changing/flushing the coolant system can contribute to the failure, either way you can bypass the heater core for now and keep your engine from over heating due to loss of pressure or coolant. You'll want to stop the coolant loss as soon as possible.

 

to 7racer
Thanks for the pics. It looks like that hose is plugged in correctly, or tightly at least.
I did search and I did read those threads. I searched for 'leak and carpet' and read everything that came up, including that one. I guess I wasn't clear, but I did say it felt much too oily to be water.
No, I hadn't run the AC recently, sorry I didn't respond to you on that.


to baddrx7, DaveW, CantGoStraight
The heat and the AC seem to work fine, and I didn't lose any more coolant today, so I don't think it's the heater core, but I'm keeping a close eye on it.

I'm gonna check further down under the carpet once I get the last bolt out of the seat. I'm also going to put the car up on the lift to check for cracks that could allow leaks from underneath.

 

boy that really just leaves the heater core. you mentioned that the car hadn't been in the rain. No sunroof I suppose....there really isn't anyway else water can enter the car.

 

Hey Guys,
So I cut/pulled the carpet out of the passenger side of the car. Good thing I was thinking of going in on that carpet group buy! Looks like it is coolant and did start up under the dash, flowed under the padding, and then soaked up where the holes were for the seat. The padding is soaked through and pretty much disintegrated. It's funny how that dye in the coolant only shows up when it's pooled and not when it's on a rag.
I'm thinking it must be coming from one of those two hoses that pass through the firewall, as there are dried steaks coming from right under there. The coolant level still hasn't dropped again, though, so I'm not sure why it's not leaking anymore. (I've been running the heat to try and get it to leak again where I can see it.)
I guess I'll wait til I get the new carpet and then take the whole dash apart, since I'll have to do it then anyway. I found a good thread on replacing the heater core... ha
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/new-heater-core-126038/

Thanks for all the advice!