MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

Things I checked.

A/c drain is NOT clogged air hose it twice and also stuck a screw driver in the hole.

T-tops do not leak.

Window / door seal looks good.

Air hosed the seal to make sure nothing was clogging.


I pulled the interior hush panel under the glove box on that side and it has water all over it. The water seems to be coming in high and around that area.


near the cup holder hump in the corner I saw a small line of water which I guess flows down in the recessed area of the passengers side thats where the water winds up at due to being the lowest point.

I have the carpet up now letting it dry and I have the cowl cover almost off, need to get those wiper arms off.

My theory is that the cowl fills up with water to the point it leaks in that area because of debris due to he fact it sits outside all the time. So I am not sure what to do next other then to start drilling holes in the body to let water flow. It just randomly starting leaking in the real heavy long rains and the car only had 18k miles.

Thanks for any suggestions.

fleetmgr

Hmmm. I'd bet leaf debris in the cowl area is your cuprit.

MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

I have the plastic cowl almost off but had to go to work. wiper arm did not want to budge once the nut was off.

I peaked in and it looks like it doesnt go straight down but is recessed first, so I couldnt just stick something in there to clean it up or can I?

Hoepfully tomorrow will be a better day.


I know something is a fubar with the draining, because when I did an oil change recently water was dripping down on my face from that area and it was dry for at least 3 days.

MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

pulled the cowl off and it wasnt really dirty, but I air hosed it for awhile then water hosed it down for about 20 minutes on both sides.

I was able to get the water to leak into the car just by letting it run down inside the cowl area after about 10 minutes full blast or so I then stopped the water and started cleaning it up, tried it again and couldnt get it to really come in like it did the first time.

the water seems to be flowing very fast out of both sides under the car, so I am at a loss.

I pulled out the rubber grommet on the body so it doenst hold the water, but it was on when it leaked so I pulled it to let the water out easier.



but the water just was coming from above and dripping off the wires and stuff.


I put direct water on the door grommet and firewall grommet and water does not leak in, its coming in higher.

MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

any suggestions? I am putting the cowl back on since I cant really see anything in that area thats out of place.

my next step is to pull the rim off and the plastic shroud on the fender to get a better view of how the water is coming down in that area since it coming from up high near that area inside the car and from that corner.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Most likely it's leaking around the rubber grommet down below the pcm.
Either the grommet is torn or it's pushed/pulled in.
Have you added any power cables for stereo amplifiers through this grommet?

MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

na man I checked that area I hosed water in that corner for while and nothing got in. the water is coming in higher from the cowl area / the drain route it takes. it literally drips down from the ac blower fan and wires above the panel I took off. I am not pulling the dash off just for a water leak, so i am going to check what I can see with the rim and plastic fender shield off.

just kinda odd it never leaked before that I can remember and I havent done anything to the car and now since it was raining alot its making that area soaking wet.

as I hosed the car down just in the cowl it seemed all the water just flowing down just fine, I thought somehow it was filling up with water then would overflow into the car. but I did get water inside from doing that at a certain angle inside the cowl so it is coming in that way but dont know why.

the last thing I am doing is pulling the rim and plastic thing if I cant see anything I will put it back together and start using a car cover.

BIG_MIKE2005

iTrader: (116)

I have the exact same issue. I can see a thin line of water running down my passanger kick panel down by the door speaker. But I believe I found my culprit. I also have a dripping leak on my passanger side t-top right where the seam is in the weather-stripping.

My best guess is the passanger side weather-stripping is leaking at various points, but the seam leak by the t-top is just the most obvious cause you can actually watch it drip. It seems like a plausable idea since the weather-stripping is at least 10yrs old & I'm sure could use replacing all over the car.

I know your thinking cowl, but just for piece of mind I'd hose down the passanger side & sit inside the car while the water is running so you can watch the area where you find water. It wouldnt suprise me if it leaks in. Do you also have this problem after a trip to the car wash?

