Hear me now and believe me later, if you haven't physically cleaned out the 5 drain holes on each rocker, do yourself a favor and pull off the covers asap and run a zip tie or metal wire up each one to verify they are clean.
I confirmed the reason why my driver side carpets got soaked on the way home from the Vintage, rain came in the rear side window, filled up the rocker because the drains were plugged, and spilled into the floors.
Here's the body count: the driver side had 4 of the 5 holes plugged, and the front and rear ones were also bent closed! Probably from improper jacking or who knows, I had to bend them open then clean them out. I also noticed that the rear most drain doesn't seem to empty out the rocker like the others, it drains the area between the rear wheel arch and the body panel. Confirmed by spraying rust converter in that area vs down into the rear most point of the rocker which drains out the second to back hole. Fun stuff.
The passenger side, although dry, had the front and rear drains clogged and bent. Nasty and I feel like an idiot for not checking these even though I take the covers off annually to clean underneath.
Check yours! Here are some ugly pics to show you why.
Each drain has a little opening bent into the inside rocker, this one needed a wire to break through the crap, then a zip tie to further break up the sludge:
On the end of the wire is a mixture of water and silt turned into a paste:
This one was bent closed and full of crap:
Surprise, last week's water came out!
Sh!t from the front driver side drain:
I've flushed the rockers with POR-15 metal prep rust converter then tomorrow will cavity wax. Then I will treat any outer surface rust and repaint. Luckily the rockers are in good shape because when I got the car I cavity waxed in there, but that was 7 years ago.
Also check your frame rail drains, there are 3 each side, at the bottom of the first downward bend from the engine compartment, at the bottom of the slope where it ends at the floors, and in the inboard vertical side near the tranny bracket.
You've been warned
I confirmed the reason why my driver side carpets got soaked on the way home from the Vintage, rain came in the rear side window, filled up the rocker because the drains were plugged, and spilled into the floors.
Here's the body count: the driver side had 4 of the 5 holes plugged, and the front and rear ones were also bent closed! Probably from improper jacking or who knows, I had to bend them open then clean them out. I also noticed that the rear most drain doesn't seem to empty out the rocker like the others, it drains the area between the rear wheel arch and the body panel. Confirmed by spraying rust converter in that area vs down into the rear most point of the rocker which drains out the second to back hole. Fun stuff.
The passenger side, although dry, had the front and rear drains clogged and bent. Nasty and I feel like an idiot for not checking these even though I take the covers off annually to clean underneath.
Check yours! Here are some ugly pics to show you why.
Each drain has a little opening bent into the inside rocker, this one needed a wire to break through the crap, then a zip tie to further break up the sludge:
On the end of the wire is a mixture of water and silt turned into a paste:
This one was bent closed and full of crap:
Surprise, last week's water came out!
Sh!t from the front driver side drain:
I've flushed the rockers with POR-15 metal prep rust converter then tomorrow will cavity wax. Then I will treat any outer surface rust and repaint. Luckily the rockers are in good shape because when I got the car I cavity waxed in there, but that was 7 years ago.
Also check your frame rail drains, there are 3 each side, at the bottom of the first downward bend from the engine compartment, at the bottom of the slope where it ends at the floors, and in the inboard vertical side near the tranny bracket.
You've been warned
Last edited:
