Clogged drain holes in Miata.. very urgent!

[gforce23]

Long story short, the drain holes in my Miata seem to have gotten clogged over the weekend and I only realized this today (!) after discovering a bit of standing water under the passenger seat. :(

Anyhow, I've tried cleaning the drain holes behind the seatbelt pillars but to no avail and can still hear that dreaded sloshing noise. There are a couple of threads on Miata.net but none seem to pinpoint the exact location of the bloody drain holes. Has anyone had any experience with cleaning these? Where the heck are they? I've shoved my face under the car a million times but can't seem to find them.. please help! Is hoisting the car necessary to unclog those holes?

[integra82786]

where is the sloshing noise coming from? my integra liked to store water under the back seats when it would spill over the trunk floor from the spare tire area. if it comes down to it, just drill some new holes. they dont have to be huge, just enough to leak out.

[gforce23]

The sloshing noise seems to be coming from the rear passenger side. Why waste time drilling holes? I guess the easiest way would be to use a shotgun. :D But seriously, I would've done that if I had a proper hoist or set of driving ramps. Care to donate your ramps for a few minutes?

[KPowerEP3]

there are other drain holes in the rocker panels that can get clogged, located close to the fat part (jack point) on the pinch weld. clear those out.

also, it's been recommended to loosen the lower fender bolts and the water will drain faster.

[metalman]

KPowerEP3 has it right...the water you hear sloshing around is likely inside your rocker panel. Near the jacking points there are slits with the body panels are welded together. Shove a screwdriver or similar up into those holes and open them up, make them wider, they often get pinched shut and/or filled with sediment.

[gforce23]

Thanks KP/metalman. Do you guys suggest jacking the car up to access these slits since I've tried to feel 'em by touch but haven't had any success thus far.

Edit:
Never mind. I managed to open one of the drains by brute force and got my entire face soaking wet in the process. Btw, are the front drains located near the jacking points too?
All the help is much appreciated guys. Reps!
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to KPowerEP3 again.

[gforce23]

Update:
A large portion of that dreaded sloshing noise has gone away. But there are two new problems- idle rpms keep shooting up to 1500 every couple of minutes & then fall back down as if nothing ever happened and the shift gear shakes as if it's possessed by a demon. There is no white smoke, so no water in the engine..
I'm confused right now.

[Thighs]

^^ i had a similar problem before, but it might not be the same thing.

check and make sure all your plugs are plugged in. TPS, MAF, CAS, everything. any plug you see, make sure its on.

and the shaking may be motor mounts, which arent THAT hard to fix.

[metalman]

Sounds like IAC valve to me. Could be TPS as well...but IAC is more likely

[southside]

take off iacv and you will find a white piece that has a slot across it like its for a big flat head turn it in until its.Snug but not too tight or you will mess up your idle even more trust me I know.Try that and see