2000TransAm24

iTrader: (2)

I had a similar leak that i chased for years. After a rock cracked my windshield and i went in to replace it the guys found that the windshield had not been sealed correctly from the factory. I spent countless hours trying to track that bastard, it would always run down my pillar and puddle on the passenger side under the dash pad and then drain down about the same area as yours is. good luck

MdFormula350

iTrader: (4)

Thanks I about gave up on it, been driving my new car, so it just sits outside all apart


I already did the standard hosing down the car while sitting inside and nothing, so I put the car back together after drying it good.

Then about 2 weeks passed and it rained hard and long and the water got back inside the car.

Like 2000TransAm24 stated the water is coming in high around the windshield / cowl area drips down onto the dash pad and then that forces the water to go behind the side kick panel or the other side of the pad and works it way onto the carpet under neath the floor mat, till it gets so much in there that the floor gets soaked.

Since I have the cowl off would it be a good idea to try and seal the windshield up somehow.

I was going to put the cowl back on but if the windshield needs a good look then I need it off.

I still wanting to take off the front rim and inner fender liner to try an get a good look at how the water is draining from the cowl / windshield area.

Its just odd how it started now, when I have had the car since late 2005 and we have certainly got some wicked rain before.

1 task

Have the same issue...gave up on it since the winter is here, just put the cover on. My friend has a lift and hopefully one day soon i can put it on there and get a look underneath since ive looked everywhere else. mines a 2000 with 26k and this problem just started out of nowhere as well last year...i'm at a lost too but will post the answer if i ever figure it out. i hope it doesnt have anything to do with the windshield like 2000TA posted, it would be weird if it was because the car never had the problem before.

BlackDuk98

iTrader: (34)

I had this same problem a few months before I put my car away. I thought my body got tweaked or something when I did a lot of welding on it. I finally corrected the problem. You did mostly everything that I did. Water was coming from the same place yours is. All the plastc that is under the rug has crappy foam under it. It soaks up water and you need to squeeze all of it out or that car will stink. You may think it's good, but pull it up off the floor and stick your hand up there. It will all be soaked. I wedged something between the foam and the floor so that air would be able to get under everything as well.

1) sprayed water on my passenger window. I got a few drips but nothing compared to the 1 inch od water on my floor. But I tore the door panel off anyway, and changed the position of the windoe limiters. This made the window go about at most 1/8" more. This sealed the window really tight and I couldn't get the drips to come back.

2) Then I pulled the pcm out to see if I could find anything. A few years back I installed the Autotrix window kit and ran wires through that grommet behind the pcm. I never put rtv back on the grommet to seal it. I never had water for years, but I would spray water on the grommet, and I would get the water in the car running from the same place yours is. There is nothing blocking any drains either. I have been over the entire car since I have seen what clogged drains to do cars 40+ years old. I rtv'ed it up and I couldn't get any water from there again.

3) Then I pulled the plastic cowl off. I sprayed water in behind the cowl area by the booster and everything, but came up empty handed. When I pulled the cowl off, they have the same crappy foam as a seal that they use on the interior. I thought that possibly the heater box seal could have went, but pouring water on that also yeilded nothing. The foam on the cowl piece is **** and it holds water like crazy. I ripped that **** off and couldn't put it in the trash fast enough. I went up to my local harware store and got a roll of house door seal. This is the type that doesn't hold water at all. It has a sticky back like tape. I put it on the car instead of on the cowl because it will be easier later to remove. I rtv'ed where I had to cut the weather stripping so water would not get in there. It was cut there because there were factory holes that couldn't be blocked. Put it all back together and ran the car for a month before storage and didn't get a drop of water back in the interior. My car sits out all summer so I know the problem was fixed. I found some hidden **** in my car also. After everything was finished and I was putting the center consule back, between the carpet and the floor, the previous owner left me 4 roaches Luckily cops never got nasty and decided to search my car, lol. Glad the car started leaking or I would have never found the stuff. I know that I didn't give you a definate answer, but maybe something I said could help.