Boxster got caught in a "flooded road"

[Lacostas]

Hey guys,

Looking for some insight here. Yesterday I was out in a club and was about to go home ( with my boxster ), but the weather was extremely RAINY and the roads started to flood. This means that in some parts of the road the water was much higher than normal. Anyway I managed to get through it and after I got home I check to see what happened exactly: It seems that the water was about 40cm in Height. I checked the interior and ONLY the carpet closest to the firewall, behind both seats,was wet but not very wet. Plus I checked carefully under seats and it seems that water never got there. Car starts fine,no CEL and all seems working. But my question is: Maybe the water got into the Exhaust ?! Or into the engine?! Or anything worse?!

What shall I do now, I guess I'll call Dealer to ask also..

Thanks a lot!

[particlewave]

The water behind the seats is due to clogged rear drains and rain, not high water.
With the engine running, water would not get into the exhaust and if it had gotten into the intake, it would not be running.

Clear your drains before you end up with immobilizer damage. I wouldn't worry about anything else.

[Lacostas]

Thanks, but im afraid that i already checked the drains and they seemed clean. plus there was no leak in the past (month or two ) , even with high intensity of rain. The road was just pretty flooded but i couldnt back off. The water reached the side sills ! but thank God it didnt go inside ( well except the back of the carpet. )

EDIT: Only the carpet on the bottom,behind the seats was wet, meaning that the water indeed got in there from underneath...

[edc]

If the water passed the sill why do you think it would only reach the carpet behind the seats?

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by edc

If the water passed the sill why do you think it would only reach the carpet behind the seats?

Well, I said that it reached the sill, it didn't pass it :P . It seems that the sill stopped it there as I could see the remaining mud from the water there. But it didn't go inside

[edc]

So if the water didn't pass the sill where did t come from? The main cause for water behind the seat is the rear drains or holed foam tray. The fact you said it was raining heavily also lends weight to this being the cause. If you can feel the water atop the carpet then the foam insulation underneath will be much wetter.

[itsnotanova]

Unless someone has poked a hole in your floor pan, it's very unlikely that your carpet got wet from driving through high water. Maybe water got past your door seal, but even that would surprise me. I have 30+ boxsters that sit out in a field. Some have no tops or doors. Water will collect inside the cabin unless I poke a hole through the floor pan. I give it a 90% chance that water got inside from the rain and not the puddle. There are other ways rain can get into the cabin besides a clogged drain hole.
As for the engine and exhaust. It's not the muffler you need to worry about it's the intake. I've seen many vehicle run with the muffler many feet under water. As long as the engine is running water can't get inside. Now if the engine is off and water flows into the exhaust, that can blow the head gasket on some vehicles when you go to start the vehicle.

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by edc

So if the water didn't pass the sill where did t come from? The main cause for water behind the seat is the rear drains or holed foam tray. The fact you said it was raining heavily also lends weight to this being the cause. If you can feel the water atop the carpet then the foam insulation underneath will be much wetter.

Well the water didn't come in from the side (doors) but it did come from the bottom of the car, since I guess the bottom of the car is notsupposed to be 100% sealed and waterproof ?
Plus the rear bottom carpet ( closest to the firewall ) got wet on both drivers and passengers side. I have already checked the only drain hole I know ( which is under the roof plastic on the drivers rear side) and it was Clean

How and what else shall I check ?

[Anker]

Check from under the car. Sounds like someone drilled drain holes in the floor, or should we call them flood holes!

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Unless someone has poked a hole in your floor pan, it's very unlikely that your carpet got wet from driving through high water. Maybe water got past your door seal, but even that would surprise me. I have 30+ boxsters that sit out in a field. Some have no tops or doors. Water will collect inside the cabin unless I poke a hole through the floor pan. I give it a 90% chance that water got inside from the rain and not the puddle. There are other ways rain can get into the cabin besides a clogged drain hole.
As for the engine and exhaust. It's not the muffler you need to worry about it's the intake. I've seen many vehicle run with the muffler many feet under water. As long as the engine is running water can't get inside. Now if the engine is off and water flows into the exhaust, that can blow the head gasket on some vehicles when you go to start the vehicle.

Right I see. When I say High water I mean a lighter version of this: https://imgur.com/hheNOAe
In this picture, the water may not get inside from the Doors but certainly will get from the bottom I guess?

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by Anker

Check from under the car. Sounds like someone drilled drain holes in the floor, or should we call them flood holes!

Oh is that a common thing or what?! Previous owner didn't inform me about it neither Dealer that checked the car throughly didn't see anything weird I guess. Why is it so weird that the car may get water from the bottom ?

[rexcramer]

There are several drain holes to check. Front and back. A quick search will provide a lot of info, Youtube, etc. I suggest that you test them to verify they are flowing correctly. They are small diameter lines that could be clogged in the middle? Here is a couple with diagrams.

drain holes

Boxster drain plugs

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by rexcramer

There are several drain holes to check. Front and back. A quick search will provide a lot of info, Youtube, etc. I suggest that you test them to verify they are flowing correctly. They are small diameter lines that could be clogged in the middle? Here is a couple with diagrams.

drain holes

Boxster drain plugs

Thanks for the links. The second one seems to be for 987. I checked this https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/_/rsrc/1259691725220/986drains-full.jpg
And I can't see any drain hole that is on the passenger side. If there was one there, it would explain the leak on the rear bottom carpet.

[edc]

There are 2 drain holes on opposing sides of the car under the clamshell. Also 2 under battery area.

[Lacostas]

Originally Posted by edc

There are 2 drain holes on opposing sides of the car under the clamshell. Also 2 under battery area.

Thanks got it.

Also, even with clean drain plugs, maybe if the intensity of the rain is so big, that water will leak a little bit anyway?!

[edc]

If your car is parked nose down it could perhaps be possible that the drains can't clear fast enough. It would have to really sheet it down for a long time though.