help: not typical honda water leak

[twitchyzero]

i've noticed mold in the rear back seats for some months now...shit's probably killing my lungs

recently i pulled out the bottom seat padding to find it soaked...i investigated further pulling the interior panels and rear half of the headliner. I already checked the moon roof drain tube and it's fine...when I blast the roof closed with garden hose seems to be leaking through the seams of the metal body, down the sides by the speakers to where the seat pad is.

is the moon roof rubber seal supposed to be water tight? Garaged since day 1 and they look fine and not dried/cracked. There is a 1mm play when I push on the moon roof

wheel well pool is a separate problem just put in new taillight gasket

vehicle is rsx

[snowball]

So the full interior is stripped now? Should be able to see where it's coming from, sounds like the C pillar?

We need some pictures.

[Peturbo]

When you say you checked the moonroof drain, did you actually check if its draining water down with water poured in?
Start checking with hose from bottom to top. That will help eliminate some areas for you opposed to just spraying from top and having to check everywhere at once

[twitchyzero]

interior is semi-pulled back...enough to see where things are dripping

i've put water in the gutter portion of the moonroof, all 4 corners are not clogged (even used air compressor bottom up) following this vid

YouTube

i'm trying to understand the purpose of the drain....is it supposed to be only working when the moonroof is open? or is it still normal for it to operational when moonroof is closed...going back to a bad seal?

[coneZONE]

Basically, and this goes for all moonroofs in general, the moonroof isn't actually watertight. The rubber seal will allow low volume water in, like rainfall, where it will catch in the rail/frame assembly and then drain out via drain tubes. Water will spray into the car at the moonroof seal if you use higher pressure to spray directly at it... namely pressurewasher or touchless wash. Maybe even garden hose if youve got a direct stream.

It's easier to check if the drains are clear by opening up the moonroof, then pouring water into the "gutter", and it should pretty much drain out right away


Your problem might not be the moonroof...

Gotta think like a raindrop... the water is getting in naturally by gravity and spraying upward may not help find the problem. But it might. Lol

EDIT/ADD:
If your leak is in the back, and you've lowered the headliner a bit, check to make sure the drain tube hasn't fallen off. I've seen that at work in a near new car...

[hchang]

Straighten a metal hangar and clear your sunroof drains of gunk.

Then blow the drain (hah) with compressed air

[TopsyCrett]

Common problem with the RSX, it is your taillight gaskets. My friend had a similar problem. Look in your spare tire well, there is probably water in there as well.

[SSM_DC5]

Moonroof drain

[fliptuner]

Check that the hose is fully attached to the roof drain.

[twitchyzero]

the drain connections seem good
but I should retest the water flow on a flat even surface
think I'll complete strip the rear interior just so I can see exactly what's going on
so if the moonroof rubber seals don't have to be water tight, all the excess water should be going into drain tube and not dripping down the body right?

just did the taillight gasket...it was a mini aquarium and a pool party in the wheel well in typical Honda fashion

[fliptuner]

I'm parting out an RSX in a few days. I can send you pic of the drain setup

[twitchyzero]

unless you were gutting the interior, don't go out of your way as i'm already using a service manual

dunno if worth mentioning but the plastic water resistant membrane (ones you see inside door panels) beneath B&C pillar passenger side was half intact, probably makes no difference

[Iron Chef]

I have seen water leaks from the body seam. If you see where the water is coming from and have compressed air I would put the air where the water leak is and spray soapy water in the area on the outside and see where the bubbles form

[oldsnail]

i did not drive my Ep3 for a few months..
there were TWO wasp nest in the trunk

i am not sure if i would have water instead lol

[twitchyzero]

so I might be overanalyzing
I was at Honda and asked the parts counter what they thought
seems logical that even with a high ridge between backseats and wheel well, it might just be the same pool of water spilling over when i'm braking...I suppose having 2 separate leaks when windows, lights, frames have never been replaced in a collision doesn't seem all that likely after all...so will continue to observe at this point

[RevYouUp]

Check out that black air vent located behind the rear bumper. Water usually gets in that way

Looks like this .. all older hondas have it , not sure about the rsx

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/at...tid=2364&stc=1

[twitchyzero]

yep the right vent looks good and left vent is wet due to the taillight leak but it seems to be working to spec

[coneZONE]

Yea... i agree with just monitoring it for now. Since you fixed the tail light gasket leak so recently, it's definitely possible the massive pool of water spilled over to the back seat before you fixed it...
My friend had an EG Civic hatchback with a horrendous leak in the back, and it spilled to the back seat when the spare well overflowed lol

[Bender Unit]

What's the best method to eliminate mold in seat ?
Steam Clean ??

[twitchyzero]

seems more like a job for a professional esp if it's not cloth...certainly didn't find very helpful videos/guides online
grabbed meguiar's leather conditioner/cleaner...don't know how effective will try to report back