[canadianfoci]

Alright so this is such a random thing that is seriously making me crazy, while driving coming to starts or a stop, I can literally hear water sloshing around. It sounds like its coming from the driver side mid car area. No its not the gas tank lol. I have noticed when stopping on dry cement I get water marks on the pavement where my rocker panels run, but SLOSHING thats ridiculous anyone know whats going on? we have had almost a record year for rain, so I think that has compounded the problem. Is there any water channels that could be plugged up? any help...always much appreciated.

The Canadian Guy.

 

[Red 2012]

blocked drains from the door ... water gets caught in door and sloshes around ... use hose to wash out the vents at bottom of door.

 

[iminhell]

There are also drain holes in the rockers, 3 of them IIRC. Not uncommon at all for dust/rust to clog them.
If you have the cladding on the rockers you'll have to remove it. Them you can access the drains and poke a pick tool in to try and dislodge the debris.
After that you should remove the rear trim panels and use a vacuum/compressed air to clean up the debris so as not to let this happen again.
... on a ZX3 that is.

ZX5 I'm not sure how to get to the inside of the rocker. But a panel next to the rear passenger should get you close.

None of the fix is very difficult, just a bit time consuming.

Big hole ahead of the wheel well.
I remove all my interior and wash it out yearly. I can say for certain that the rockers can hold at least a gallon of water if plugged.

 

[dirtbrown]

i think its your gas tank LOL

i dont think theres anywhere for enough water to build up to splash around and if it was splashing around it would more than likely be a little bit more obvious where its coming from....if it seems to be really loud maybe check out the metal strap on your tank make sure its not loose other than that iono other than the trunk lol where water could build up but im sure youve looked inside the hatch

 

[Fattie]

Alright so this is such a random thing that is seriously making me crazy, while driving coming to starts or a stop, I can literally hear water sloshing around. It sounds like its coming from the driver side mid car area. No its not the gas tank lol. I have noticed when stopping on dry cement I get water marks on the pavement where my rocker panels run, but SLOSHING thats ridiculous anyone know whats going on? we have had almost a record year for rain, so I think that has compounded the problem. Is there any water channels that could be plugged up? any help...always much appreciated.

The Canadian Guy.

dude , same exact issue here. only happens once in a while and i cant figure it out..

 

[Miller88]

I second gas tank. Sounds like there are no baffles in the tank and it sloshes around. Mine does this quite noticeable unless I have the tank almost full.

 

[JBotone]

I have the same issue, it happens after a hard rain. I get the sloshing sound in the drivers side as well. Definitely not the gas tank. I think we need to get a diagram of all the drains on this site, if that's possible.

 

[sailor]

Rocker panels are a common rust out area for northern cars, because of plugged drain holes holding water in there...

Reminds me I need to check MINE!!!!

Side areas of trunk, hatch or sedan, as well as spare tire well can accumulate water...

O.P.'s issue sounds like the left rocker area....

Luck!

 

[JBotone]

Rocker panels are a common rust out area for northern cars, because of plugged drain holes holding water in there...

Reminds me I need to check MINE!!!!

Side areas of trunk, hatch or sedan, as well as spare tire well can accumulate water...

O.P.'s issue sounds like the left rocker area....

Luck!

I just got out from under mine, my rocker drains were all clogged by undercoating. So hopefully that problem is taken care of.

 

[JBotone]

My rockers that were clogged by undercoating was the issue. It just rained for 2 straight days, and no more fish tank sound. Problem solved...WHEW!!!

 

[jabulon]

Same problem here : after every rain, I can hear water sloshing behind me - probably from within the rockers..

Reading through the comments I still can't quite understand where the drain holes are located! Is it on the inside or the outside ?
I've looked on the left rocker, and did not see any holes underneath it..

 

[JBotone]

Same problem here : after every rain, I can hear water sloshing behind me - probably from within the rockers..

Reading through the comments I still can't quite understand where the drain holes are located! Is it on the inside or the outside ?
I've looked on the left rocker, and did not see any holes underneath it..

They are right where the unibody is pinch welded together where you jack up the car. Look down the entire length of it and you will see about 4 or 5 little holes all the way down. I used a small flat head screwdriver to get out the undercoating and made sure they were clear.

 

[Miller88]

Are you sure its not gas?

 

[sailor]

Posted via FF MobileYou aren`t looking for little round drilled holes, just places where the metal was shaped to leave a gap when the pieces were pinched together & welded. Results in a flattened tube like hole that clogs fairly easily, especially when sealant is applied to the rest of the joint to keep water out!

 

[jabulon]

@sailor

This ?

I can only see one of these along the rocker...

Thank you !

 

[Roy_vR]

I have the same issue and it drives me mad. After every rain the car becomes a fish tank and you can clearly hear sloshing sounds from between the left doors. I m getting my oil changed and just asked the garage to check the rocker drains and clean them out and I ll see if it helps. we're expecting rain this week so perfect timing.
I love my Focus but sometimes it just decides to tick me off with silly issues like this.

 

[Fazerdude]

@sailor

This ?

I can only see one of these along the rocker...

Thank you !

Thank you! Mine was sloshing all last winter, and started again. My drains were solidly plugged with undercoating!

 

[sailor]

Cool to see this one pop up, I never saw the pics when they were posted.

Great shots & they show the holes inside there as well.

 

[Wandag]

Hi..so happy found this have 2006 SES FOCUS SPORT PACKAGE this water sloshing has been driving me nuts for 3 years.. I've looked everywhere..pulled liner out of trunk. So with the provided pic is anyone able to circle what hole ahead of wheel well? Also any chance getting pic of rocker panel "joint weld" area. I've been all under this car grrr.. any exact pics if places to look and flush would be much appreciated

 

[amc49]

The pinch weld where you locate the jack notch to jack car up is that weld, it runs all the way down length of car between the wheels.