Next Time, My Car Will Have a Real Roof

February 18, 2009 8:53 AM

Um, my Jeep is full of water. What do I do?

I have a '97 Wrangler with a soft top. It needs a new top, which I haven't had the time or money to replace. I live in sunny Southern California. Every once in a blue moon it rains, but it's never been a real problem, until now.

Long story short, the top had a big enough problem in the midst of our recent long rainy weekend to let a great ocean of water in to the floor on the passenger side, in both the front and back seats. There is literally a little lake on the right side of my car.

I don't have a shop-vac or know anybody with one. There is one of those wash-it-yerself carwashes down the street. Can I vacuum the water out of my car with the vacuums there? I drove by and did not see an attendant to ask. A friend with a '95 Wrangler says his has a hole in the floor which allows water to drain out, and I just need to find it in mine. Is he crazy?

Turning the heater on to dry the carpets isn't really an option, since my car is open air. Assuming I can vacuum the water out at the car wash (oh please let this be an option), what else should I do? I mean besides punching myself repeatedly in the face for buying a Wrangler as my main mode of transportation.

posted by pazazygeek to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

A friend with a '95 Wrangler says his has a hole in the floor which allows water to drain out, and I just need to find it in mine. Is he crazy?

No, he's not crazy. Look in the manual. But that certainly won't do the job alone.

You can rent shop-vacs from various equipment rental places. You need to get as much water as you can out as fast as you can, before it mildews. Otherwise, you're looking at having to remove the carpet.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:56 AM on February 18

Oh, I should note: I cannot find the manual. I get a D- at being a grown up.
posted by pazazygeek at 9:04 AM on February 18 [1 favorite]

Wranglers are self-bailing. Call your local Jeep dealer.
posted by 26.2 at 9:07 AM on February 18

Check behind the front seats for the plugs, probably under the carpeting. I recall them being scattered about in the Jeep my parents had. But, like Cool Papa Bell mentioned, that won't do the job alone.

Can you take out the carpets and lay them in the sun?
posted by wg at 9:10 AM on February 18

Here's a picture that may give you an idea where the floor drain plugs are located (click the "Floor Drain Plugs" link on the left sidebar of the flash). This shows what they look like, and this post says they're about 1" in diameter.
posted by Doofus Magoo at 9:10 AM on February 18

This may help, although these instructions are for a 1998 model Wrangler.
posted by JDHarper at 9:15 AM on February 18

There will be a drain plug under the carpet in the foot space on both the passenger and driver side of the vehicle. You can pop the plugs out with a flat head screw driver.

I would vacuum out as much water as I could get and then drive it to the desert and let it sit for a week or more. Is something like that an option?
posted by Science! at 9:21 AM on February 18

and then drive it to the desert and let it sit for a week or more.

Or, since Southern California is basically a desert anyway, and it's warmer this time of year than the inland desert adjacent to it, you could just let it sit for a week or more where you live.

A friend of mine here in So Cal takes his Wrangler through the car wash with the top off all the time, then just pulls the drain plugs and lets the car air dry for a couple days. It seems to work just fine. His is a 2007, though.
posted by The World Famous at 9:28 AM on February 18

Whatever you do, make sure those carpets dry out COMPLETELY. Otherwise, you will be smelling mold if/when it ever rains again. Or gets a little humid.
posted by cooker girl at 9:35 AM on February 18

Most convertibles have drain plugs, which aren't really plugs as much as they are holes to let water escape should it enter the vehicle. If your Jeep isn't draining the water properly, it could be due to accumulated dirt and/or other matter that's blocking the port. If that's the case, you need to have this fixed ASAP. Moldy carpeting isn't nearly as expensive to fix as rusted floorboards/fenders.

Can I vacuum the water out of my car with the vacuums there?

Absolutely. And I would recommend you do so at your earliest convenience.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:57 AM on February 18

If there's that much water, and you can't find (or don't have) drain plugs, perhaps you can siphon the water out with a rubber tube or short hose? If you pre-fill the tube/hose with water you probably won't need to suck on the loose end (ugh!) to get the water flowing out.
posted by Simon Barclay at 9:59 AM on February 18

This isn't a disaster, this is you cleaning your carpets by accident. I routinely do this on purpose; it's easier to clean the carpet with a hose in the driveway than it is to vacuum it in place.

Pull all the carpet out, and lay it on your driveway or lawn to dry out in the sun. This is really easy to do; they're designed for easy removal, in convenient sections held in by friction and the occasional little button snaps.

The location of the drain plug will then be obvious.
posted by ook at 10:06 AM on February 18

(And in a Wrangler they are in fact plugs, not just holes; there's a little rubber stopper you have to pop out.)
posted by ook at 10:08 AM on February 18

I know that you believe that it was soaked due to rain, but since you said it was only on the passenger side floorboards I'm a bit suspect. I have a Jeep Cherokee that had a relatively similar water problem (1-2" on the mats on the passenger side and behind the passenger) and it turned out to be an A/C problem (some sort of blockage that caused a tube to become dislodged). So, perhaps look into that.

The wet-vac worked well for me, for the record. Good luck!
posted by Flamingo at 10:41 AM on February 18

Once you've drained the car, I recommend wiping all the hard surfaces of the floor with white vinegar, and I'd give the carpets a rinsing with vinegar as well before drying them out. It'll help kill any possible mildew, and the smell fades really fast so you have no worries about driving around in a car that smells like pickles.

We bought a used vehicle with a vague whiff of mildew (turns out the detailers failed to observe an in-floor storage unit, which held enough water to get the carpets slightly stinky). Vinegar, a shop vac, and some sunshine saved the day.
posted by padraigin at 10:51 AM on February 18

Don't punch yourself for buying a Wrangler. They are great vehicles.

Pull the carpet out and let it dry in the sun. I'll second dousing them in vinegar first. Take your top down and pull the drain plugs (front driver and passenger plus a few in the back). If it's less than 70 degrees don't take your top down. Just wipe the wet areas down with a towel and maybe open the front windows and the back window and let it dry.

I'd suggest against ever taking it through the carwash like The World Famous's friend does. There are a lot of electronics in the dash that are not sealed off/waterproof. That being said, I've driven mine through a torrential downpour with the top down and suffered no ill effects to the vehicle.
posted by robtf3 at 12:22 PM on February 18

does my 2003 mustang convertible have similar drain plugs? I haven't had any water problems and it's a quite wet and snowy winter here in Philly ... (knock wood) ... but just wondering in case of inadvertant moisture.
posted by LilBucner at 3:15 PM on February 18