Help with water leak please.
 

Is there any "favourite place' that the 850 leaks water to the drivers floor when the cars on a slope facing downhill?

We've had rain before and the Volvo's been bone dry.
However, for the last 4 days Sydney has had continual torrential rain that hasn't let up at all.
I got into the 850 this morning to move it and the drivers floor is ankle deep in water.

Its still raining so it was difficult to get out and down on hands and knees to look under the dash but there wasn't any signs of water around the windsceen and nothing dripping from under the dash.
All windows were up.
Headlining is dry (no sunroof anyway).
Vents all dry.
I lifted the bonnet and the drain vents around the fuse box in that well area are all clear and I couldn't see any pooled water. Down the gaps where the bonnet hinges are all looked clear.

Any advice?
Is this perhaps something common on these 850's with age or from new perhaps?

The windshield is leaking.

Thanks for the fast reply.
It did have a new windscreen put in about three years ago and has been fine all this time. But its not been in rain this heavy for so many days in a row and with the roof water flowing down over the screen as well I was prepared for it to be a windscreen problem.

Do you know this is a common problem with 850's or are you suggesting it as a deduction from my explanation?
If its common, is it along the bottom of the screen where I cannot see a leak? I've followed across the top and down the pillar of the screen and there's nothing wet or dripping.

I don't think 850's are prone any more than any other car. it's just a common problem with cars. I had an 850 wagon that leaked that same way, based on the way it was parked. The water ran down that channel on the edge of the roof and right into the car. I never saw how it got down from the windscreen to the floor, but it got down somehow. Fortunately in my case I was able to find it easily after taking all the interior trim out.

also, check your coolant level. If you find you are losing coolant over time, you could have a leak in the heater core. Agree on checking the trim around the windshield as well as the sun roof and doors (check the door seals to make sure they are glued on properly and don't have tears or folds.

there are so many posibilities. How are your drain channels in the where the fuse box/wipers are located?

There are a couple of windshield leak diagnostic tests that would be in a factory shop manual, for instance. At least a couple that are useful. One is to create the water leak and observe, using a garden hose. Start low, obviously. You'd have to take inside trim out to be able to look for the water coming in.

A second one, less messy, is to put soap bubbles on the perimeter of the windshield and then blow compressed air around the edges. You can't really pressurize the car, so you're just depending on a jet of air to blow bubbles through the leak. As you observed, it's a big leak, so it'll probably work.

You do need to make sure that water can discharge off the wiper motor cover, as box pin mentions above. It's a strange design. The plastic cover and gutters and all that has to turn water.