[simbob]

Folks,

I need your help.

My car was out in a downpour (at my independent Porsche mechanic) Friday afternoon with the top and windows fully up and properly secured, yet the carpet area behind both seats was soaked and I had water under the front carpet on both sides (more on the driver side than the passenger side) which appeared to have migrated from rear to front on either side of the seats. There was no water directly under either seat. The car was parked on a slight grade with the nose a bit lower than the tail.

When I got home into the garage (15-mile drive, still raining), I checked immediately, and there was no water standing in any of the four principal drain areas, front or rear, and no obvious wet path of entry, front, rear or on either side -- no water or dampness at all above the carpet on the floor, except at the base of the rear firewall carpet, where it appeared to have wicked up a quarter of an inch from the floor.

Friday night, I removed the seats and propped the carpet up front and rear. Saturday, I pushed it back into the driveway to bake it dry in the sun -- again. It baked dry over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, with the top in the service position, I removed the rear deck storage box and top carpet. Completely dry.

I removed the upper firewall carpet behind the seats and console. Completely dry.

I removed the carpet covers on each side behind the doors. Completely dry with no apparent moisture behind.

No moisture on the console side carpet. No moisture on any of the side carpets on the doors, under the doors or in the footwells.

No moisture up under the dash.

I didn't remove the carpet at the very base of the firewall in the rear because it's glued in place, but it showed no exterior dampness even when pressed to squeeze the padding beneath -- except at the very base where it meets the floor carpet.

I ran a flexible tube through all four rear drains -- two in the top well and two in the rear deck cover channel. No blockages.

I ran water through all of them, too, and it flowed through and out freely in what appeared to be the same volume I added.

I did the same to the front drains on either side of the battery -- clear and flowing free.

I found the second drain on the driver side under the cowl (it's in the vertical wall of the strut tower, and it doesn't have a drain line, just a rubber flap because it opens directly into the front fender -- visible from the outside behind the strut looking from the rear with the wheels cranked to the right). The rubber flap is in place and functions properly. Look at the diagram in the "inevitable" water thread to find it.

I even ran a tube down into tna water through the drain hole under the fuel filler.

I took out the battery and the battery pan. There are no drains lurking there, but the battery pan gasket is intact and the area under the battery pan was dry as a bone -- looked like it had not been exposed since it was in the factory.

The door, window and top seal are all intact and flexible.

The drains in the bottoms of both doors are clear -- visual and probe check only, I did not run water into the doors to test them.

The inner door seal drains are also clear. I ran the tubing and water down into the door seals both from the top at the windshield header and from the top at each rear door jamb, and both drain holes in each seal ran fine at the door threshold.

Before I put the top in the service position, on Friday night, I checked it. The base skirt of the top was in proper position, with the rear gutter under the trunk wall clips and the front corner elastics clipped at the door jambs. The two side cables were in their loops and fastened at the base. All of the seals appear to be in place, intact and fitting properly on the top and the rear deck lid cover, and the plastic trim on the driver side rear deck support had been replaced to deflect water into the foam well.

With this volume of water coming into the car in one afternoon storm, it almost seems as if there has to be some critical but non-obvious part of the sealing and drainage system which is not in place. But there is no apparent path of entry to the floor.

There was some minor dampness in the indentations of the foam at the very front of the top well on either side behind and inboard of the rear door jambs. Is there supposed to be some sort of deflecting piece at the front of the top well on each side inboard from the door jambs which guides the water back toward the drains -- like the two trim pieces on the rear deck support struts?

Please tell me what I'm missing. Please tell me that this isn't the dirty little secret of the Boxster, that it can't be driven in the rain or washed with water? That doesn't make sense. I've owned and driven convertibles before, including an Austin-Healey 3000 and an MGB, and I've never had this kind of problem. And I'm a former SCCA racer who has maintained all of his cars and motorcycles for years, so I'm aware of how things work.

Any help will be appreciated. The independent Porsche mechanic is mystified. If I can't find help here. The last step before selling it will be to take it to the local Porsche dealer, telling them my story and saying, "Make it seal and drain properly." I might as well paint a target on my bank account.

Thanks.

Bob